Avoiding Voter Registration Fraud
Waxa qoray: Dr. Shacabi

Because voter registration is one of the places where it is possible to manipulate the election results, special attention should be taken to ensure that the voter registration list is accurate and reliable. An accurate list means that all eligible voters are registered, that they are only listed once, and that the list only includes eligible persons. Creating and maintaining an accurate voter registration list requires close monitoring and multiple checks and balances. These include keeping the registries up to date, eliminating duplicate registrations and voters who are no longer resident in that electoral district. Enforcement of anti-fraud and voter registration laws is also important. It deters future fraud as well as ensures that persons who have broken the law are held accountable for their actions.

Ensuring only eligible voters register:

Some political parties and candidates go to great lengths to ensure their supporters are included on the voter registration list. As a result, they can provide incentives for their supporters to register, such as transportation to registration sites, or promises of benefits for the area once the candidate wins and is in office. However, when parties and candidates transport citizens to register in other electoral districts or bring in ineligible persons to register, serious integrity issues can arise. To avoid this out-of-area registration problem. Some persons may try to register who are not citizens or who are under-aged. Some persons may try to get multiple cards. They may either register as themselves in multiple locations, or use aliases. However, if proving identity becomes so burdensome that it deters potential voters from registering, this can become an integrity issue. This can be avoided by requiring documents that are easily available, such as a national ID card, birth certificate or passport. 

Ensuring the integrity and accuracy of voter registration cards and registries

In most systems there is a list of registered voters which is used on polling day to determine who can vote. Usually, as only those persons who are listed on the registry can vote, the list must be accurate and protected against tampering. The voter must produce their card at the polls in order to vote. As voter cards are used as an integrity mechanism, the cards usually include security features to deter forgeries and unauthorized duplication or use. These security features include serial numbers so that electoral managers can track the cards, and in cases where registration fraud has been a major problem, water marks or special paper can be used to make the cards more difficult to duplicate. Voter registries include serial numbers so that the electoral authorities can track the registers and know if any are missing. They are made in duplicate or triplicates so that the local election office can maintain a copy while the regional or national office can also have a copy. This can deter internal tampering, such as adding names or deleting them, as it would be hard to ensure changes were made to every copy. Registration lists are also usually posted in a public place so that citizens, political parties and monitors can check the names on the list. A period of time is usually allowed in the electoral calendar for corrections to be made to the registration lists so that mistakes can be corrected and ineligible names eliminated.Registers must also be accurate and up to date. Specific standards were set in the electoral law to make registers more difficult to duplicate, as well as standards for storage and destruction of spoiled cards and registers. During registration, political parties sign the voters' cards to validate them, and the thumbprint of the voter is placed on each card during voting to avoid multiple voting.

Monitoring

Monitoring voter registration and the use of the cards during polling provides a check on the distribution and use of the cards. Domestic and international observers who observe the process, and political party monitors who can question the process, act to expose problems and serve as a deterrent to fraudulent registration and use of the cards.  The best way to deter some widespread types of fraud and manipulation that take place during voter registration and on polling day is by ensuring the presence of large number of both independent and party observers present in every instance in which voters are registered and in each polling station.Individual citizens can also act as monitors and help ensure a clean registry. They can look at the posted registration lists and challenge registration of persons they feel are not eligible. 

Enforcing registration laws

Enforcement of registration regulations and the anti-fraud provisions in the election law are essential checks on a clean and accurate voter registration. In almost every electoral system, it is illegal to tamper with the voter registration process and voter registries. Violations of these laws are usually dealt with through the legal system- which in most fraud cases is the criminal justice system.


Best Luck to all three Somaliland Political Parties,

Dr. Shacabi
Email: Shacabi@yahoo.com