What is the purpose of election observation?
Election observation is a key part of the electoral process by which politically independent observers assess elections across the whole electoral cycle in order to identify areas for improvement. Observers act as the public’s eyes and ears inside polling stations, counting centres, postal vote openings, and through desk based research, collecting data to analyse the security and accessibility of electoral processes. The Copenhagen Document, signed by members of the Organisation for Security & Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 1990, of which the United Kingdom is a participating state, stated that nations agree that both domestic and international observation ‘can enhance the electoral process for States in which elections are taking place’.
How does Democracy Volunteers fit into this?
Democracy Volunteers are a domestic election observation organisation, founded in 2016 to assess electoral processes. We are the largest domestic observation group in Western Europe and have observed in over a dozen countries over the past decade, providing recommendations for improvements and working with electoral commissions, local authorities, and national governments to improve election quality. In the United Kingdom, we have observed many elections, from General Elections all the way to small local council by-elections, and have hundreds of officially accredited observers registered with the Electoral Commission. Our data collection and analysis has led to us providing unique data supporting the passing of the Ballot Secrecy Act, worked with local councils to improve local election administration, submitted data to APPGs and select committees, and given evidence at the Council of Europe. We are an active member of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM).
Who are our observers?
Our observers are a diverse group of individuals from across the world. Those who observe elections with us range from former ambassadors, journalists and academics to students, election administrators and others who are interested in improving election integrity in the UK. Many have observed extensively around the world with organisations such as the OSCE, European Union, African Union, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and others. We always ensure our observations are open to those without previous experience, in order to train and give experience to the next generation of election observers. All of our observers are non-partisan and are not members of political parties in the country in which they are observing. Observers act as volunteers and are not paid for taking part in our election observation missions.
What methodology do you follow?
During our observations we follow both international best practice for election observation, based upon handbooks and guidance issued by the OSCE/ODIHR and others, and the UK’s Electoral Commission’s Code of Practice and associated Guidance. On polling day we deploy observers in pairs, following the ‘four eyes’ principle to ensure data is accurate, who attend between 10 and 15 polling stations for between 30 and 45 minutes each. These mobile teams collect data on a range of issues concerning electoral integrity and then report back their findings to a central team. At most nationwide elections, we deploy around 200 observers in this fashion making up 100 teams. They do not interfere in the electoral process and always introduce themselves to Presiding Officers on their arrival at polling stations. Their assessments are made in a non-partisan fashion and, as of April 2026, ‘significant’ issues are raised directly with Presiding Officers when possible, following the Electoral Commission’s new Code of Practice and Guidelines. These polling day findings are then combined with our longer term research on other areas of the electoral cycle. As a member of GNDEM all of our observers abide by their Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organisations.
What training do we give observers?
All of our observers, both experienced and those new to observation, receive extensive training prior to their deployment. This is delivered through both online and face to face methods and is updated for each election and when new legislation is passed that will impact the electoral process. All prospective observers submit a CV which is assessed by our central team, before having an interview with those leading the relevant observation. If selected, they sign both the Electoral Commission’s Code of Practice and our own internal Code, before they are officially accredited with the Electoral Commission. We then deliver our online training course, which takes approximately 3 hours to complete and covers areas such as the legal basis for election observation, the structure of the wider mission, and the polling process and areas we will be collecting data on. This course is supplemented by a one hour training seminar, before a final half-day pre-deployment briefing which covers the survey we use to collect data, relevant local information (such as devolved matters or election trials), and the logistics of each observer teams polling day. Each team has ongoing support through polling day and is issued with election materials with FAQs. Regarding our long term observations, key core team members meet regularly during the mission and conduct activities such as holding meetings with key interlocutors and informing the wider mission on their areas of expertise.
What standards do you assess elections by?
Throughout our observations our goal is to assess the quality of an election against both its holding being in line with domestic legislation and being in line with international best practices. In advance of polling day domestic legislation, particularly any recent changes, are assessed and data is collected to understand the extent to which they have been followed. In addition to this, our team identifies the extent to which elections are meeting international benchmarks, such as the Venice Commission’s Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, the commitments made in the Copenhagen Document 1990, Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and others. In some areas, for example prisoners voting rights, whilst domestic law may be followed, these wider agreements are not. In addition to these standards, we also seek to identify recommendations that could help improve administration and the voter experience.
How do you report your findings?
Following a nationwide polling day, our Final Report is issued 4-6 weeks after election day. This allows the team to gain qualitative feedback from observer teams and ensure the data collected is accurate (for example so that duplicate responses can be removed) before data analysis. Final Reports display the main findings of short-term observers from polling day and sections on other parts of the electoral cycle that have been assessed by our long term work, which differ depending on the country being observed and the election taking place. Each report concludes with a series of recommendations based on our findings and is given to our interlocutors and made available on our website.
How do we define ‘Family Voting’?
So-called ‘Family Voting’ is one of the issues that our polling station observers collect data on in our observations, both in the UK and across Europe and North America. ‘Family voting’, as it is generally called internationally, is when one person directs another’s vote, two people enter a polling booth together or one oversees the behaviour of another so that they know their voting choice. All three of these are a breach of the secret ballot. Democracy Volunteers has used this standard for several years. This does not include where a voter is given assistance due to a disability or old age and cannot mark their ballot independently as this is preceded by the relevant documentation being signed and agreed with polling staff. It also does not include situations where two voters talk to each other in the polling station but then vote independently. We have observed this across many countries and in many constituencies, removing the rights to a secret ballot, a key safeguard for electoral integrity, for voters.
In 2023, our data was used in debates during the passing of the Ballot Secrecy Act, which created an offence for influencing or attempting to influence a voter in a polling booth. Due to this, we now record two separate figures for this practice; Firstly, all cases where the secrecy of the ballot is compromised, and secondly where our observers believe there was a high probability of influence being exerted, such as prolonged discussion and disagreement between voters, or whereby one voter physically takes a ballot from another to mark – which is considered a breach of the 2023 Act.
How are you financed?
Democracy Volunteers receive funding from both the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust and from kind donations from our observers. All of our previous funders can be found on the ‘Finance’ page of our website. Democracy Volunteers do not accept any finance from any political party or government. All of our previous accounts can be found on Companies House.
Are you the Electoral Commission?
No, we are not the Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commission is an independent body, accountable to parliament, which regulates elections in the UK. Following the passage of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, the Commission is responsible for the running of the election observation scheme in the UK and Democracy Volunteers is an accredited organisation within this scheme. All of our observers are accredited through the electoral commission and follow their Code of Practice and associated guidance, but are not employees or act in their name.
Aren’t UK elections perfect?
Elections in the UK are generally very well run and well trusted. However, as an organisation we believe that there is always room for improvement in every country we observe in, and our aim is to provide data and analysis to ensure that our elections continue to be held with high levels of integrity. It is for this reason that we collect and report on data which is rarely evidence of electoral fraud, but instead seeks to provide recommendations to improve processes in electoral administration for those who deliver elections, highlight strengths and weaknesses of new policies and demonstrate their impacts on voters, and recommend steps that could improve both the security and accessibility of elections.
What do you look for in polling stations?
This depends on which country we are observing. Other countries have different laws for example in The Netherlands proxy voting is allowed on polling day by a voter simply signing the back of their polling card and someone else voting for them.
In the UK, as well as other countries, we observe all sorts of things – these range from aspects of the voting process that might affect those with disabilities, such as access to the polling station and available equipment to mitigate the voting process to things such as whether the ballot box is properly sealed.