General Session on Electoral Integrity (GS05)

IPSA-AISP 25th World Congress of Political Science, 21-25 July 2018, Brisbane

THE General Sessions PANELS ON Electoral Integrity  

The general session on electoral integrity (GS05) includes research papers drawing upon diverse methods, approaches, and evidence which address the causes and consequences of electoral integrity and malpractices, and what can be done to overcome these problems, in countries around the world.

Theme

Papers focus upon a wide variety of challenges on this topic. Elections are the heart of liberal democracies yet they can be derailed through numerous types of flaws and failures. In some, there are loud cries of fraud. Fake news is disseminated. Voting rights are suppressed. District boundaries are gerrymandered. Campaign finance provides a skewed playing field for parties. Independent media are muzzled. Citizens are ill-informed about choices.  Balloting is disrupted by bloodshed. Official records are hacked. Ballot boxes are stuffed. Vote counts are fiddled. Opposition parties withdraw. Contenders refuse to accept the people’s choice. Protests disrupt polling. Officials abuse state resources.  Electoral registers are out-of-date. Candidates distribute largesse. Votes are bought. Airwaves favor incumbents. Campaigns are awash with hidden cash. Political finance rules are lax. Incompetent local officials run out of ballot papers. Incumbents are immune from effective challengers. Rallies trigger riots. Women candidates face discrimination. Ethnic minorities are persecuted. Voting machines jam. Lines lengthen.  Ballot box seals break. Citizens cast more than one ballot. Legal requirements serve to suppress voting rights. Polling stations are inaccessible. Software crashes. ‘Secure’ ink washes off fingers.  Courts fail to resolve complaints impartially.  Each of these diverse problems can generate contentious elections characterized by lengthy court challenges, opposition boycotts, public protest, or, at worst, deadly violence. These challenges make democratic institutions more vulnerable, corrode public trust, and undermine electoral legitimacy. They heighten the threat of democratic backsliding, and authoritarian resurgence, in countries around the world.

Panels

• Election Management: Leadership, reform, and voter registration: 23/07/2018 9:00-10:45
  • Chair: Professor Pippa Norris
  • Discussant: Dr Susan Dodsworth and Dr Miguel Angel Lara Otaola
    • Professor J. Andrew Harris. Dead Voters.
    • Mr Ignacio Daniel Torres Rodriguez. Electoral Reforms in Mexico: Still a Long Road to Democracy.
    • Dr Ian Graham. The Social Construction of the Fraudulent Voter and the Processes to Stop Them: the UK Electoral Commission as Activist Regulator.
• Electoral Integrity in Latin America: 23/07/2018 11:00-12:45
  • Chair: Dr Richard Frank
  • Discussant: Dr Thomas Wynter
    • Professor Gabriela Tarouco. Electoral Integrity and Reforms in Latin American Institutions of Electoral Governance.
    • Dr Miguel Angel Lara Otaola. Democratic Diffusion in Mexico: Is election observation effective?
    • Dr Irma Mendez de Hoyos, Dr Nicolas Loza, Dr Ferran Martinez i Coma and Dr Max Gromping. Electoral management and perceptions of subnational electoral integrity in Mexico.
    • Mrs Ana Lucia Henrique.  Do Party Rules Matter for Electoral Integrity? Possible effects of the 2017 Brazilian Political Reform on Future Party Configurations in the Coming 2018 Elections.
    • Mr Erick Perez Mora and Ms Claudia Andrea Hernandez. The impact of Last Electoral Reform on the Mexican Elections.
• Elections and Democratic Attitudes: 23/07/2018 15:30-17:15
  • Chair: Dr Ferran Martinez i Coma
  • Discussant: Dr Anaid Flesken
    • Dr Rejane Senac and Dr Janie Pelabay. Critical Citizens on the eve of the 2017 French presidential election.
    • Professor Masaaki Higashijima and Dr Nicholas Kerr. Does Time Heal Old Wounds? Electoral Cycles of Democratic Satisfaction and the Quality of Elections in Africa.
    • Profressor Jeffrey Karp and Dr Laura Sudulich. Electoral Competition and Attitudes about Democracy
    • Professor Pippa Norris. Do public perceptions of electoral malpractice undermine democratic satisfaction? The U.S. in comparative perspective .
    • Dr Andrea Fumarola. The Contexts of Electoral Accountability: Electoral Integrity-Performance Voting in Twenty-Three Democracies.
• Electoral Integrity and the Quest for Secret Voting: 24/07/2018 17:30-19:15
  • Chair: Professor Jorgen Elklit
  • Discussant: Professor Marian Sawer
    • Professor Carsten Schuermann and Ms. Leontine Loeber. A Framework to Analyze Vote Secrecy in Evidence-Based Elections.
    • Dr Peter Brent. Do we still need the secret ballot?
    • Mr Michael Maley. The Secret Ballot in Australia: What does it mean and how secret is it really?
    • Professor Jorgen Elklit. Why is Voting in Sweden Not Secret Enough? An Illustration of the Problems in Securing Electoral Integrity.
• Understanding Electoral Violence: 24/07/2018 17:30-19:15
  • Chair: Professor J Andrew Harris
  • Discussant: Ms Laura Welty
    • Dr Richard Frank. Violence During the Election Cycle
    • Mr Bhojraj Pokharel. Preventing Election Violence through Diplomacy
    • Dr Susan Dodsworth. Double Standards: Electoral Violence and the Verdicts of International Election Observers in Africa.
• Evaluating Elections: Citizen and Elite Perspectives: 25/07/2018 17:30- 19:15 
  • Chair: Professor Louis Massicotte
  • Discussant: Dr Sarah Cameron
    • Dr Anaid Flesken. Ethnic Power Relations and Electoral Fairness: The Intersecting Effect of Social Status.
    • Professor Eric Linhart. Electoral System Preferences of the Electorate. Evidence from a Conjoint Experiment in the Context of the German Federal Election 2017.
    • Dr Segundo Joaquin, Jr. Romero and Dr Thawilwadee Bureekul: Independent Electoral Commissions (IECs) for inclusive, Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Elections (I-HOPE): A Performance Indicator Framework based on the Experience of the Philippines and Thailand.
    • Mr Minh Trinh. Vietnam's Tea Leaf Elections: Inferring Purpose for Authoritarian Elections from Post-election Responses to Local Defeats.

TRAVEL AWARDS

A limited number of travel awards were allocated to selected applicants who are delivering a paper in the EIP panels. The awards will provide a partial subsidy of up to AU$200 for travel by Australian residents and up to AU$500 for international travel. Priority was given to participants who live and work (or study) in emerging/developing countries, early career scholars, and women. Reimbursement will be made on submission of receipts and an expense claim after the event. The application process for travel awards is now closed and recipients have been notified of the outcome.

Reception

Participants (paper-givers, discussants and chairs) for the Electoral Integrity Session panels are invited to an informal drinks reception and buffet supper.

• Location: Chu the Phat (map)
• Date and Time: Monday 23 July, at 7:30-9:30pm. 

Queries

Queries about the General Session on Electoral Integrity should be addressed to electoralintegrity@gmail.com