Election administration

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Election administration is the process of preparing for and then implementing an election. Elections may be administered in either democracies or autocracies, and some countries or jurisdictions have more experienced and effective election administrations than others. Factors that affect the quality and legitimacy of election administration include the institutional rules of a country and the size of the election jurisdiction, while election administration can in turn determine the legitimacy of the election and shape voters' confidence in election results.

Contents

Definition and scope

Election administration is the management of the logistics of elections, particularly large democratic elections. [1] Common challenges in election administration include long lines at polling places, ensuring equitable access to voting, designing ballots so that voters can understand them as well as possible, ensuring that voters are registered where applicable, counting votes, and correcting vote counting errors as they occur. [1]

Election context

How elections are administered varies substantially among democracies. Political institutions can determine the level of centralized control that a federal government exerts over election processes: election administration in the United States is completely decentralized, with thousands of jurisdictions having primary responsibility for administering their own elections, [2] while elections in India are largely controlled by a federal commission. [3] Elections may also be fundamentally more difficult to administer in some jurisdictions than in others; for example, larger jurisdictions may require more sophisticated apparatuses for collecting and counting votes. [2]

Elections do not only take place in democracies, so elections also need to be administered in semi-democracies or even autocracies. For example, elections in rural China have required developing the means to prepare and implement elections. [4] Especially among semi-democratic cases, one country's election administration might be much better than another's. These variations can happen for democratically legitimate reasons like limited democratic experience in the country or poor funding of election administration, or for less legitimate reasons like attempts to limit voter participation or to not count votes correctly. [5]

Study of election administration

Election administration is the topic of academic study. An academic journal, the Journal of Election Administration, Research & Practice, is devoted entirely to publishing scholarly papers about election administration. [6] Election administration is also the subject of numerous education programs. Certifications and graduate degrees in election administration are offered in many countries, including India, the United States, and Italy. [7] [8] [9] [10]

The study of election administration is concerned with what features of elections or election administrators make for particularly successful planning and execution of the election. [11] This may for example depend on the technologies used in the election, like the differences in administering elections in which people vote using hand-marked paper ballots compared to using vote-counting machines. [12] Other common topics of study include the legitimacy of the election process, as well as how the administration of an election affects voters' confidence in the legitimacy of elections. [13]

The people who administrate elections can also be the topic of study; for example, in the United States, a survey of local election officials tracks the self-reported experiences of local-level election administrators. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democracy</span> Form of government

Democracy is a system of government in which state power is vested in the people or the general population of a state. According to the United Nations, democracy "provides an environment that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms, and in which the freely expressed will of people is exercised."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Election</span> Process by which a population chooses the holder of a public office

An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political party</span> Organization coordinating policy priorities and candidates for government positions

A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or policy goals.

Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power is held by the ruler, known as an autocrat. It includes most forms of monarchy and dictatorship, while it is contrasted with democracy and feudalism. Various definitions of autocracy exist. They may restrict autocracy to a single individual, or they may also apply autocracy to a group of rulers who wield absolute power. The autocrat has total control over the exercise of civil liberties within the autocracy, choosing under what circumstances they may be exercised, if at all. Governments may also blend elements of autocracy and democracy, forming an anocracy. The concept of autocracy has been recognized in political philosophy since ancient times.

Accountability, in terms of ethics and governance, is equated with answerability, culpability, liability, and the expectation of account-giving.

A democratic deficit occurs when ostensibly-democratic organizations or institutions fall short of fulfilling the principles of democracy in their practices or operation. Representative and linked parliamentary integrity have become widely discussed. The qualitative expression of the democratic deficit is the difference between the democracy indices of a country from the highest possible values.

Compulsory voting, also called universal civic duty voting or mandatory voting, is the requirement that registered voters participate in an election. As of January 2023, 21 countries have compulsory voting laws. Enforcement of the law in those countries varies considerably and the penalty for not casting a ballot without a proper justification ranges from severe to non-existent.

In political science, voter fatigue is a cause of voter abstention which result from the electorates of representative democracies being asked to vote often, on too many issues or without easy access to relevant information. Voter fatigue can be a symptom of efforts that make voting more difficult that some describe as voter suppression, which changes the voting rules and environment in such a way that turnout decreases as the cost of voting increases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voter turnout</span> Percentage of a countrys eligible voters who actually vote within elections

In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford University political scientists Adam Bonica and Michael McFaul, there is a consensus among political scientists that "democracies perform better when more people vote."

An indirect election or hierarchical voting is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office, but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the oldest forms of elections and is used by many countries for heads of state, cabinets, heads of government, and/or upper houses. It is also used for some supranational legislatures.

Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management bodies, election campaign, the division of the territory into electoral zones, the procedures for the registration of voters and candidacies, its financing and propaganda, voting, counting of votes, scrutiny, electoral disputes, electoral observation and all contentious matters derived from them. It is a discipline falling at the juncture of constitutional law and political science, and involves "the politics of law and the law of politics".

