Pre-APSA One-day EIP Workshop

Where: Palais des Congress de Montréal, Québec, Canada

Organizers: Pippa Norris, Harvard University/Madison MacGregor, Electoral Integrity Project coordinator

Co-sponsors: IFES, the Carter Center, APSA’s Elections, Public Opinion and Voting Behavior and APSA’s Representation and Elections Organized Sections.

Location: Rooms 515B & 515C, Palais des Congrès de Montreal, 1001 Pl. Jean-Paul-Riopelle, Montreal, QC H2Z 1H5, Canada. Map Website

Formats: In-person panels, roundtables, and breakout groups; presentations streamed online

Contact: electoralintegrity@gmail.com

With over 80 attendees, both in-person and virtual, this conference was a huge success, allowing for the dissemination of ideas from 22 presentations, a lunch round-table, and 4 workgroup discussions. Furthermore, the conference allowed for the interaction of both practioners and academics, an opportunity for rich discussion that leads to practical solutions and changes for real-world elections.

Theme:

The roots of the contemporary crisis of confidence in the integrity of American elections can be traced back to heated controversies in Florida during the 2000 Bush v. Gore presidential election. This generated a growing research literature documenting issues of electoral fraud in America (Minnite 2010), legal challenges in voting wars (Hasen 2012), problems of voter suppression (Wang 2012), and why electoral integrity matters for democratic legitimacy, both in America and worldwide (Norris 2014).

Since then, however, scholarship has expanded dramatically as partisan disputes about the integrity of U.S. elections have become increasingly contentious, litigious, and polarized. A tidal wave of amendments to state electoral laws, documented by the Brennan Center and the NCSL, have sparked intense concern about their consequences for public opinion, voting behavior, and US democracy. The insurrection attacking the US Capital on Jan 6th highlighted the risks of fraying legitimacy sparking deadly violence, and the portents for the mid-term 2022 U.S. elections, their aftermath, and legacy for the 2024 presidential contest, appear deeply troubling.

The pre-APSA EIP workshop seeks to advance research, promote bi-partisan dialogue, and identify best practices in mitigating risks to electoral integrity in America.

This concept is broadly defined using the electoral cycle approach to cover all stages in the process, from electoral laws and electoral management through redistricting, voter, party and candidate registration, the role of money and misinformation during the primary and general election campaign, to the final stages of balloting, the vote count, post-election auditing, and the adjudication of electoral disputes and appeals.

To contribute towards public debate in the run up to the mid-term US elections, policy-relevant papers would be especially welcome which document and evaluate the impact of changes to US state electoral laws throughout all stages of the electoral cycle.

Multiple methods are welcome including studies using narrative case-studies, experimental designs, mass and expert panel surveys, systematic aggregate data comparing US states, and/or cross-national evidence drawing upon global experiences.

Papers are especially welcome which analyze the impact of legal and administrative changes concerning the impartiality of electoral officials, the protection of voting rights, the competitiveness of Congressional districts, the accuracy of electoral information, the security of the ballot, the integrity of the vote count, fair processes of dispute adjudication, and public confidence in the overall quality of American democracy. 

08.30-09.00 Registration and continental buffet breakfast Palais Room 515b

09.00-09.15 Welcome: Pippa Norris (Harvard University)  Palais Room 515b

09.15-10.45 Panel 1: Trust and trustworthiness in U.S. elections Room 515b

Chair: Chad Vickery (IFES)

1.1 Domestic Election Observation and Public Confidence in American Elections Susan Hyde (UC Berkeley), Oren Samet (UC Berkeley), Jennie Barker (UC Berkeley)

1.2 Confidence in US elections: Partisanship and state-level context Shaun Bowler (UC Riverside) and Todd Donovan (WWU)

1.3 Big Little Election Lies: Cynical and credulous evaluations of electoral fraud Pippa Norris (Harvard University)

1.4 Updating Trends in the Quality of US Elections 2012-2020: New Evidence from the Perceptions of Electoral Integrity survey Holly Ann Garnett (Queens University/Royal Military College) and Toby James (University of East Anglia)

10.45-11.00 Morning tea and coffee break

11.00-12.45 Panel 2: Race, partisanship & confidence in U.S. elections Palais Room 515b

Chair: Todd Donovan (UC Riverside)

2.1 Do perceptions of Ingroup Discrimination Fuel Whites Mistrust in Government? Insights from the 2012-2020 ANES and a Framing Experiment Alexandra Filindra (University of Illinois at Chicago), Beyza E. Buyuker (Indiana University), Noah J. Kaplan (University of Illinois at Chicago)

2.2 The Limits of Partisan Loyalty: How Election Cheating Affectively (De)Polarizes Voters Laurits Florang Aarslew (Aarhus University)

2.3 Where Do Voters Believe Election Problems and Voter Fraud Occur Before and After the Big Lie? Experimental Evidence, Normative Implications, and Challenges for Practice Christopher Mann (Skidmore College)

