Elections

&
Voting
 Election
 An election is a formal decision-making process by
which a population chooses an individual or multiple
individuals to hold public office.
 Elections have been the usual mechanism by which
modern representative democracy has operated.
 Although dating back to Ancient Roman era, modern
elections can be traced since 1920 after which most
European & North American states granted adult
suffrage.

 Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes

in the executive, and for regional and local government.
 Terminology
 Suffrage: the right to vote in a country’s elections. In
Australia, Aboriginal people were not given the right to
vote until 1962.
 Franchise: the right to vote in a country’s elections

 Disenfranchise: to take away the right to vote

 Electorate: all eligible voters

 Mandate: A command, indicated by an electorate’s
voters, for the elected officials to carry out their
platforms
 Voter Turnout: Number of voters in an election.
 Universal Adult Franchise
In an elections system, when all the adult members of
a country’s population can cast their vote without any
distinction of gender, religion, socio-economic status,
race and so on.
For example, women suffrage started in Afghanistan in
1965; Australia 1902, 1962 (for aboriginal pop.),
Pakistan & India 1947;
Switzerland 1971
UK 1918 (partial-property/Uni. degree) 1928 (full)
USA 1965 (Full)
 Compulsory voting
Compulsory voting, also called mandatory
voting, is the requirement in some countries that
eligible citizens register and vote in elections.
Some countries impose fines on their citizens for
not casting their vote during elections.

Australia, Luxemburg, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and

Belgium have compulsory voting.
 The Electoral Cycle

Verification of Results Electoral Planning &

Implementation
Electoral
Cycle
Voting Operations & Election Day
Training & Education
 The Electoral Cycle
Sustainable electoral support
3 main segments
post-election
period (strategy)

POST LEGAL
ELECTION FRAMEWORK

VERIFICATION PLANNING &

OF RESULTS IMPLEMENTATION
Electoral pre-election
VOTING Cycle
election period
OPERATIONS &
ELECTION DAY
TRAINING &
EDUCATION
period
(preparations)
(operations)
ELECTORAL REGISTRATION
CAMPAIGN & NOMINATIONS
 reform constitution
evaluations electoral legislation
system
development electoral security
tabulation of results bodies budgeting
Post-election Legal resource planning
complaints & appeals Framework & implementation
funding &
Verification of Electoral financing
official results Results Planning &
Implementation calendar/
Electoral timeline

Voting Cycle
Training &
vote-counting Operations &
Election Day Education
election officials

voting Electoral Voter

civic & voter
Campaign Registration education
media voters
party
parties &
complaints liaison candidates
observers
 Key stakeholders and partners
• Government (Local Govt. • International
relevant Ministries, Police, community/funding
Bureau of statistics, etc.) partners/donors
• Constitutional • Technical experts /
Commissions (Election consultants
Commission of Pakistan)
• Non-Governmental and
• Parliament Civil Society Organisations
• Governmental and (NGOs/CSOs)
intergovernmental
organisations (UN). • Media,
• Political parties,
• Voters, etc.
 Purposes of Elections
• Regular free elections
– guarantee mass political action
– enable citizens to influence the actions of their
government
• Popular election confers on a government
the legitimacy that it can achieve no other
way
• Regular elections also ensure that
government is accountable to the people it
serves
 Types of Elections
• General elections: In which voters decide which
candidates will actually fill elective public offices, it
is held at many levels, and there is contest between
the candidates of opposing parties
• Provincial/state elections
• Presidential Election: Elections for the president
under presidential
• Referendum: An election whereby the government
submits proposed legislation to the voters for
approval
• Local government elections
 Plebiscite
Plebiscites are elections held to decide two
paramount types of political issues: government
legitimacy and the nationality of territories
contested between governments. Plebiscites of
this nature are thought to establish a direct link
between the rulers and the ruled; intermediaries
such as political parties are bypassed. Examples:
the proposed plebiscite in Kashmir.
 Voting
the activity of choosing someone or something in an
election Cambridge Online Dictionary
Voting is a fundamental process in a democratic
system. It is a chance for the citizens of a
country to have a say in the people who
represent them, or an issue that impacts them.
Informed voting and participating in elections is
one of the responsibilities of citizens.
The voting process is fairly straightforward.
Eligible citizens register to vote,
They study the candidates and issues,
They look up their polling location,
They cast their vote on a particular day
 Voting: Basic principles
1. Voter’s choice: an unchallengeable secret, sacred
2. Each eligible voter to vote only once, and only for those
offices in which the voter is authorized to cast a vote.
3. No tampering with voting system, nor the exchange of
gold for votes
4. Votes should be counted and noted.
5. Voting system remains operable throughout each
election.
6. Efforts to avoid any kind of rigging
 Voter Eligibility
Factors that are used to determine voter
eligibility

 Universal suffrage
 Citizenship
 Age
 Residence
 Voter Registration
 “Secret Ballot” Principle
• Voters cast their votes secretly without providing
a clue whom they voted for.
• To prevent “Improper influence,” such as vote
selling and various kinds of coercion
 Voting Behavior

• Conventional political participation

– Political participation that attempts to influence the
political process through well-accepted, often
moderate forms of persuasion
• Unconventional political participation
– Political participation that attempts to influence the
political process through unusual or extreme
measures, such as protests, boycotts
 Does Low Turnout Matter?
• Some argue it is a not a critical problem
– Based on belief that preferences of nonvoters are not
much different from those who do vote
– So…results would be the same regardless
– Nonvoting is voluntary
– Nonvoting driven by acceptance of the status quo

• Others believe it is a problem

– Voters do not represent nonvoters
– Social make-up and attitudes of nonvoters today are
significantly different from those of voters
– Non-voters tend to be low income, younger, blue
collar, less educated and more heavily minority
 Causes of Low Voter Turnout
1) Unsatisfied with political system
2) Belief that outcomes of elections won’t affect
them
3) Distrust of political process: "my vote doesn’t
matter”
4) Extreme weather
5) Laziness
6) Ballot fatigue
7) Lack of candidate competition
 Factors Affecting Voter Turn-Out
Voters Nonvoters
 More likely to be superior
Most likely under 30
– Socially
– Economically Unmarried
– Educationally Unskilled
 Active in communities Live in rural area
 High political efficacy
 Experience few cross-
pressures

The greater degree of candidate competition can

produce higher voter turnout.
 Sources/Suggested readings

• https://www.britannica.com/topic/election-political-science
• https://aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/es/onePage
• https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/company/voting/voting-meaning-
importance-and-types-company-management/75172
• https://www.ecp.gov.pk/