Election quality varies enormously around the world. Given concerns about global democratic backsliding, the issue of how to improve and protect election quality is a pressing policy problem. Passing reforms to improve the quality of elections, however, has often proved difficult to achieve. Incumbent governments may be reluctant to reform the rules which brought them to power. Should they have a majority in the legislature, they may seek to pass reforms which make it easier for them to win in the future, potentially further causing election quality to decline. Electoral reform may also struggle to appear on the policy agenda ahead of issues such as the economy, law and order or education. Governments may also be unfairly criticised for ‘rigging’ the electoral process by sceptical publics – when their proposals might be beneficial for electoral integrity.
Academic research has tended to focus on the effects of electoral laws – leading to prescriptions about the reforms which should be made. However, there has been much less attention on the process of making electoral laws. Who should be involved? When should they take place? What practices are there to win trust amongst stakeholders and the public?
In March 2025, a collaborative conference was held between Electoral Integrity Project and The Westminster Foundation for Democracy. The workshop considered following themes and questions:
- What principles should underpin the electoral reform process?
- What are the barriers to ensuring that the electoral reform process is democratic, inclusive, transparent and consensus oriented?
- How can public trust be maintained?
- What interventions can be adopted to help to ensure ‘good’ electoral reform?
- Case studies of electoral reforms where the electoral process was strengthened / undermined.
The workshop aimed to come conclusions about the barriers and policies which can be enacted to bring about democratic electoral reform which meets the principles.
Select papers from the workshop will be published in a book with Oxford University Press.
Watch the videos and access the materials below.
Panel 1: challenges in making electoral laws democratically
- Chair: Toby James (University of East Anglia and LSE) (download)
- Discussant(s): Erin Fitz (Colorado State)
- ‘Long-Termism and Short-Termism in Campaign Finance and Election Reform’, Robert Boatright, Clark University, USA (download)
- ‘The balance between robust, transparent and practicable elections in the Netherlands’, Joris Gijsenbergh, Electoral Council of the Netherlands (download)
- ‘External influences on electoral reform’, Nikola Donev, Faculty of Law “Iustinianus Primus”- Skopje (download)
- ‘Beyond Election Monitoring: Advancing Electoral Reforms in the Philippines through Development Entrepreneurship’ Rona Ann Caritos, Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE), Philippines (download)
Panel 2: keynote Panel: Guidelines for democratic electoral reforms
- Introduced by Toby James (University of East Anglia and LSE)
- Speakers: Tanja Hollstein (Westminster Foundation for Democracy), Simon Hoare MP (Chair, Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, UK Parliament), Therese Pearce-Laanela (IDEA), Carla Luís (VotedHR and Coimbra University) and Brizza Rosales (ANFREL)
- Electoral reforms can impact the distribution of power and while the content is important the process of reform needs to receive the same attention. The Global Network for Securing Electoral Integrity (GNSEI) developed the Principles for Democratic Electoral Reform Processes to provide stakeholders with guideposts to identify, structure and monitor electoral reform processes in a democratic way aligned to global best practices. The roundtable will reflect on different electoral reform challenges and how the Principles can be used to mitigate those.
Panel 3: National case studies
- Chair: Leontine Loeber (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands)
- Discussants: Robert Boatright (Clark University, USA) and Toby James (University of East Anglia and LSE)
- ‘Polish Electoral Code 2011-2024 – an evidence-based reform?’ Anna Frydrych-Depka, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland
- Redesigning Elections for Democratic Integrity: Principles, Barriers, and Pathways to Reform: Case Study of Nigeria’s Elections from 1999 – 2023, Edward Agbai, Emmanuel University, Raleigh, NC, USA (download)
- ‘Electoral reforms 2014-2024: a case study of Lithuania’ Laura Matjošaitytė, Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania (download)
- Spain: improving the electoral system by recognizing the right to vote of all people with intellectual disabilities’ Victor Pascual, University Comillas Madrid, Spain (download)
- ‘Lessons Learned and the Way Forward for European Electoral Reforms’, Armin Rabitsch and Markus Pollack (download)
Panel 4: National case studies
- Chair: Toby James (University of East Anglia and LSE)
- Discussant: Michael Lidauer
- India by Zaad Mahmood Associate (Presidency University, India) (download)
- Ghana by Ransford Edward Van Gyampo and Emmanuel Graham (University of Ghana, Ghana) (download)
- South Africa by Dirk Kotze (University of South Africa, South Africa) (download)
Panel 5: National case studies
- Chair: Toby James (University of East Anglia and LSE)
- Discussant: Bernard Tamas, Valdosta State University
- Ukraine by Erik Herron and Khrystyna Pelchar (West Virginia University, USA) (download)
- USA by Tova Wang (Harvard University, USA)
- Mexico by Víctor Hernández-Huerta (Wake Forest University, USA) (download)
Panel 6: National case studies
- Chair: Darko Aleksov (University of East Anglia)
- Discussant: Rekai Rusinga (University of California, Davis, USA)
- Netherlands by Leontine Loeber (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands) (download)
- Peru by Narda Carranza (International IDEA, Sweden) (download)
- Hungary by Anna Unger (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary)
Panel 7: National case studies
- Chair: Darko Aleksov (University of East Anglia)
- Discussant: Leontine Loeber (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands).
- Russia, by Regina Smyth, (Indiana University, USA) (download)
- United Kingdom by Toby S. James (University of East Anglia and LSE, UK and Sophie Young (University of East Anglia) (download)
Panel 8: National case studies
- Chair: Darko Aleksov (University of East Anglia)
- Discussant: Emre Toros (Bilkent University, Turkey)
- Venezuela by Daniela Urosa (Boston College Law School, USA) (download)
- Zimbabwe, by Rekai Rusinga (University of California, USA)
- Mauritius by Sheetal Sheena Sookrajowa (University of Mauritius, Mauritius) and Allison McCulloch (Brandon University, Canada) (download)
- Working conclusions, Toby S. James (University of East Anglia and LSE, UK)
Toby S. James 