SECTION CHAIRS

Holly Ann Garnett (Royal Military College / Queen's University, Canada), Toby S. James (University of East Anglia, UK), & Leontine Loeber (University of East Anglia, UK)

ABSTRACT

Elections are an indispensable part of the democratic process (Dahl 1971). They give citizens an opportunity to elect their representatives, hold governments to account and shape policy making.

Yet it is well known there is enormous variation in the quality and inclusiveness of elections around the world (Norris 2014, 2016; Birch 2011; Norris 2013). An electoral cycle approach shows that problems can vary from electoral violence and voter intimidation, vote rigging, gerrymandered electoral districts, incomplete electoral registers, to under-resourced electoral officials and poorly designed adjudication processes, and more. The issue of money in elections also is one of relevance, as well as the use of social media for campaigns, but also for the spread of disinformation. These issues can also affect the trust of the public in elections (Duenas-Cid 2022).

Challenges facing electoral integrity are commonly thought to be intensifying, as illustrated by post-electoral violence in Brazil and the USA, issues arising with the use of technology in elections (Loeber 2020), under-funded electoral authorities, and elections that have to be held during crisis situations, such as a pandemic or even a war (James, Clark, and Asplund 2023; Garnett and Pal 2022).

This Section will therefore bring together the research agenda which is emerging to address conceptual, empirical and policy challenges to electoral integrity.