The following is an extract from our short explainer “Things You Might Not Know About Elections.” You can find the entire explainer here: https://cffad.org/things-you-might-not-know-about-elections/
Elections provide a more peaceful and legitimate way of transferring power than other political systems, provided that everyone trusts that they are delivering a fair and legitimate result.
Elections administrators play a central role in this regard. So do state legislators, because the laws they pass dictate what local administrators may and may not do, for better or worse. Together, they can build trust by ensuring elections are inclusive, fairly and transparently conducted, and accurately counted. Trust is harmed when some citizens are excluded, bribed, intimidated, when their votes are not counted, or the counting process is done in secret.
Under the U.S. Constitution, the administration of elections is primarily controlled by each state government, with Congress reserving the right to review or intervene, such as in cases where voters’ civil rights may be threatened. Article 1, Section 4 says, “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of choosing Senators.” To learn more about how this Constitutional requirement affected the role of the states, click here and here. The National Conference on State Legislatures provides a good review of state and local elections administration here.
How have they been doing? The good news is that, on average, the quality of U.S. elections administration from 2012 through 2022 was better than 114 out of 169 countries measured. (According to the Electoral Integrity Project.) And the vast majority of our election administrators continue to strive to improve the process for voters and instill trust.
If you want to learn more about elections, we have a 9-part course, each part is a 20-minute read. Easy! Click here: https://cffad.org/things-you-might-not-know-about-elections/
