Objective & Legitimacy Criteria

The Vote phase exists to produce an outcome that can be credibly recognized as legitimate under agreed standards. This chapter defines what “legitimacy” means operationally in this framework and how it can be assessed.

The Objective (Operational)

A Vote is successful if it:

enables participation without coercion at a meaningful scale,
uses transparent, pre-published rules that are followed in practice,
is independently observed and auditable,
resolves disputes through defined procedures,
produces results that meet agreed acceptance criteria.

Legitimacy here is not “everyone is happy.” It is “the process meets standards that make the result defensible.”

Legitimacy Criteria (Recommended Set)

1. Process Integrity

Rules are published in advance and version-locked.
Procedures are followed consistently across locations/modalities.
Ballots/records are auditable with chain-of-custody and tamper-evidence.
Security measures do not become a pretext for exclusion.

2. Participation and Inclusion

Eligibility rules include displaced persons/refugees in a defined way.
Participation is feasible for eligible populations (access, logistics, modality).
Barriers to participation are documented and minimized.

3. Freedom from Coercion

Credible safeguards against intimidation, retaliation, or forced voting.
Secret ballot and protections for participants.
Monitoring of coercion indicators (complaints, threats, patterns).

4. Independent Observation and Transparency

Observers can deploy, move, and report freely.
Observation reports are published (with privacy/security protections).
Key datasets are available for audit (as appropriate).

5. Dispute Resolution and Remedies

Complaints process exists and is staffed.
Timelines are defined (rapid preliminary decisions, final adjudication).
Remedies are real (recounts, reruns in specific precincts, invalidation where required).

6. Outcome Acceptance Criteria (Pre-Committed)

Acceptance criteria should be defined before the vote, such as:

Minimum turnout thresholds (overall and/or by region, if used).
Minimum observer certification requirements.
Thresholds for irregularities beyond which results must be revisited.
Rules for inconclusive outcomes (e.g., second round, additional options, or negotiated fallback).

How Legitimacy is Assessed (Evidence Types)

Legitimacy assessment should rely on:

Observer reports and deployment coverage.
Audit results (paper/digital audit trails, reconciliation checks).
Incident and complaint logs (with classification).
Statistical anomaly detection (as a flag, not sole proof).
Chain-of-custody documentation.
Security reports on intimidation/cyber incidents.

Practical Drafting Rule

All legitimacy criteria should be:

measurable or at least independently attestable,
tied to a decision rule (pass/fail or graded with thresholds),
linked to consequences (advance to Rebuild, pause, or rerun parts of the process).