LESSONS ON THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN ELECTIONS Conclusion – What Do These Select Cases Tell Us About Election Technology? Despite a diversity of jurisdictions, powers of the court, and types of election technology used, judges have faced similar challenges when considering the verifiability, accuracy, or transparency of technology and its impact on election processes and outcomes. While technology is constantly evolving, we can draw the following lessons for EMBs, courts, litigants, and other stakeholders: 1. Transparency in the use of technology and the related EDR process by both EMB and the courts is essential to ensure confidence in the election process as whole. Given that public trust can be severely undermined by poor understanding of election technology, it is vital that there is maximum transparency around both election technology and the dispute resolution process. This requires the EMB to communicate as much information as possible to all stakeholders about the technology in use at all stages of an election. This includes transparency in the design of election technology and in its implementation. 82 Public trust in elections also depends on court processes being as open and transparent as possible. In election petitions, courts should ensure openness of their hearings and of any court-ordered audit or scrutiny. 83 “Transparency is critical to legitimacy of the election process. In light of suspicion around the use of technology, it is extremely important that we engage early in training with EMBs, otherwise citizens will become suspicious close to the elections.” 2. Justice Lillian Tibatemwa, Uganda Supreme Court 84 It is essential to build a good understanding among electoral judges, judicial officers, and all stakeholders of election technology in use and improve EMB-judicial collaboration well in advance of elections. Effective training and awareness-raising of all electoral stakeholders is paramount to ensuring a good understanding of technology used in elections. EMBs should share information with courts and tribunals about the technicalities of systems being used in the elections. When judges have a good understanding of the technology, they are more able to deal effectively with disputes involving that technology. In addition, election technology is usually used in conjunction with paper-based records, and judicial officials must be adequately prepared to physically receive, store, retrieve, and return significant volumes of election material that may be used as evidence, while ensuring such materials (and the chain of custody) are protected. Judges must also ensure that remedies they order are suited to the operational realities faced by EMBs and to the timing of the election process. In terms of effective training of For example, by ensuring sufficient access to observers, publishing reports of audit exercises, and by conducting a public simulation of an electronic results management system prior to Election Day. 83 During the Africa Electoral Jurisprudence Network meeting in July 2022, judges present all agreed on the importance of training and called for cooperation with EMBs on this issue. 84 Africa Electoral Jurisprudence Network Meeting, Lilongwe Malawi, July 19-20, 2022. 82 28