Training
We do not have our own training materials yet, but can offer guidance to Candidates and their agents fulfilling an election observation role as Partisan Observers. The primary consideration is to do nothing that could disrupt an election or delay voters, and to work with local electoral services and follow their directions.
Candidates and their agents could follow this advice:
Do not touch anything, especially not the ballot box or official papers. If you want to see something, ask the Presiding Officer to show it to you.
Do not suggest improvements on the spot. Phrase everything as a question.
Evade answering questions soliciting your opinions about procedures or anything else. Say "I cannot really answer that".
Ask the Electoral Services and Presiding Officers for guidance in your role.
If you see something you think is seriously wrong, report it to electoral services, the Electoral Commission if their criteria is met (link), the police SPOC via electoral services if appropriate, and to us. Do not spread a story that could bring the electoral process into disrepute, you could be wrong in your perception., or have misunderstood what was happening.
While the Partisan Observers organisation operates outside the of system of UN aligned election observation organisations, those organisations' training will help develop a broader understanding of matters electoral. I can recommend the OSCE's online training for short and long term observers: https://www.osce.org/odihr/e-learning-course-for-election-observers. It takes around 10 hours to complete and is free of charge. It covers their legal framework and the roles of Short and Long Term Observers.
If you complete the OSCE's course and wish to work with us, please send your PDF certificate and screen shots of your overall score and the score for each module, to pepe@partisanobservers.org. This will help us assign roles and plan your development in the role of an election observer.
The European Union's Election Observation and Democracy Support (EODS) unit offer three online courses: Safety and Security, Short Term Observers and Long Time Observers. The courses are here: https://www.eods.eu/posts/elearning. All courses are free of charge and the STO course may be taken using a guest account.
EU EODS STO Course:
Module 1. The EU and Election Observation
Module 2. Basic Principles of Election Observation
Module 3. Structure and Functioning of an EOM
Module 4: Practicalities of STO Life
Module 5. Election Day Observation
Module 6. Reporting your Findings
Certificate of completion
If you'd rather read the book, their Handbook of European Union Election Observation (222 pages) covers the same ground: https://www.eods.eu/library/EUEOM_Handbook_2016.pdf. Pages 175 to 178 cover polling stations and the count.