Comparative Election Administration: A Legal Perspective on Electoral Institutions

Abstract

This chapter examines the institutions responsible for administering elections around the world and considers what election lawyers might do to strengthen democracy through their improvement. A now-substantial body of literature examines election management bodies in both emerging and established democracies. The consensus is that independent election administration is essential to electoral integrity. This chapter departs from the conventional wisdom in two respects. First, it argues that the formal independence of election management bodies is less important than their functional impartiality. Interactions between election institutions and political parties often promote evenhanded administration better than hermetic insulation from politics. Second, this chapter challenges the narrow focus on election management bodies and attendant disregard for other institutions involved in elections, especially judicial and quasi-judicial actors. It advances an interactional perspective on election administration, focusing on the relationship among the various entities that collectively comprise the electoral system, including administrators, courts, and political parties. The chapter concludes by considering how election lawyers might engage more deeply in the improvement of electoral institutions.