iEIP-2024

4th Annual Virtual Electoral Integrity Conference

July 8-12, 2024

Organizers

Co-Convenors: Holly Ann Garnett (Royal Military College / Queen's University, Canada), Toby James (University of East Anglia, UK), Anna Unger (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary)

Conference Administrator: Sofia Caal-Lam (EIP, Project Coordinator)

CO-SPONSORS

International IDEA, IFES, and The Carter Center.

*This is a free conference

Theme

Elections are crucial to achieving democratic governance. This year’s virtual workshop will focus on the three major components of electoral integrity listed below:

  • The most important way in which elections distribute power is by allowing a wider range of groups, individuals and parties to contest the election.  Rather than power remaining in the hands of a fixed monarch, autocratic or tyrant, all citizens have the opportunity to enter office themselves.  They can then represent in the interests of  fellow citizens and the general will of the wider electorate – rather than the interests of a specific sectional group. This makes the contestation and deliberative functions of elections so crucial. Papers are welcome speaking to issues including:

    • Candidates & political parties and their experiences of the electoral process

    • Campaign finance and the role of money in deliberative processes

    • The information environment, including traditional and social media

  • Wide and even participation is needed to ensure that the whole population is part of the electorate – those who in effect have the power to choose those in power and can direct and influence policy. We invite papers that consider:

    • Threats and opportunities for enfranchisement and Voter turnout

    • Convenience registration and voting measures and accessibility, especially among equity-deserving groups

  • Electoral Justice provides an essential pathway for citizens, candidates, parties and other stakeholders to seek legal address where there have been defects in the delivery of elections.  It also provides a safety value for those who have grievances with the electoral process to have their concerns heard.  However, it can also be a venue where false claims of electoral fraud are made as part of a deliberate attempt to discredit credible elections. Around the world election courts are now playing a central role in hearing cases in disputed elections.  We welcome papers on topics such as:

    • Conceptual papers on electoral justice and electoral integrity

    • Country case studies of systems of electoral justice and disputed elections and

    • Policy papers of best practice in legal disputes.

    • Tactics of electoral stakeholders such as parties, candidates and citizens.

This workshop will be held virtually, with panels held over the course of July 8-12, 2024 (see above for timing details).

platform:

The conference will take place via Zoom. The link for the panels will be provided closer to the conference dates only for those who registered.

General Panel Format:

1.     Welcome by Chair

2.     Panelist presentations (10-15 minute each)

3.     Discussant comments (15 minutes)

4.     Q&A Period

Panels are scheduled to last for 1.5 hours in total.

programme

MONDAY, JULY 8

12:00 (UTC)

panel 1: introduction: the global electoral integrity report 2024

Holly Ann Garnett (Royal Military College of Canada / Queen’s University) and Toby S. James (University of East Anglia)

ROUNDTABLE: 2024 - THE YEAR OF ELECTIONS: A STORY OF INTEGRITY OR MALPRACTICE so far?

2024 was widely billed as the ‘year of elections’ with 2 billion people headed to the polls. Half way through the year, we ask an expert panel to examine how elections fared in their countries. What were the concerns ahead of election day? Did they come to pass? If not, why? Was electoral misinformation a problem? If so, how?

The panel includes:

  • Toby S. James (University of East Anglia) on the UK elections.

  • Ursula Van Beek (Stellenbosch University, South Africa) and Kira Alberts (CREDO) on the South African elections.

  • Anna Unger (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary) on the Hungarian elections.

  • Zaad Mahmood (Presidency University, India) on the Indian elections.

  • Miguel Ángel Lara Otaola (International Expert) on the elections in Mexico.

15:00 (UCT)

PANEL 2: Electoral Justice: Comparative Studies

Chair: Daniela Donno (University of Oklahoma)

Discussant: Kelci Burckhardt (University of Denver)

  • Electoral justice: Global patterns of election grievance and resolution – Toby S. James (University of East Anglia) and Holly Ann Garnett (Royal Military College of Canada/Queen’s University)

  • When Electoral Crises Challenge Constitutional Integrity – Madeline Harty (University of Denver)

  • Electoral Change or Electoral Reform? Analysis Of Decision Number 116/PUU-XXI/2023 Related to The Parliamentary Threshold – Luthfi Widagdo Eddyono (The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia) and Tri Sulistianing Astuti (Universitas Islam International Indonesia)

tuesday, july 9

12:00 (UTC)

panel 3: Practitioner Insights: Regulating Technology in Elections

Chair: Carla Luis (Universidade de Coimbra)

