PROPOSAL FOR A NEW FIELD OF TECHNICAL ACTIVITY
Closing date for voting:

Reference number(to be given by Central Secretariat)

Proposer

ISO/TS/P

Circulation date:

INTECOA proposal for a new field of technical activity shall be submitted to the Central Secretariat, which will assign it a reference number
and process the proposal in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives (part 1, subclause 1.5). The proposer may be a member
body of ISO, a technical committee or subcommittee, the Technical Management Board or a General Assembly committee, theSecretary-General, a body responsible for managing a certification system operating under the auspices of ISO, or anotherinternational organization with national body membership. Guidelines for proposing and justifying a new field of technical activity
are given in the ISO/IEC Directives (part 1, Annex C).
The proposal (to be completed by the proposer)
Title of the proposed new committee (The title shall indicate clearly yet concisely the new field of technical activity
which the proposal is intended to cover.)Electoral Administration
Scope statement of the proposed new committee (The scope shall precisely define the limits of the field of activity.
Scopes shall not repeat general aims and principles governing the work of the organization but shall indicate thespecific area concerned.)Standardization in the field of electoral administration and management, including, but not limited to, the registration ofelectors, the registration of political organizations and candidates, electoral logistics and planning, vote casting, votecounting and declaration of results, citizenship electoral education, oversight of campaign financing, electronic voting
systems, electoral crimes and jurisprudence, electoral observation and methodologies, as well as any other aspects related
to the organization of an electoral process. See Annex 1

Proposed initial programme of work (The proposed programme of work shall correspond to and clearly reflect theaims of the standardization activities and shall, therefore, show the relationship between the subject proposed.
Each item on the programme of work shall be defined by both the subject aspect(s) to be standardized (forproducts, for example, the items would be the types of products, characteristics, other requirements, data to besupplied, test methods, etc.). Supplementary justification may be combined with particular items in the programmeof work. The proposed programme of work shall also suggest priorities and target dates.
1) Revision and approval as international standard of ISO/TS 17582, Quality management systems - Particularrequirements for application of ISO 9001:2008 for electoral organizations at all levels of government. This technicalspecification applies quality management principles to the administration of elections, and will be subject to a vote to betransformed into an International Standard prior to February 14th, 2017. The committee will work to make the necessary
adjustments to ISO/TS 17582, based on user feedback and the expertise of TC members, to secure its approval as an
International Standard.
The technical committee will also be involved the development of other standards (see Annex 1). The exact contact ofthese standards will be determined based on market demand and the interest of TC members. Such deliverables will
provide guidance on the design and implementation of specific electoral and support processes that contribute to theactive and informed participation of voters as well as increased voter confidence in these processes.
Indication(s) of the preferred type or types of deliverable(s) to be produced under the proposal (This may be
combined with the "Proposed initial programme of work" if more convenient.)
In light of the demand by electoral bodies worldwide for requirements standards, and the demonstrably positive effects ofdemonstration of conformity on public confidence in electoral processes, the committee will focus primarily on international
standards. The aim of the committee will be to promote advances in the standardization of key aspects of the electoral
process in order to strengthen electoral processes of all kinds on a global level.

