June 3–4, 2013
[ Electoral Integrity Project Website ]
This conference is open to the public.
Countries around the world share challenges in meeting international standards of electoral integrity. The most overt malpractices used by rulers include imprisoning dissidents, harassing adversaries, coercing voters, vote-rigging counts, and finally, if losing, blatantly disregarding the people’s choice. Serious violations of human rights, undermining electoral credibility, are widely condemned by domestic observers and the international community. Recent protests about integrity have been mobilized in countries as diverse as Russia, Mexico and Egypt.
In many countries, however, minor irregularities are more common, exemplified by inaccurate voter registers, maladministration of polling, pro-government media, lack of security in absentee ballots, vote miscounts, and gerrymandering. Problems in America are exemplified by the notorious hanging chads in Florida in 2000 and accusations of voter fraud and voter suppression during the Obama-Romney contest.
In response to these developments, recent years have seen growing attempts to analyze flaws in electoral integrity using systematic evidence, including the development of several cross-national data-sets, the use of techniques of forensic analysis, and new instruments monitoring mass and elite perceptions of malpractices.
It is timely to take stock of these developments. This workshop seeks to bring together international experts among scholars and practitioners to present leading research on electoral integrity. It will provide an opportunity to share new instruments and pilot datasets developed by the Electoral Integrity Project, including the Expert survey of perceptions of Electoral Integrity (PEI) and the Global database of Electoral Laws and Administration (GELA).
The event has been cosponsored by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, IPSA-ECP Research Committee 23 Elections, Citizens and Parties, and the Australian Research Council.
The provisional workshop agenda, the paper abstracts, maps, travelling directions, and updated information and registration process are available via the conference website, www.electoralintegrityproject.com.
The workshop runs from 9am on Monday, 3rd June until 5pm on Tuesday, 4th June 2013 in the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, CGIS-South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge MA 02138. Limited places to attend are available and colleagues are requested to register to participate.
Chair
Pippa Norris
Faculty Associate. Paul F. McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics, Harvard Kennedy School.