Election Administration in Crisis: An Early Look at Lessons from Bush versus Gore

Wise, Charles R.

doi:10.1111/0033-3352.00014

Cited by 17 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…In contrast, in advanced democracies with long experience of running elections, the quality of the electoral process has tended to be taken for granted. This largely remains the case, despite an upsurge of interest in the operation of electoral processes in the United States in the aftermath of the controversial 2000 Bush–Gore presidential election (Wise, 2001; Montjoy, 2008; Hasen, 2012). Evidence from elsewhere is sporadic, with the other major advanced democracy receiving any sustained, albeit limited, levels of attention being Britain (Wilks-Heeg, 2009; James, 2012, 2013; Norris, 2014: 5, 32; Clark, 2014a, 2015).…”

Section: Electoral Integrity and Electoral Administrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying the determinants of electoral integrity and administration in advanced democracies: the case of Britain

Clark

2016

Eur. Pol. Sci. Rev.

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Much discussion of electoral integrity focusses on new democracies. This paper explores the determinants of electoral integrity in a major established democracy in order to begin to identify drivers of electoral integrity for comparative scholars to exploit further. It does so through a novel measure of electoral administration in Britain which is brought together with comprehensive data on spending on electoral administration, whether concurrent elections were being held, size of electorate, number of constituencies administered, type of administration overseeing local electoral administration, and various socio-economic measures. The results establish a range of relationships to electoral integrity which will inform subsequent debates on election quality in other democracies, whether advanced or otherwise. In particular, the findings point to the importance of administrative resources in delivering electoral integrity in advanced democracies.

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Section: Electoral Integrity and Electoral Administrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying the determinants of electoral integrity and administration in advanced democracies: the case of Britain

Clark

2016

Eur. Pol. Sci. Rev.

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“…Consequently questions about the integrity of the process tend only to be raised when something goes badly wrong. For example, the disputed 2000 presidential election in the USA stimulated assorted research on American electoral integrity and administration (Wise ; Alvarez and Hall ; Montjoy ).…”

Section: Integrity Administration and The Electoral Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Poor performance and difficulties in electoral administration have the potential to undermine both the legitimacy of the electoral process and, potentially, of the government elected. Examination of electoral administration and integrity is therefore of vital interest in democracies, yet as Wise (, p. 138) notes, ‘public administration has not devoted attention to electoral administration with anything like the priority it has given to other areas of public policy’.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Administration and the Integrity of the Electoral Process in British Elections

Clark

2014

Public Administration

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Although Britain has often been held up as being a model of electoral integrity, recent controversies have suggested that this perception may not be wholly justified. This article explores overall standards of electoral administration across Britain, utilizing performance reporting data for returning officers in the 2010 general election to outline a comprehensive measure for the integrity of the administration of the electoral process. Discussion begins by outlining the question of electoral integrity and, most importantly, the issue of electoral administration. The second section considers recent British controversies, while also outlining steps taken to monitor the performance of electoral administrators. The third section introduces the performance standards and the index of electoral integrity developed from these, while the fourth section presents an analysis. The article concludes with discussion of the challenges facing electoral administrators, and highlights the utility of an index of electoral integrity in helping electoral professionals address these challenges. INTRODUCTIONAssessing the effectiveness and performance of public administration has been a key concern in many countries. Nowhere is this more crucial to democracies than in the field of electoral administration. Poor performance and difficulties in electoral administration have the potential to undermine both the legitimacy of the electoral process and, potentially, of the government elected. Examination of electoral administration and integrity is therefore of vital interest in democracies, yet as Wise (2001, p. 138) notes, 'public administration has not devoted attention to electoral administration with anything like the priority it has given to other areas of public policy'.This article provides an exploratory assessment of overall standards of electoral administration across Britain in the 2010 general election. Although often held up as being a model of electoral integrity, recent controversies in Britain have suggested that this perception may not be wholly justified. Incidents casting doubt on the integrity of the process have been evident across the whole of the UK. Many of these controversies about the integrity of the electoral process can be attributed to difficulties in electoral administration. This is an understudied area of public administration in Britain. Britain has a decentralized system of electoral administration, with local council returning officers responsible for the conduct of elections in their jurisdiction. Performance standards for returning officers in the UK were set by the Electoral Administration Act 2006. Compliance with these standards now has to be reported to the UK Electoral Commission. The article utilizes the subsequent performance reporting data for returning officers in the 2010 general election to outline a comprehensive measure for the integrity of the administration of the electoral process in general elections in Britain. Discussion begins by assessing the question of electoral integrity as under...

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“…In addition to these emergent concerns, notable attention went to political and economic matters, such as election administration (Moynihan 2004; Wise 2001), presidential transitions (Johnson 2008; Kumar 2008; Wellford 2008), and financial crises. PAR ran a special symposium on election administration prior to the November 2008 presidential election (September/October) and another on the financial crisis in 2009 (July/August).…”

Section: Qualitative Observations About the Past Decade: Three Importmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in the Study of Public Administration: Empirical and Qualitative Observations from Public Administration Review, 2000–2009

Raadschelders

Lee

2011

Public Administration Review

116

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What are the apparent research and methodological trends in PAR’s content over the past decade? From the perspective of the journal’s 70‐year history, with its aim to “mesh” practitioner and academic knowledge creation, topical coverage since 2000 reflects striking continuity, emphasizing many of the “bread and butter” administrative issues such as planning, human resources, budgeting, and public management. A marked increase in coverage is apparent in the application of more sophisticated quantitative statistical methodology, as well as in the number of female authors, while the number of practitioner authors declined sharply. Throughout the first turbulent decade of the twenty‐first century, three intellectual themes stood out: evaluations of New Public Management, connections between practitioners and academicians, and responsiveness to immediate social, economic, and political challenges. Given the constant demand for usable knowledge, scholars seem to have marginalized attention to the historical context and epistemological foundations of the study. The central challenge in the years ahead will be to effectively use research methods in response to the big questions of government and society that defy measurement. Since many [empiricists], especially the younger, do not know very much about epistemology, they tend to be quite dogmatic about the one set of canons that dominate them. —C. Wright Mills, 1959

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Election Administration in Crisis: An Early Look at Lessons from Bush versus Gore

Cited by 17 publications

References 4 publications

Identifying the determinants of electoral integrity and administration in advanced democracies: the case of Britain

Identifying the determinants of electoral integrity and administration in advanced democracies: the case of Britain

Public Administration and the Integrity of the Electoral Process in British Elections

Trends in the Study of Public Administration: Empirical and Qualitative Observations from Public Administration Review, 2000–2009

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