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A listing of relevant existing documents at the international, regional and national levels. (Any known relevant
document (such as standards and regulations) shall be listed, regardless of their source and should beaccompanied by an indication of their significance.)
ISO/TS 17582:2014 - Quality management systems - Particular requirements for the application of ISO 9001:2008 forelectoral organizations at all levels of government.
ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 and Part 2
ISO Action Plan for Developing Countries 2011-2015
ISO 9001:2008 - Quality management systems -- Requirements
ISO 9000:2005 - Quality management systems - Fundamentals and vocabulary
Venice Commission Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters: Guidelines and Explanatory Report: a document of global
regard that establishes in general terms the principles that should govern any democratic election.
A statement from the proposer as to how the proposed work may relate to or impact on existing work, especiallyexisting ISO and IEC deliverables. (The proposer should explain how the work differs from apparently similar work,
or explain how duplication and conflict will be minimized. If seemingly similar or related work is already in the scopeof other committees of the organization or in other organizations, the proposed scope shall distinguish between the
proposed work and the other work. The proposer shall indicate whether his or her proposal could be dealt with bywidening the scope of an existing committee or by establishing a new committee.)
There are currently no ISO technical committees that specialize in the public sector, or more specifically the standardizationof services provided by governments and government departments. Furthermore, with the exception of ISO/TS 17582, which
will be the initial focus of the new committee and which was originally created under the auspices of ISO TC176 Quality
management and quality assurance (although sector application of ISO 9001 should not be developed in principle within
ISO TC 176), there are no requirements standards that are geared towards key processes of public administration such as
elections. Nonetheless, there is a growing demand for such deliverables from countries across the world, particularly inthose areas in which democracy is being consolidated. Consequently, there is no danger that the work of the committee onelectoral administration will duplicate or create conflict with any other ISO and IEC deliverables. Because the scope of thiscommittee will represent a completely new direction for the technical work of ISO, there is a need to create an environment
to house an entirely new field of technical activity. Likewise, this proposal could not be dealt with by widening the scope ofan existing committee.
A listing of relevant countries where the subject of the proposal is important to their national commercial interests.
Standardization of electoral administration is of national interest to countries in all regions of the world.
Costa Rica, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia and others have expressed their interest in participating actively in thiscommittee.

A listing of relevant external international organizations or internal parties (other ISO and/or IEC committees) to beengaged as liaisons in the development of the deliverable(s). (In order to avoid conflict with, or duplication ofefforts of, other bodies, it is important to indicate all points of possible conflict or overlap. The result of any
communication with other interested bodies shall also be included.)
Organization of American States, Venice Commission, UNIORE, International IDEA, the Carter Center

ISO/TC 176 Quality management and quality assurance

A simple and concise statement identifying and describing relevant affected stakeholder categories (including small
and medium sized enterprises) and how they will each benefit from or be impacted by the proposed deliverable(s).
The standardization work to be carried out but his committee will apply to all organizations involved in any aspect of theelectoral process, at all levels of government as well as any type of electoral process that takes place outside of the sphere ofgovernment. Organizations engaged in electoral administration can be permanent or temporary bodies established in support
of a specific electoral process. Inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations engaged in electoral observation andtechnical assistance will also have a stake in the work of this committee.

An expression of commitment from the proposer to provide the committee secretariat if the proposal succeeds.

INTECO will be the Committee secretariat if the proposal succeeds

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Purpose and justification for the proposal. (The purpose and justification of the standard to be prepared shall bemade clear and the need for standardization of each aspect (such as characteristics) to be included in the standard
shall be justified. Clause C.4.12.1 through C.4.12.10 of Annex C of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 contain a menu ofsuggestions or ideas for possible documentation to support and purpose and justification of proposals. Proposers
should consider these suggestions, but they are not limited to them, nor are they required to comply strictly withthem. What is most important is that proposers develop and provide purpose and justification information that ismost relevant to their proposals and that makes a substantial business case for the market relevance and the needfor their proposals. Thorough, well-developed and robust purpose and justification documentation will lead to more
informed consideration of proposals and ultimately their possible success in the ISO IEC system.)

Please see attached justification document.

Signature of the proposer

Further information to assist with understanding the requirements for the items above can be found in the Directives, Part 1,
Annex C.
Comments of the Secretary-General (to be completed by the Central Secretariat)

Signature

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Annex 1 to TS/P 245

Justification Study
Technical Committee on Electoral
Administration
This Justification Study provides additional information to support the proposal for a new
field of technical activity related to the standardization in the field of electoraladministration and management. Included are details of the objectives and scope of
this new technical committee together with information on: how this field supports the
ISO strategic plans; the impact on affected parties; the value of this new field to suchorganizations; and a summary of identified risks.

1 Purpose
The purpose of this project is to develop a new technical committee that will focus on
standardization in the field of electoral administration and management. Possible
areas of interest include: Registration of electors
 Registration of political organizations and candidates Electoral logistics and planning Vote casting Vote counting and declaration of results
 Citizenship electoral education
 Oversight of campaign financing
 Electronic voting systems
 Electoral crimes and jurisprudence Electoral observation and observation methodologies

2 Objectives
The specific objectives of this Technical Committee are to:a) Establish requirements and guidelines for specific electoral processes that will beapplicable to electoral organizations of all types around the world.
b) Provide guidance on the design and implementation of quality management systems
in electoral authorities, primarily through the revision and strengthening of ISO/TS
17582:2014.
c) Contribute to the active and informed participation of voters in the electoral processes
and increase voter confidence in these processes.
d) Provide a standardized basis for measuring the performance of electoral processes.