An illiberal democracy describes a governing system that hides its "nondemocratic practices behind formally democratic institutions and procedures". There is a lack of consensus among experts about the exact definition of illiberal democracy or whether it even exists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voter suppression</span> Strategy designed to restrict specific groups of people from voting

Voter suppression is a strategy used to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing specific groups of people from voting. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting behavior by changing the opinions of potential voters through persuasion and organization, activating otherwise inactive voters, or registering new supporters. Voter suppression, instead, attempts to gain an advantage by reducing the turnout of certain voters. Suppression is an anti-democratic tactic associated with authoritarianism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Election monitoring</span> Observation of an election by independent parties

Election monitoring involves the observation of an election by one or more independent parties, typically from another country or from a non-governmental organization (NGO). The monitoring parties aim primarily to assess the conduct of an election process on the basis of national legislation and of international election standards. There are national and international election observers. Monitors do not directly prevent electoral fraud, but rather record and report instances of suspicious practices. Election observation increasingly looks at the entire electoral process over a long period of time, rather than at election-day proceedings only. The legitimacy of an election can be affected by the criticism of monitors, unless they are themselves seen as biased. A notable individual is often appointed honorary leader of a monitoring organization in an effort to enhance legitimacy of the monitoring process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberal democracy</span> Political philosophy and form of government

Liberal democracy, substantive democracy, or western democracy is a form of government that combines the structure of a representative democracy with the principles of liberal political philosophy. It is characterized by elections between or among multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into different branches of government, the rule of law in everyday life as part of an open society, a market economy with private property, universal suffrage, and the equal protection of human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, and political freedoms for all people. To define the system in practice, liberal democracies often draw upon a constitution, either codified or uncodified, to delineate the powers of government and enshrine the social contract. The purpose of a constitution is often seen as a limit on the authority of the government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liquid democracy</span> Combination of direct and representative democracy

Liquid democracy is a form of delegative democracy, whereby an electorate engages in collective decision-making through direct participation and dynamic representation. This democratic system utilizes elements of both direct and representative democracy. Voters in a liquid democracy have the right to vote directly on all policy issues à la direct democracy; voters also have the option to delegate their votes to someone who will vote on their behalf à la representative democracy. Any individual may be delegated votes and these proxies may in turn delegate their vote as well as any votes they have been delegated by others resulting in "metadelegation".

A citizens' assembly is a group of people selected by lottery from the general population to deliberate on important public questions so as to exert an influence. Other names and variations include citizens' jury, citizens' panel, people's panel, mini-publics,people's jury, policy jury, citizens' initiative review, consensus conference and citizens' convention.

Anocracy, or semi-democracy, is a form of government that is loosely defined as part democracy and part dictatorship, or as a "regime that mixes democratic with autocratic features". Another definition classifies anocracy as "a regime that permits some means of participation through opposition group behavior but that has incomplete development of mechanisms to redress grievances." The term "semi-democratic" is reserved for stable regimes that combine democratic and authoritarian elements. Scholars distinguish anocracies from autocracies and democracies in their capability to maintain authority, political dynamics, and policy agendas. Similarly, the regimes have democratic institutions that allow for nominal amounts of competition. Such regimes are particularly susceptible to outbreaks of armed conflict and unexpected or adverse changes in leadership.

A hybrid regime is a type of political system often created as a result of an incomplete democratic transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one. Hybrid regimes are categorized as having a combination of autocratic features with democratic ones and can simultaneously hold political repressions and regular elections. Hybrid regimes are commonly found in developing countries with abundant natural resources such as petro-states. Although these regimes experience civil unrest, they may be relatively stable and tenacious for decades at a time. There has been a rise in hybrid regimes since the end of the Cold War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Kentucky</span> Elections in the U.S. state of Kentucky

Elections in the U.S. state of Kentucky are held regularly. Politics in Kentucky has historically been very competitive. The state leaned toward the Democratic Party during the 1860s after the Whig Party dissolved. During the Civil War, the southeastern part of the state aligned with the Union and tended to support Republican candidates thereafter, while the central and western portions remained heavily Democratic even into the following decades. Kentucky would be part of the Democratic Solid South until the mid-20th century.

References

  1. 1 2 Brennan Center for Justice (2023). "Election Administration Overview" . Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 David C. Kimball; Brady Baybeck (2012). "Are All Jurisdictions Equal? Size Disparity in Election Administration". Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy. 12 (2): 130–145. doi:10.1089/elj.2012.0174.
  3. ↑ Alistair, McMillan (2012). "The Election Commission of India and the Regulation and Administration of Electoral Politics". Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy. 11 (2): 187–201. doi:10.1089/elj.2011.0134.
  4. ↑ Alpermann, Björn (2009). "Institutionalizing Village Governance in China". Journal of Contemporary China. 18 (60): 397–409. doi:10.1080/10670560902770263. S2CID   154282577.
  5. ↑ Gary Bland; Andrew Green; Toby Moore (2011). "Measuring the quality of election administration". Democratization. 20 (2): 358–377. doi:10.1080/13510347.2011.651352. S2CID   144127095.
  6. ↑ National Association of Election Officials (December 2022). "Journal of Election Administration, Research & Practice" . Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  7. ↑ "Masters in International Electoral Management and Practices". Tata Institute of Social Sciences. 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  8. ↑ "Master in Electoral Policy and Administration". United Nations Institute for Training and Research. 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  9. ↑ "Certificate in Election Administration". University of Minnesota. 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  10. ↑ "Master in Electoral Policy & Administration". Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies. 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  11. ↑ Kathleen Hale; Christa Daryl Slaton (2008). "Building Capacity in Election Administration: Local Responses to Complexity and Interdependence". Public Administration Review. 68 (5): 839–849. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6210.2008.00925.x.
  12. ↑ Robert M. Stein; Greg Vonnahme; Michael Byrne; Daniel Wallach (2008). "Voting Technology, Election Administration, and Voter Performance". Election Law Journal. 7 (2): 123–135. doi:10.1089/elj.2008.7203.
  13. ↑ Lonna Rae Atkeson; Kyle L. Saunders (2007). "The Effect of Election Administration on Voter Confidence: A Local Matter?". PS: Political Science & Politics. 40 (4): 655–660. doi:10.1017/S1049096507071041. S2CID   153378329.
  14. ↑ "The Democracy Fund/Reed College Survey of Local Election Officials". Elections & Voting Information Center at Reed College. 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
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