Achieving the ideals of electoral democracy depends on well-run elections. Persistent problems of electoral integrity in transitional and established democracies have prompted a burgeoning literature seeking to explain the determinants of electoral integrity around the world. However, the study of the organisations responsible for managing the electoral process has been limited to isolated national case studies. This article opens up an interdisciplinary and international research agenda on the global study of the organisational determinants of electoral integrity. It defines the concept of electoral management and provides a framework to understand how electoral management body (EMB) institutional design, EMB performance and electoral integrity are related. Findings from new data derived from cross-national surveys of EMBs are described, providing new insights into how elections are managed worldwide.
AlvarezR MichaelAtkesonLonna RaeHallThad E (2012) Evaluating Elections: A Handbook of Methods and Standards. New York: Cambridge University Press.
2.
AnsellChrisGashAlison (2008) Collaborative Governance in Theory and Practice. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory18(4): 543–571.
3.
BerruecosSusana (2003) Electoral Justice in Mexico: The role of the electoral tribunal under new federalism. Journal of Latin American Studies35(4): 801–825.
4.
BirchSarah (2008) Electoral Institutions and Popular Confidence in Electoral Processes: A cross-national analysis. Electoral Studies27(2): 305–320.
5.
BirchSarah (2011) Electoral Malpractice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
6.
BirchSarahvan HamCarolien (2017) Getting Away with Foul Play? The importance of formal and informal oversight institutions for electoral integrity. European Journal of Political Research56(3): 487–511.
7.
BowlerShaunBrunellThomasDonovanToddGronkePaul (2015) Election Administration and Perceptions of Fair Elections. Electoral Studies38(June): 1–9.
8.
CattHelenaEllisAndrewMaleyMichaelWallAlanWolfPeter (2014) Electoral Management Design: Revised Edition. Stockholm: International IDEA.
9.
ChernykhSvitlanaElkinsZacharyMeltonThomasGinsburgTom (2014) Constitutions and Election Management. In PippaNorrisFrankRichardi ComaFerran Martinez (eds) Advancing Electoral Integrity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 94–117.
10.
ClarkAlistair (2016) Identifying the Determinants of Electoral Integrity and Administration in Advanced Democracies: The case of Britain. European Political Science Review9(3): 471–492.
11.
CollierPaulVincentePedro C (2012) Violence, Bribery, and Fraud: The political economy of elections in sub-Saharan Africa. Public Choice153(1–2): 117–147.
12.
DaxeckerUrsula E (2012) The Cost of Exposing Cheating: International election monitoring, electoral manipulation, and violence. Journal of Peace Research4: 503–516.
13.
DunleavyPatrickMargettsHelenBastowSimonTinklerJane (2006) New Public Management Is Dead—Long Live Digital-Era Governance. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory16(3): 467–494.
14.
ElklitJorgenReynoldsAndrew (2001) Analysing the Impact of Election Administration on Democratic Politics. Representation38(1): 3–10.
15.
ElklitJorgenReynoldsAndrew (2005) Judging Elections and Election Management Quality by Process. Representation41(3): 189–207.
16.
GarnettHolly Ann (2017a) Electoral Management Roles and Responsibilities in Comparative Perspective, paper presented at the Australian Political Science Association Annual Meeting, 25–27 September 2017, Melbourne.
17.
GarnettHolly Ann (2017b) Open Election Management Bodies. In NorrisPippaNaiAlessandro (eds) Election Watchdogs. New York: Oxford University Press, 117–126.
18.
Global Commission on Elections, Democracy & Security (2012). Deepening Democracy: A Strategy for Improving the Integrity of Elections Worldwide. Stockholm: International IDEA.
19.
Hafner-BurtonEmilie MHydeSusan DJablonskiRyan S (2013) When Do Governments Resort to Election Violence?British Journal of Political Science44(1): 149–179.
20.
HerronErik SBoykoNazarThunbergMichael E (2017) Serving Two Masters: Professionalization versus corruption in Ukraine’s election administration. Governance30(4): 601–19.
21.
HoodChristopher (1991) A Public Management for All Seasons?Public Administration69(Spring): 3–19.
22.
HydeSusan D (2011) Catch Us If You Can: Election Monitoring and International Norm Diffusion. American Journal of Political Science55(2): 356–369.
23.
IchinoNahomiSchündelnMatthias (2012) Deterring or Displacing Electoral Irregularities? Spillover Effects of Observers in a Randomized Field Experiment in Ghana. Journal of Politics, 74(January): 292–307.
24.
JamesToby S (2012) Elite Statecraft and Election Administration: Bending the Rules of the Game. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
25.
JamesToby S (2017) The Effects of Centralising Electoral Management Board Design. Policy Studies38(2): 130–148.
26.
JamesToby S (forthcoming) Comparative Electoral Management: Performance, Networks and Instruments. London and New York: Routledge.
JamesToby SJervierTyrone (2017) The Cost of Elections: The effects of public sector austerity on electoral integrity and voter engagement. Public Money & Management37(7): 461–468.
29.
KarpJeffreyAlessandroNaiAngelMiguelOtaolaLaraNorrisPippa (2017) Building Professional Electoral Management. Sydney: Sydney University, Electoral Integrity Project.
30.
KelleyJudith (2012) Monitoring Democracy: When International Election Observation Works and Why it Often Fails. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
31.
LehoucqFabrice (2003) Electoral Fraud: Causes, Types and Consequences. Annual Review of Political Science6: 233–256.
32.
LehoucqFabriceKolevKiril (2015) Varying the Un-Variable: Social Structure, Electoral Formulae, and Election Quality. Political Research Quarterly68(2): 240–252.
33.
LipskyMichael (1980) Street Level Bureaucracy. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
34.
LoeberLeontine (2016) Legislating for E-enabled Elections: Dilemmas and concerns for the legislator. In KrimmerRobertet al. (eds) Proceedings of E-VOTE-ID 2016. Tallinn: TUT Press, 139–160.
35.
Lopez-PinterRafael (2000) Electoral Management Bodies as Institutions of Governance. Washington, DC: United Nations Development Programme.
36.
MontjoyRobert S (2008) The Public Administration of Elections. Public Administration Review68(5): 788–99.
37.
MozafferShaheenSchedlerAndreas (2002) The Comparative Study of Electoral Governance - Introduction. International Political Science Review23(1): 5–27.
38.
NorrisPippa (2015) Why Elections Fail. New York: Cambridge University Press.
39.
PiccolinoGiulia (2016) Infrastructural State Capacity for Democratization? Voter Registration and Identification in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana Compared. Democratization, 23(3): 498–519.
40.
SimpserAlberto (2013) Why Governments and Parties Manipulate Elections: Theory, Practice, and Implications. New York: Cambridge University Press.
41.
van HamCarolien (2012) Beyond Electoralism? Electoral Fraud in Third Wave Regimes 1974–2009. PhD Thesis, European University Institute, Florence, EUI.
42.
van HamCarolienLindbergStaffan (2015) When Guardians Matter Most: Exploring the conditions under which electoral management body institutional design affects election integrity. Irish Political Studies30(4): 454–481.
43.
WallAlanEllisAndrewAyoubAymanDundasCarl WRukambeJoramStainoSara (2006) Electoral Management Design: The International IDEA Handbook. Stockholm: International IDEA.
44.
WeberMax (1922 [1978]) Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. Vol. 1. Oakland: University of California Press.
45.
WilkinsonSteven I (2006) Votes and Violence: Electoral Competition and Ethnic Riots in India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