Discussant: Gábor Polyák (Eötvös Loránd University)

  • Building Resilience Against Election Influence Operations: How European Countries Can Protect the Electoral Experience – Daria Azariev North (IFES), Nikoleta Diossy (IFES), Krysia Sikora (German Marshall Fund, Alliance for Securing Democracy)

  • Opportunities and limits for digital provenance to "save online truth" – Ingo Boltz (The Carter Center)

  • The AI Election Security Handbook – Rachael Dean Wilson (German Marshall Fund, Alliance for Securing Democracy) and Lindsay Gorman (German Marshall Fund, GMF Tech)

  • The EU's Artificial Intelligence Act and its impact on electoral processes: a human rights-based approach – Armin Rabitsch (Election-Watch.EU) and Sofia Calabrese (European Partnership for Democracy)

15:00 (UTC)

panel 4: Voter Perceptions: Trust and Satisfaction

Chair: Valere Gaspard (University of Ottawa)

Discussant: Tom Barton (Royal Holloway, University of London)

  • Alienated Abstainers and Polarized Parties: How High Voting Costs Drive Policy Extremism – Thomas Mustillo (University of Notre Dame)

  • The Regional Dimensions of Institutional Trust in Canada – A Spatial Analysis of Trust in Canada – Rachel Guitman (Elections Canada), Zarish Abbas (Elections Canada) and Asif Hameed (Elections Canada)

  • Teaming Up to Improve Maryland Elections: The Anne Arundel County Voter Satisfaction Survey – Thessalia Merivaki (Mississippi State University), David Garreis (Maryland Board of Elections), Natalie Scala (Towson University), Josh Dehlinger (Towson University) and Sadie Barrett (Towson University)

wednesday, july 10

15:00 (UTC)

PANEL 5 - ROUNDTABLE: EMB Independence & Leadership, convened by IFES

  • Many of the impediments to EMB independence are widely known, and new research indicates that EMB autonomy is under increasing attack by governments. How to maintain EMB independence when interdependence with government agencies is required, however, is infrequently discussed and under-researched. In this roundtable, we will explore this challenge and ongoing work relevant to this topic by the Global Network for Securing Electoral Integrity (GNSEI), a new platform for election-focused organizations and networks to advance electoral integrity in the face of critical threats to democracy. Following GNSEI consultations with EMBs, election practitioners, international NGOs, citizen observer groups and networks, international donors and IGOs, the Network has drafted guidelines to support election management bodies (EMBs) to assert, protect, and promote their independence as they carry out their mandates in collaboration with other public institutions.

  • Erica Shein, IFES 

  • Ambar Zobairi, USAID

  • Tom Rogers, Australian Electoral Commission

  • Staffan Darnolf, IFES

  • Octael Nieto Vasquez, Inter-American Network for Election Observation and Electoral Integrity (RedOIE) 

  • Toby James, University of East Anglia and Electoral Integrity Project

18:00 (UTC)

panel 6: Fostering Participation and Voting Rights

Chair: Angelia Wagner (University of Alberta)

Discussant: Anna Frydrych-Depka (Centrum Studiów Wyborczych UMK)

  • The Criminalization of Voting and the Fraud of Voter Fraud – Lorraine Minnite (Rutgers University-Camden)

  • Direct democracy: a right or a privilege? Electoral (in)justice and referendums in Hungary (1989-2022) – Anna Unger (ELTE Eötvös Loránd University)

  • Understanding the Nexus of Invalid Votes, Disenfranchisement, and Voter Turnout: Implications for Democratic Participation: A Comparative Analysis of the Tunisia 2022 and Liberia 2023 Elections – Antonetta Lovejoy Hamandishe (University for PEACE)

  • Liberating Voters: The Enfranchisement of LGBTQI+ Citizens in Elections – Regina Waugh (IFES) and Whitney Pfeiffer (Outright International)

THURSDAY, JULY 11

12:00 (UTC)

PANEL 7: Deterring and Detecting Election Fraud

Chair: Maria Linden (University of Tampere)

Discussant: Manu Singh Burson (Columbia University)

  • Political Parties, Elections Funding, and Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic – Adeleke Adegbami (Olabisi Onabanjo University)

