Election Committee

The election committee is responsible for organizing elections in various institutions such as companies, cooperatives, associations, and societies. Committee members are usually appointed and consist of an election administrator as well as other officers who help supervise election along the way. The election committee is also responsible for delivering the result of the election to the board, their members and their electorate. There are specific regulations about appointment procedures as well as the responsibilities of the election committee. Regulations are determined in institutional bylaws, statutes or the established constitution.

The composition of the election committee

The election committee is the highest election body for all elections. In order to manage the complex requirements of a legally watertight election, the election committee consists of a number of different positions with large degrees of responsibility.

Election committee structure

• Election Administrator
• Deputy/Vice Election Administrator
• Secretary
• Deputy/Vice Secretary
• Election Observers (The number of assessors varies depending on the electoral regulations)

Regulatory guidelines about the structure of the election committee can be found in the electoral regulations or statute.

Responsibilities of the election committee

Members of the election committee assume responsibility for different parts of the election process according to their position within the committee. Hereafter, some examples for the distribution of tasks are listed.

Tasks undertaken by the election administrator
The election official/election administrator checks voter eligibility, manages the electoral roll and is responsible for voter communication. The election official/election administrator must ensure the election process is legally watertight and is the highest supervisory authority of the process. They are also responsible for announcing the electoral results.

Tasks undertaken by the secretary
The secretary is responsible for the authentication of eligible voters. In addition, he or she documents the voting process to ensure nobody votes twice. He also documents the counting of votes and draws up the final record of votes.

Tasks undertaken by the Observers
Election assessors serve as election volunteers and hand out ballot papers. They supervise proceedings at the polling stations and at the voting booths. Additionally, they conduct the counting of votes.