8. Policy Recommendations

Acknowledge and respond to public opinion by incorporating public perceptions into operational planning. Recognizing that voters pay more attention to voting and vote counting than to other phases of the election cycle, EMBs should be attentive to how voters’ access to and understanding of these activities may impact their perceptions of elections in general. It is important to access regular public polling data, engage consistently with leading academics and civil society, and use temporary election workers and local election authorities to understand what voters are worried about and what they feel confident about when it comes to electoral processes.

Introduce electoral reforms with great care, after wide consultation and planning for accidental errors and with as much political consensus as possible. EMBs (and legislators) should carefully consider the costs and benefits—and especially the possible unintended consequences and political impacts on perceptions—of reforms, especially (but not only) those that will impact voting and vote counting. This need for careful consideration applies to any reform, including but not limited to electoral system design, voting methods, voter registration and identification requirements, ballot paper design, boundaries, polling dates. Whatever may be gained in time and efficiency could be lost in public faith, especially where there is unease or suspicion about change or a high risk of mistakes during the initial roll-out because of unfamiliarity. The introduction of reforms or changes to the electoral process should include careful selection, targeted and inclusive consultations, pilot studies and trust building anchored in each society’s values and context.

Prioritize consistent and meaningful communication with the public. Given voters’ heightened sensitivity to and awareness of the voting process, it is important for EMBs and donors to work within well-established, broad ecosystems of partners (including civil society organizations, media, the courts and others) that devote more resources and attention to comprehensive and consistent communications with the public. Communication strategies should span the electoral cycle so that the public becomes more familiar with the EMB, which can reinforce public trust. Such strategies should include but not be limited to providing focused information on the voting process and the vote-counting rules and regulations, with evidence-backed explanations of what kinds and numbers of errors are considered serious or not (and why). As the public becomes increasingly able to understand the practicalities and complexities of voting and vote counting, it is important that it also becomes more knowledgeable about what is and is not a serious or urgent problem.

Such strategies should prioritize regular communication that emphasizes how and why other parts of the electoral cycle that are more indirectly related to voting contribute to credible elections. Ensuring that voters have a deeper understanding of the electoral process as a whole could motivate them to push for long-needed reforms to problem areas, such as campaign finance and campaign media.

Respond vigilantly to unfounded accusations that seek to harm people’s perceptions of electoral integrity. Institutions with the authority to deal with libellous statements should make it clear that there will be consequences for those who make accusations that seek to harm perceptions of electoral integrity without credible evidence. Additionally, news media should take up such accusations and inform the public about the extent to which such accusations are factual.

Create increased regional and international capacity devoted to rigorous research, reflection and learning throughout the electoral cycle, with a special emphasis on public perceptions. Given the heightened uncertainty surrounding the integrity of electoral processes around the world, International IDEA reiterates its previous recommendation that the UN and/or regional bodies should consider creating a special rapporteur on the credibility of electoral processes.

Such a rapporteur could focus on specific phases or aspects of the electoral cycle (e.g. the independence of EMBs) or on the cycle in its entirety. Such a position could be similar to current initiatives supporting the independence of judges or freedom of opinion or expression (International IDEA 2023a). The forthcoming Model Commitments for Advancing Genuine and Credible Elections may be used as a framework for structuring the mandate of such a rapporteur.

In addition to an international special rapporteur, EMBs and NGOs or national or domestic election observation groups should work together to consider creating specialized bodies, such as an ombudsperson for elections who is embedded in the electoral process as a permanent, independent observer and liaison who can regularly issue updates to the public on the credibility of various phases of the electoral cycle.

Integrate public opinion information more systematically into research and preparation. Election observer missions should integrate public opinion information into their assessments. Analysis of the public’s views on electoral integrity throughout the electoral cycle may promote a greater understanding of the risks presented to post-election stability and to the ultimate legitimacy of a new government. Relying solely on the views of EMBs, experts and civil society may result in a skewed picture of the election environment and may miss out on key information related to people’s (mis)understanding of elections. Such information may help authorities prepare to address public doubts or questions and pre-empt post-election instability.

Support more research on both the reality and range of perceptions of electoral management. Examples of questions that merit greater attention include the following:
How do different special voting arrangements impact public confidence in electoral integrity?

— How do fake election observation missions impact domestic and international public opinion of electoral integrity?

— What is the relationship between election observer findings and public perceptions of electoral integrity, and how (if at all) do experts integrate these findings into their assessments

— In what ways does election violence impact people’s perceptions of electoral integrity?

— How and to what extent does election-related disinformation impact voters’ and electoral authorities’ behaviour? How do such changes in behaviour impact electoral integrity? What are the impacts of pre-bunking, and what can be done to strengthen this mitigation measure?