3 Scope
This Technical Committee will promote standardization in the field of electoraladministration and management, applicable to an electoral organization that:a) Needs to demonstrate its ability to manage elections and provide for reliable,transparent, free and legitimate results within the established legal framework;b) Aims to enhance the trust and satisfaction of citizens, candidates, politicalorganizations, and other interested parties.
The standards produced by this committee will apply to the election period as well as tothose processes carried out in the time between election periods.
Likewise,standardization activities will be aimed towards all electoral organizations, governmental
and non-governmental, involved in any aspect of the electoral process. Suchorganizations may be of a permanent nature or temporary bodies established in support
of a particular election process. Standards will also be geared towards various types ofbodies involved in the provision of electoral technical assistance or electoral observation.
Specific electoral processes to be addressed by this Technical Committee include, but
are not limited to, those processed addressed by the quality management systemstandard ISO/TS 17582:
a) Registration of electorsb) Registration of political organizations and candidatesc) Electoral logistics and planningd) Vote castinge) Vote counting and declaration of resultsf) Citizenship electoral educationg) Oversight of campaign financing
Other areas of potential interest include, but are not limited to:a) Electronic voting systemsb) Electoral crimes and jurisprudencec) Electoral observation and observation methodologies

4 Background information
4.1 The role of ISO
ISO is committed to creating standards for a sustainable world. Electoral processes thatare more reliable and more transparent are a fundamental element of governable,
sustainable democracies.
ISO is the ideal international institution to develop international standards for electoral
processes:
 ISO is one of the only truly international, non-governmental, rule-making
organizations that offers participation to a range of stakeholders.

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ISO has a high profile around the world, facilitating acceptance of its standards
by national governments as a basis of, or supplement to, their regulations.
ISO standards are voluntary, baseline norms, which can be adopted bygovernments and other types of organizations but which do not prevent theestablishment of more rigorous protections as they see fit.
The ISO development process is a rules-based (i.e., non-arbitrary) system inwhich participants representing government, businesses, and other interests
reach decisions on the basis of the principle of consensus and through which
draft standards are subject to consultation and inputs. Meaningful and balanced
participation of all stakeholders will be essential to standards being perceived as
credible by users and other stakeholders.
ISO standards can be adopted as national standards; this is particularly useful forsmaller and developing countries that can avoid the investment in developing
their own national standards for electoral processes.

4.2 Alignment with ISO Strategic Plan
ISO published the ISO Strategic Plan 2011-2015 – Solutions to Global Challenges in
November 2010 (ISO Strategic Plan). This ISO Strategic Plan outlines the vision for ISO
to be “…the world’s leading provider of high quality, globally relevant International
Standards through its members and stakeholders.”
The ISO Strategic Plan outlines seven key objectives to achieve this vision. In eachcase there is clear alignment between these objectives and this project:
1.
ISO deliverables meet customer needs
 This project is a result of a need identified by the OAS and its Member States, aswell as countries outside the region, for standards addressed specifically toelectoral organizations, to provide a guide for developing countries and help
increase public confidence and participation in electoral processes.
 ISO is the ideal forum for developing such standards given the globally relevant
nature of this work and the capacity for ISO to engage other interested parties.
2.
ISO standards promote innovation and provide solutions to address global
challenges
 This committee will support the improvement of electoral processes
internationally and the subsequent consolidation of democracy in the developingworld and beyond.
 It will promote the improvement of the confidence of citizens, candidates, politicalparties and other electoral stakeholders in electoral processes.
3.
The capacity and participation of developing countries in international
standardization is significantly enhanced
 While all countries stand to benefit from such standards, the initial interest in thecommittee has come from Latin American countries that have recognized thepotential to improve the efficiency of their electoral processes (see Section 4.3,
Alignment with ISO Action Plan for developing countries below).

