Last updated on December 17, 2013

Electronic voting and counting systems result in implementing elections in very different ways than traditional paper-based systems. These differences may have many benefits to offer in the conduct of elections, but they can also carry many disadvantages.⁵ The importance attached to the benefits vis-à-vis the challenges of using such technologies will vary from country to country. These country-specific circumstances will have a significant impact on the overall feasibility and desirability of using electronic voting and counting technologies. 

Even if the use of such technology is both technically feasible and desirable, it needs to be sustainable in the long run. There are a number of contributing factors to the long-term sustainability of implementing electronic voting and counting, including financial aspects, project management and staffing arrangements.

The implementation of electronic voting or counting systems is usually an expensive exercise. Estimating the full cost of implementing the systems is not as easy as it may first seem, and the costs involved go far beyond just the procurement of voting or counting machines. Such additional costs include ongoing supplier support for contracts; management facilities for central/local tabulation of results; special booths/stands for voting machines; securing environmentally-controlled storage; maintenance and repair; replacement for expired equipment; consumables, such as ink cartridges and paper; testing and certification; specialized staff/technicians required to configure; testing and support for the technology; and voter and stakeholder education costs.

While a significant component of these costs is involved in the initial investment, there are many ongoing costs that need to be covered. A full appreciation of the costs involved over the life cycle of the electronic voting and counting machines needs to be factored into the estimate of financial sustainability for the technology. This is especially the case where a donor might be assisting a country in piloting or implementing a voting or counting system. The EMB needs to be confident it can provide the finances to continue implementation of the technology in absence of donor support.

From a project management perspective, the implementation of an electronic voting and counting technology project is complex, even if only for a small pilot project. The EMB will need to coordinate a range of tasks to implement the project, including procurement, logistics, procedural development, training, voter education, testing and IT configuration and support.

Not only will implementing the technology require special project management skills, it will require sufficient resources. The temptation to add management responsibilities to existing staff duties must be avoided, or the implementation of the technology will be at risk for poor management and could prove unsuccessful.

Another aspect of managing a technology project of this nature is that the transition from one system (e.g. paper-based elections) to another (e.g. electronic voting) needs to be executed effectively. Staff at all levels of the EMB, including polling and counting staff, will need to be properly trained in the new system and adequate support provided as they begin to use the technology. Political parties, candidates, media and observers will need to be educated about how the electronic voting or counting technology works, and the opportunities they have for oversight. Finally, and most importantly, voters will have to be informed about the use of technology and the ways in which it will affect their interaction with the electoral process.

The use of electronic voting and counting technologies also changes the skill sets required by some EMB and temporary staff conducting polling and counting. If polling and counting staff are to be able to set up voting or counting machines and deal with common problems encountered with these machines, then it may make it significantly more difficult in some places to recruit sufficiently qualified staff. Technical staff will also need to be hired by the EMB to provide support for less common faults with the technology. To be useful on Election Day, technical staff should be deployed nationwide to respond quickly to problems. Such resources may be difficult to recruit in some places. 

Suppliers of electronic voting or counting technologies may be willing to assist with the challenge of recruiting qualified technical staff by providing staff themselves. When such assistance is provided by a supplier, the EMB must be careful that it does not effectively cede control of key parts of the electoral process to the supplier (addressed below in the section on accountability). While this support may often be provided in the interest of implementing the project successfully, it represents an abdication of responsibility on the part of the EMB and creates an unhealthy dependency on the supplier. It also indicates a lack of sustainability in the use of the voting or counting technology. This lack of sustainability is not insurmountable, but it must be recognized and addressed.

All of these challenges to sustainability need to be carefully deliberated by any EMB and other stakeholders involved in making important public policy decisions concerning the use of these technologies.

^{5 For more detailed information on this topic, please refer to the following sections in Part 2: Decision in Principle; and Recruitment and Training of Personnel.}

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