  • A Game of Forms: a Decade of Rigged Elections in Pakistan – Taha Ali (National University of Sciences and Technology), Hassan Mahmood (Information Technology University), Ronan McDermott (MCDIS)

  • Compared Autocratization – Attacks on the Electoral Cycle (1990-2021) – Ian Batista (The Carter Center)

  • Do More Disaggregated Electoral Results Deter Aggregation Fraud? – Guy Grossman (University of Pennsylvania), Miguel R. Rueda (Emory University), and Shuning Ge (MIT)

  • Legitimacy costs in a 'rigged' election: Base mobilization vs. coalition expansion after the 2020 US election – Cole Harvey (Oklahoma State University)

15:00 (UTC)

PANEL 8: Electoral Justice in Africa

Chair: Nick Kerr (University of Florida)

Discussant: Gabriela Da Silva Tarouco (Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

  • Lessons from the nullification of Malawi’s 2019 presidential election – Sonali Campion (University of East Anglia)

  • Expand Supreme Court Decisions and Perceptions of Election Integrity in Africa: Evidence from Kenya – Morgan Wack (Clemson University) and Maddy Jalbert (University of Washington)

18:00 (UTC)

PANEL 9: Electoral Justice in Latin America

Chair: Jaroslav Bílek (Charles University)

Discussant: Paolo Sosa Villagarcía (University of British Columbia)

  • Effective Law Enforcement and Electoral Integrity in Mexico – Felipe Carlos Betancourt-Higareda (Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México)

  • Electoral Integrity and the role of justice in the electoral process in Mexico 2024 – Irma Mendez de Hoyos (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales y Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación)

  • Autocratic Practices to Make Elections Seem Democractic: Limits to Voter Registration Abroad in the 2024 Venezuelan Elections – Eduardo Repilloza-Fernandez (Transparencia Electoral)

FRIDAY, july 12

12:00 (UTC)

panel 10: Electoral Contestation: Actors, Levels, & Dynamics

Chair: Sonali Campion (University of East Anglia)

Discussant: Clément Desrumaux (Université de Lyon)

  • Limits of equal electoral contestation at subnational levels. Case study of Poland – Adam Szymański (University of Warsaw)

  • Electoral Bias and Democratic Backsliding: A Comparative Analysis of Executive Aggrandizement in Orbán’s Hungary, Erdoğan’s Turkey, and the “Emergency” in India – Bernard Tamas (Valdosta State University) and Alyssa Archer (Valdosta State University).

  • The Changing Landscape of Political Funding Regulations in India and the Pressing Need for Reforms – Shelly Mahajan (Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR))

  • Enhancing Indonesian Election 2024 Through Voting Advice Application – Oktafia Kusuma Sari (Pelopor Pilihan17 Foundation) and Rafli Rikin (Universitas Indonesia)

15:00 (UTC)

panel 11: Electoral Systems and Institutions

Chair: Silence Marsh (Stony Brook University)

Discussant: Anna Unger (Eötvös Loránd University)

  • Measuring Electoral Access at the Local Level – Melissa Rogers (Claremont Graduate University), Jean Schroedel (Claremont Graduate University), Joseph Dietrich (Towson University) and Tessa Provins (University of Arizona)

  • An Introduction To Effective EMB Leadership Transition – Staffan Darnolf (IFES), Rushdi Nackerdien (IFES) and Rebecca Duncan (IFES)

  • Bicameralism in Peru: Implications for Democracy and Governance – Yasmin Calmet (The Federal University of Fronteira Sul), Joaquin Ugaz (National University Pedro Ruiz Gallo)

  • The Impact of Electoral Law Reforms on Voters’ Turnout in sub-Saharan Africa Countries – David Olusanjo (Florida International University)

PRACTICAL LOGISTICS

Our third annual virtual conference took place online, the week of July 8-12, 2024.  Panels were arranged to accommodate multiple time zones with panels taking place across the week.

As well as standard thematic paper panels with discussants, there wasbe practitioner and civil society roundtables and opportunities to connect with old/new colleagues and friends around the globe.

Conference registration was free to all paper presenters and delegates.

All accepted paper-givers were asked to upload a copy of their written papers to the workshop website by June 24, as a condition of inclusion in the program. This requirement allowed discussants and all other participants to read work in advance, maximizing time and opportunities for feedback and discussion.