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The creation of this committee presents an opportunity for ISO to cooperate withgovernments from a number of regions as well as non-governmental institutions
and other international organizations based in the developing world. (see Section
5, Affected Parties below).
ISO excels in reaching out to and engaging stakeholders
This committee will involve the participation of government representatives
through ISO members and intergovernmental organizations (see Section 5,
Affected Parties below).
Engaging government representatives in the development of standards will
demonstrate the value of and clarify the role of the ISO process in support ofpublic policies and as an element of good public governance.

5.
ISO fosters partnerships that further increase the value and efficient developmentof International Standards Close cooperation with inter-governmental organizations and other stakeholders
is essential for the success of this project; efforts to establish these relationships
have already began (see Section 5, Affected Parties below).
6. ISO and its processes are significantly improved There is a clear link between this project and the seven key ISO objectives toachieve the vision laid out in the Strategic Plan.
7. ISO and the value of voluntary International Standards are clearly understood bycustomers, stakeholders and the general public.
 The need and demand for more standards relating to electoral processes was
confirmed through consultation with stakeholders that have experimented with
applying ISO 9001 in electoral organizations, and who have expressed interest in
applying ISO/TS 17582 since its publication.
 The value proposition for this International Standard was developed inconsultation with key stakeholders.

4.3 Alignment with the ISO Action Plan for developing countries
ISO published the ISO Action Plan for Developing Countries 2011-2015 in November
2010 (ISO Action Plan).
The creation of this committee aligns well with a number of the desired outputs
described in this ISO Action Plan.
1. Increased participation in ISO technical work.
 The need for standardization in the field of electoral administration is especiallyapplicable to countries that are currently in the process of democratic
consolidation and have a shorter history of electoral democracy; the largest
future impact of such standards lies with developing countries.

 Though the proposer of the technical committee is Costa Rica, the secretariat
responsibility will be carried out by the OAS.
 This technical committee proposal has been developed with contributions from anumber of international governmental and inter-governmental organizations aswell as by management and certification consultants that have worked with theseorganizations applying ISO 9001 and ISO/TS 17582 to electoral bodies.
2. Capacity built in standardization and related matters for ISO members and theirstakeholders.
 A number of electoral authorities have expressed an interest in participating inthis committee through their national member bodies.
 The standardization of electoral processes is especially important for thosecountries which either do not yet administer their own elections, or are recently
beginning to do so.
3. Awareness improved on the role and benefits of International Standards and their use.
 A number of electoral organizations in developing countries around the world
have experimented using ISO 9001 to drive improvement in their processes.
Beyond these objectives, there will be opportunity to support other ISO objectives
related to strengthening support for the application and implementation ofInternational Standards in developing countries.

5 Affected parties
5.1 Background
This request for the development of this technical committee was received from theelectoral sector and from a group of international organizations, with the aim of revising
ISO/TS 17582:2014 based on user feedback and securing its approval as aninternational standard, as expanding the field of standardization in electoraladministration.

5.2 Relevance to governmental organizations
The scope of this technical committee addresses issues applicable to governmental
electoral organizations as well as any other organizations that administer electoral
processes.
The work of this committee will also be highly relevant to intergovernmental organizations that are engaged in electoral observation or technicalassistance in the electoral field.
The following governmental and inter-governmental organizations have contributed
directly to the preparation of this Study and support the development of this newcommittee.

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Organization of American States, Department for Electoral Cooperation and
Observation

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Argentina, Cámara Nacional Electoral
Costa Rica, Tribunal Supero de Elecciones
Ecuador, Consejo Nacional Electoral
Dominican Republic, Junta Central Electoral
Mexico, Instituto Federal Electoral; and, Comisión Estatal Electoral Nuevo León
Panama, Tribunal Electoral
Peru, Jurado Nacional Electoral; and Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales

Other governmental organizations that may be engaged in this project are listed below.
It is anticipated that some of these organizations will seek liaison status with the newcommittee once the project is initiated and nominate experts to the project.
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African Union
League of Arab States
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR)
Inter-American Union of Electoral Organisms, UNIORE
Venice Commission
International IDEA

5.3 Non-governmental organizations
The scope of this committee is highly relevant to non-governmental organizations
concerned with supporting democratic and electoral processes around the world, as
well as those observe elections and provide cooperation to electoral bodies.
Organizations that may be engaged in this project are listed below. It is anticipated thatsome of these organizations will seek liaison status the committee once projects are
initiated and nominate experts to project Working Groups.
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The Carter Center
International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)
National Democratic Institute (NDI)

5.4 Service providers
The scope of the committee is relevant to service providers that provide certification andadvisory services to electoral organizations and supplier organizations to electoral
organizations.
The following service providers contributed directly to the preparation of ISO/TS 17582
and support the development of this new committee.

