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Information Resources
IFES understands that maintaining democratic societies with free elections requires more than commitment; it requires an enormous amount of complex technical information. That's why IFES has developed a unique collection of resources to help democracies at every stage of development.
F. Clifton White Resource Center
In recognition of his great service and devotion to the ideals of democracy, IFES has established the F. Clifton White Election Information Resource Center to help new democracies obtain information on democracy around the world.
When a nation seeks for the first time to hold free elections, register voters, purchase election equipment, ensure accurate ballot-counting and reporting, prevent fraud, inform voters, craft election laws, even write a Constitution, one place has effective models on all these subjects: the F. Clifton White Resource Center. Established democracies also consult the Resource Center for a wide variety of comparative information to help modernize their democratic systems.
Housed in IFES' Washington, D.C., headquarters, the Resource Center is a multimedia repository and clearinghouse for materials related to election administration, democratic government, rule of law, and civil society. The Resource Center also serves as a tribute to the life work of IFES' founder, F. Clifton White, and as a critical source of ideas, models, and support for IFES' work around the globe.
The Resource Center's rapidly growing collections attract visitors from around the world - election officials, policymakers, scholars, members of the news media, and civic leaders. With materials in many languages, the collections include
 Sample Documentation - election laws, constitutions, ballots, voter registration materials, tally sheets, voter education flyers and booklets, election worker training materials, budgets, calendars, procurement documents, observer orientation materials, and a photo archive.
Sample Election Equipment and Supplies - a full range of ballot boxes, voter privacy screens, ballot box seals, staining ink, and other items used around the world, and available from suppliers.
Books - more than 6,000 volumes, consisting of national and regional election offices' official publications, academic texts, materials from international and non-governmental organizations, and specialized periodicals.
Posters - approximately 500 voter education and pollworker training posters from nations on every continent.
Videos and audio cassettes - nearly 500 videotapes of voter motivation spots, pollworker training footage, civic education messages, IFES-sponsored conferences and product information, and almost 100 audio cassettes of voter motivation spots and civic education messages.
Electronic Databases - a country-by-country file of electoral system information, names and addresses of election officials, voting eligibility requirements, election dates and results, and political party contact information.
In addition, Resource Center staff provides on-call research and assistance to election offices and governments around the world. The collections are open for use on weekdays, with work areas observed for visiting officials, interested citizens, and researchers.
CNN/IFES Election Watch Partnership
Through the F. Clifton White Resource Center, IFES maintained a partnership in 1998 with CNN (Cable News Network) to disseminate accurate, non-partisan election information to countries around the globe.
The information is aired daily on CNN-International and seen in more than 100 million households in 210 countries and territories. Forty-five second Election Watch vignettes offer viewers bits of data and interesting background on upcoming national-level elections and referenda. An expanded version of Election Watch, offering dates, background, and results on more than 90 elections, is also found on the web's most popular news and information site, CNN-Interactive (www.cnn.com/WORLD/election.watch).
Election data collected through the Resource Center's Election Information System is aired and published regularly by major media outlets. Each day, election information is collected from sources around the world and carefully verified to ensure the most accurate information is disseminated.
IFES Web Site
IFES' web site is operated through the F. Clifton White Resource Center and brings important information on elections and democracy to anyone in the world with a computer and modem. The web site includes
Breaking election news.
Detailed reports on IFES country activities.
A comprehensive election calendar.
Access to IFES publications.
Links to a broad range of related web sites, including those operated by IFES in Armenia, Paraguay, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The IFES web site is also directly linked with Cable News Network's web site.
On November 20, 1997, «TopTenLinks» ranked the IFES web site among the Top Ten resource sites. The web site was also selected as one of the best sites on the Internet when it received a Lycos «Top 5 percent» award. In 1998, IFES' web site received an average of 51,220 hits a month.
Publications
The F. Clifton White Resource Center produces informative publications for those who work in the democracy field or have a scholarly interest in the area.
Elections Today - IFES' quarterly magazine reports on IFES projects and brings up-to-date information on election administration techniques, principles, and notable innovations to election administrators worldwide.
Country reports - At the end of each project, IFES teams prepare reports on their findings and activities. For many countries, these reports are a source of hard-to-find information and are often the only post-election study that can act as a baseline for the next election. Resource Center staff fulfill dozens of requests for IFES publications each year.
Buyer's Guide for Election Services, Supplies, and Equipment - The 1998 edition of the Buyer's Guide is the only publication to provide government officials and election administrators with a location source for specific services and products necessary to democratic elections.
Survey Research
Democracy requires engaged, informed, active citizens. Achieving this goal requires strategies to change attitudes based on empirical evidence, not anecdotes or speculation - and the ability to measure results. Therefore, IFES has pioneered the use of survey research in nearly one dozen countries to date.
Data from IFES' survey and focus group research
Provide key indicators of the growth or deterioration of democratic practices.
Assist in developing programs and communications strategies.
Offer quantified information to develop yardsticks to measure the effectiveness of existing programs.
Indicate areas of activity for future programs geared toward participatory development.
IFES' democracy and governance research takes a team-oriented approach combining methodological rigor, local orientation, and an outlook focused on the needs of the election commission or nation being served. Many democratization organizations use research findings to fine-tune programs, identify problem areas, define factors that further or impede democratic political processes and economic reforms, and refine public communications strategies.
To date, IFES has conducted survey research in Armenia, Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Philippines, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. IFES also provided technical assistance for a survey in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Hatfield-Dixon Internship
The Hatfield-Dixon Internship Program began under the auspices of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and named after the former United States Senator and state Secretary of State Mark Hatfield and Alan Dixon. The Hatfield-Dixon Internship Program was created to bring election officials from emerging democracies to the United States for intensive professional development in elections and voting processes.
IFES coordinated two Hatfield-Dixon internships during 1998. Mr. Albert Arhin, the Director of Operations at the Electoral Commission of Ghana, conducted his internship at the King County Records and Elections Division in Seattle, Washington. Also, as a Hatfield-Dixon Intern, Mr. Felix Ulloa, Magistrate of the Supreme Election Commission of El Salvador, observed Kentucky's election process for two weeks as the commonwealth prepared for primary elections in May 1998.
Charles and Kathleen Manatt Fellowship
In 1998, IFES launched the Charles and Kathleen Manatt Fellowship Program. Established by IFES Chairman Charles Manatt, the Fellowship is designed for students interested in furthering their knowledge of election administration and civic participation in the political process. Two graduate students from Midwestern colleges and universities are selected annually for a six-week program of intensive study at the F. Clifton White Resource Center.
Regional Resource Centers
In addition to the Washington headquarters, many IFES field offices maintain their own Resource Centers with similar information from the nation and region they serve, thus making critical information on democracy more accessible around the world. IFES Field Resource Centers are located in:
Armenia;
Bosnia (IFES maintained voter education/information resource center in Sarajevo and Zenica during the 96-98 electoral period.);
Democratic Republic of Congo;
Ghana (The Resource Center is maintained jointly with, and housed in, the Election Commission offices.);
Haiti;
Kazakhstan (This Resource Center supports smaller satellite libraries in Kazakhstan's new capital of Astana, and in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.);
Liberia;
Moldova;
Paraguay;
Russia; and
Yemen.
In addition, with IFES' assistance, the Association of African Election Authorities maintains a library within the Secretariat office in Asmara, Eritrea. The Association of Central and Eastern European Election Officials runs a documentation center at its Secretariat in Budapest, Hungary.
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