2.4 Convenience or Confidence? How Voting (In)Convenience Shapes Confidence in Vote Counts Joseph Coll (University of Iowa)

OR

11.00-12.45 Panel 3:  Electoral law, administration and management palais room 515c

Chair: David Carroll (The Carter Center)

3.1 Election Modernization and Perceptions of Electoral Integrity Melissa Michelson, Menlo College, Dari Tran (University of the Pacific)

3.2 Withering Support for US Election Officials? Public Attitudes of Local and State Election Officials during and after the 2020 US General Election Antonio Ugues (St. Mary’s College of Maryland)

3.3 The Voter ID Debate: Political Elite Framing in US Congress Ana Alonso Curbelo (University of Glasgow)

3.4 Vetting Poll Workers to Mitigate Future Election Subversion Efforts David Levine (Alliance for securing Democracy)

12.45-2.00 Buffet lunch and roundtable: palais room 515b

Restoring electoral legitimacy in America: Research priorities and practical initiatives, Chad Vickery, David Carroll, Susan Hyde, and Michael Latner; Moderator Pippa Norris

2.00-3.30 Panel 4: Challenges during the electoral cycle palais room 515b

Chair: Susan Hyde (UC Berkeley)

4.1 Assessing Gerrymandering after the 2020 Census Daniel B Magleby (Binghampton University, SUNY) and Michael D. McDonald (Binghampton University, SUNY)

4.2 Can Election Expenditures Help Explain Voter Confidence? Martha Kropf (University of North Carolina at Charlotte), Mary Jo McGowan (University of North Carolina at Charlotte), Zachary Mohr (University of North Carolina at Charlotte)

4.3 Election Fraud on Digital Platforms: Authors, Claims, and Targets Young Mie Kim (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

4.4 Building a Pro-Democracy Coalition in the US Michael Latner (Cal Poly) and Fernando Tormos-Aponte (University of Maryland, Baltimore)

2.00-3.30 Panel 5: American elections in comparative perspective palais room 515c

Chair: Pippa Norris (Harvard University)

5.1 What can the US learn from Europe to improve its electoral integrity? Jurij Toplak (University of Maribor, Fordham University)

5.2 Does Democratic Vulnerability Make Citizens Punish Undemocratic Behavior? Kristian Frederiksen (Aarhus University)

5.3 Does Democratic Backsliding Erode Soft Power? A Multinational Experiment Benjamin E. Goldsmith (Australia National University), Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College), Kelly Matush (Florida State University), Kathleen E. Powers (Dartmouth College)

5.4 Measuring the Quality of US Elections Across: Towards a Framework for Assessing Electoral Quality across US States David Carroll (The Carter Center), Ian Batista (Federal University of Pernambuco), Marcella Morris (Emory University), Thessalia Merivaki (Mississippi State University) 

03.30-3.45 Afternoon tea and coffee break

03.45-5.00 Breakout workgroups palais room 515b

05.00-6.00 Plenary report back from workgroup discussants palais room 515b

6.00-9.00 Workgroup local dinner by invitation for presenters at Place Carmine (740 Rue William, Montréal, QC H3C 1P1, a 10 minute walk from the palais, see map below)

(*) Note: A printed copy of the final version of the program will be available at the workshop registration desk, listing any late amendments.

Practical logistics:

The workshop will meet in Rooms 515B and 515C (5th floor) in the Palais des Congres de Montreal in the heart of the city, near the old town.

Given the current uncertainties about travel and meetings, the workshop will use a hybrid format.  Paper-givers will be asked to confirm their final choice of in-person of Zoom virtual presentation format when they register. Most people have indicated a strong preference for in-person participation.

As well as standard thematic paper panels with discussants, the lunchtime roundtable will engage several practitioner organizations among American and international agencies concerned with electoral integrity. Interactive thematic breakout groups in the afternoon will provide opportunities for participants to share information about on-going research projects, to strengthen scholarly networks, and to consider what practical role social scientists can play in strengthening the integrity of the 2022 mid-term contests in November and thereby mitigating risks to American democracy.

The event will provide in-person participants with a continental breakfast, buffet lunch, and refreshments.

All accepted paper-givers are asked to send us a copy of your written papers by 1 September, to be uploaded with links here, as a condition of inclusion in the program. This requirement allows discussants and all other participants to read work in advance, maximizing time and opportunities for feedback and discussion on the day. Paper-givers should plan on 10 minute presentations. It should be noted that presentation in the EIP workshop does not count against the participation rule limits in the APSA annual meeting.

Schedule:

Paper proposal deadline:                       1 March 2022

Acceptance notification:                        30 April 2022

Registration deadline:                           1 August 2022

Paper submission deadline:                   1 September 2022

Workshop date:                                    14 September 2022

Since the event will be part of the program at APSA’s annual meeting, participants choosing to attend in person will be able to take advantage of the Montreal hotel discounts offered for the convention.

Last updated: 2 Sep 2022