Electronic Voting & Counting Technologies - IFES

INTERNATIONAL ELECTORAL DECISION IN STANDARDSPRINCIPLE• Country specific factors which led tothe success or failure of using thesetechnologies.Depending on the size of the Feasibility StudyCommittee it may not be possible for allmembers to participate in such a study trip.If this is the case then it will be important toensure that proper reporting of the study tripfindings and recommendations are made tothe Feasibility Study Committee and becomepart of the record of the proceedings of thefeasibility study.Vendor DemonstrationThere is only so much that can be revealedabout a system by reading technicalspecifications and marketing materials aboutelectronic voting or counting solutions. A fullerunderstanding can only be achieved by seeingelectronic voting or counting technologies inaction, initially through a demonstration. Such ademonstration is far superior to even seeing thetechnology being used for an actual election.This allows participants in the demonstration toask questions along the way and try to violatethe procedure or ‘break’ the machine.The demonstration environment allows for adetailed discussion between the FeasibilityStudy Committee and the vendors about theways in which their products work, or couldbe adapted to work. Again it is importantthat a wide range of vendors are invited topresent their products at the demonstrationso any perception of favoritism in the processis countered. Organizing such an event with asuitable range of vendors may take quite sometime to arrange, so it is important to initiatepreparations for the event well in advance.Participation at the vendor demonstrationevent needs to be carefully considered. Thevendor demonstration could be limited toonly the Feasibility Study Committee itself,or could be opened up to a wider groupfrom the EMB. It is recommended thatparticipation in any vendor demonstrationbe widened to include representatives frompolitical parties and civil society. Theseare important stakeholders in the electoralprocess; providing them access to the vendordemonstration will help their understandingof recommendations made by the FeasibilityStudy Committee. It also means thatconsultations held with these stakeholderscan take place from a more informed startingpoint. On the other hand, excluding thesegroups from the vendor demonstrationmight be helpful so expectations are notcreated. If included, the Feasibility StudyCommittee needs to be very clear withstakeholders about the purpose of its work,the demonstration and that it represents aninitial investigation into the feasibility of usingelectronic voting and counting technologies.The timing of the vendor demonstration in theprocess of the feasibility study is important.If held too early in the process, the FeasibilityStudy Committee will not be sufficientlyinformed about the relevant issues relatedto the use of electronic voting and countingtechnologies. The Feasibility Study Committeecan make the most of its face-to-faceinteraction with vendors if it engages with thevendors from an informed position. Waiting untilthe work of the Feasibility Study Committeeand its working groups are well developed, withpreliminary conclusions and recommendations,will also allow the Feasibility Study CommitteeInternational Foundation for Electoral Systems 45