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ABS Quality Evaluations, ABS, Costa Rica
Alliance Veritas Register, AVR, Mexico
AJA Registrars, USA
DABEL Consulting, DABEL, Mexico
EQA Certification, International
Instituto de Formación Evaluación y Desarrollo INLAC S.C. (INLAC)
Qualyng Advanced Systems S.C., Mexico

7 Value to electoral organizations
7.1 Value of Electoral Standards
International Standards in the field of elections will support the following objectives
shared by electoral organizations: Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of electoral processes
 Improving quality of service provided by electoral management bodies to citizens,candidates, political parties, and other electoral stakeholders through timely andeffective information flows.
 Enhancing transparency and impartiality of electoral processes.
 Improving the practice of electoral observation and technical assistance
7.1.1 Minimum requirements for sector-specific quality management system
While the framework and application of regulations governing electoral processes varies
from country to country around the world, the common goal remains a reliable
representative democratic process encompassing universal suffrage, transparency, andcredibility.
Establishing the minimum requirements for an electoral sector-specific quality
management system and for specific electoral processes will provide a framework thatelectoral organizations can use to consistently deliver on this goal and reliably meet theapplicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
7.1.2 Guidance and best practices
The experience of applying ISO 9001 to electoral processes also highlights the difficultyof understanding how certain aspects of ISO 9001, and other more generic standards,
apply in the context of an electoral organization. For example:
 Objectives and targets that reflect the performance of electoral organization sothat they might be used to drive corrective actions and improvement
 Identifying and achieving best practices
 Establishing sector-specific terms, definitions and language
By providing specific guidance on these aspects, the International Standards producedby the proposed committee will ensure that all guidelines and requirements listed
therein will be consistently understood and applied by electoral organizations as well asother interested parties.

In other cases, there are certain electoral processes and support processes which are
wholly absent from the ISO portfolio.
7.1.3 Performance measurement
The standards produced by the proposed committee shall provide a standardized basis
for measuring the performance of key electoral processes. This will not only drive
improvement year over year but will allow electoral bodies and support organizations
the ability to monitor and benchmark performance.
Registration or certification to such standards will allow for independent assessments ofthe performance of electoral organizations, contributing to increased voter confidence in
the individual electoral processes and to elections in general.

7.2 Value to other affected parties
7.2.1 Increased voter confidence
The standardization of electoral administration will encourage the application of theprocess approach and a focus on customer satisfaction to a variety of activities carriedout by electoral organizations and support bodies. The application of this approach tosustained success has been demonstrated around the world and across a breadth of
sectors.
Quality management system minimum requirements, for example, consistently
understood and applied by electoral organizations and other interested parties,
represents an opportunity for an improvement in the performance of electoral
organizations and citizen satisfaction with the organizations and processes. Ultimately,
this translates into better elections and increased voter confidence.
7.2.2 Supporting activities
The development of ISO/TS 17582 represented a key first step in establishing a systemof tools to support electoral processes and the monitoring of these processes aroundthe world.
The proposed technical committee will continue on this trajectory by developing
additional guidance and best practices as well as interactive applications to support theimplementation of such standards.
The ultimate aim and result of these standards will be better elections and increased
voter confidence.

8 Risks
8.1 Risk of trade barriers
The development of international standards in this area is not expected to create or
prevent a technical barrier to trade.

8.2 Risk of incompatibility, redundancy and proliferation
The international standards developed in this committee will not overlap or conflict withother existing ISO or non-ISO international standards.
Related conformity assessment activities (e.g. audits, certifications) will complement
and likely streamline and add value to current conformity assessment activities ofelectoral organizations. Specifically this committee will address shortcomings and gaps
in the implementation of generic quality management system standards such as ISO
9001 to electoral organizations, as well as those related to existing non-ISO
international election standards which outline general principles but lack guidance on
concrete procedures and processes.
This technical committee will reduce the need and demand for new national or regional
sector-specific standards.