Political parties compete. Voter education is assumed to be a neutral or nonpartisan activity. So there is often a general operating assumption that voter education has nothing to do with political parties. This is incorrect on two counts. First, individuals and groups of individuals learn a great deal about elections and about democracy from their interactions with government and their political experiences. Second, parties have a selfish interest in getting to voters and, therefore, can be a cost-effective conduit for ensuring that voters get the necessary information they require in order to exercise their vote. So political parties, their supporters, campaign offices, and general staff are, in fact, potential educators. The voter educator's task is to manage this inevitable and important resource in ways that benefit citizens.
Ensure Parties Have Accurate Information
Political parties have an interest in making sure that their supporters get to the right voting site at the right time and cast their ballot so that it is counted. They may not be interested in giving this information to people who do not support them, but those people may be approached by other political parties. So educators will want to develop strategies to make sure that all political parties have accurate information about the election process at their disposal.
This is not the only information that parties have an interest in conveying accurately. All parties will want their supporters to know:
- rules that other parties may violate
- how to check and assess the voters list
- what could cause disqualification as a candidate and/ or as a voter
- where and how to lodge a complaint or file an appeal and
- what needs to be monitored during the campaign period, on Election Day, and in the immediate post-election period
In order to do this, political parties will want to develop an in-depth understanding of all laws and regulations governing campaign and election processes. They will want to pass this knowledge to their members and supporters.
There may be some political parties that have an interest in keeping people ignorant of their constitutional and legal rights, about the electoral process, and about democratic practices. Nonetheless, broad-based voter education that is both accurate and empowering will be in the interests of some if not all political parties.
Do not Entirely Leave Voter Education to the Parties
There are some who consider getting voters out to vote (i.e., basic voter information and motivation) to be an activity that is entirely the responsibility of political parties. Indeed, this is the tradition in many developed democracies. The election management authority may have no role in getting voters out to vote. Their responsibilities stop with the provision of information about where, when, and how to vote.
There are, however some very good reasons, why voter education should not be entirely left up to political parties and why neutral, nonpartisan programmes are essential. Parties may have limited capacity. Or, especially in transitional societies, the resources and abilities of political parties will be unbalanced. This is typically referred to as an "uneven playing field". Under such circumstances, parties in power or those that inherited the spoils of a one-party system may have a better grassroots network through which to disseminate information. There may be no party formation amongst significant parts of the population. Or, the situation may be so polarised that the collaborative nature of election politics has not been understood either by parties or by citizens. In this case, some trustworthy source may be necessary against which to judge the information being received from the parties. As election campaigns become more expensive and targeting more sophisticated, many potential voters are simply ignored by political parties. Beyond the fact that certain people will not be reached by the contestants, there will likely be information that parties do not want to convey. So nonpartisan programmes have to supply this information.
Ensuring that Parties Provide Positive Lessons
Monitoring of party conduct and the development of good behaviour through legislation, regulation, rewards and punishments may not seem to be an educational task. But it is. It can be done either by the election authority itself (and certainly some aspects will be the responsibility of election monitors, tribunals, and courts), or it can be done by citizen groups with adequate training. Or it can be done by party agents, again with adequate training. It may also be possible to include it in general public voter education information about the roles of parties during elections and the mechanisms by which they can be held accountable for their actions. Equipped with such information, even individual citizens can assist in keeping parties honest. This honesty then supports the voter education programme, and any broader civic education programmes, by developing voter trust in democracy and increasing commitment to electoral politics.
