Key Considerations: Voter Education and Information

Last updated on December 17, 2013

For Implementing Bodies 

  • Has a comprehensive plan for educating and informing voters about the new technologies been developed and have sufficient resources been allocated to conduct voter education and information activities?
  • Does the public outreach strategy include detailed information about how to vote as well as how the overall system works?
  • Have strategies been developed for how to react to stakeholder comments or media stories about the voting and counting technology?
  • Is a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) available for reference to election commissioners, senior managers and public relations personnel that include responses to common and often-repeated criticisms of electronic voting machines?
  • Are opportunities available for the public to engage with the new voting equipment in person in the pre-election period?
  • Are targeted efforts in place to address voter education for specific populations such as the elderly, minority ethnic/language groups, and youth? 
  • Is voter information available at polling stations?
  • Are polling officials sufficiently prepared to answer any questions about the voting machines?

For Oversight Actors

  • Has the EMB developed a comprehensive plan for voter education, including sufficient time and resource allocation?
  • Does the EMB strategy for voter education identify target audiences and incorporate a variety of media sources and other mediums through which those target audiences commonly consume information?
  • Has the EMB provided opportunities for citizens to engage with the new voting equipment in person?
  • Has the EMB made extra efforts to engage target groups, such as the elderly and disabled, via specialized voter education messages and campaigns? Have voters from minority language groups received voter information in their language?
  • Have civil society groups actively engaged in voter education efforts themselves, and have they received the necessary technical information on the new technologies from the EMB to produce effective voter education materials?
  • Have civil society assessed the adequacy and effectiveness of EMB public outreach efforts?  Has any public opinion polling been conducted to gauge the readiness of voters?
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