A new book on holding Elections During Emergencies and Crises is out now, and free to download. It seeks to learn the lessons from holding elections during the pandemic for future emergency situations. Elections often have to be held in emergency situations. The Covid-19 pandemic was one of the most serious emergency situations that the…Read more Elections in Emergencies and Crisis – book launched in the Swiss Parliament

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee of the UK Parliament has recently launched an inquiry into how to modernise the voter registration system. I gave oral evidence to the first sessional alongside colleague Professor Alistair Clark, which you can watch below. The UK system should introduce direct enrolment for the next generation of voters.…Read more UK Voter Registration Reform

The electoral process generates enormous volumes of data. The widespread availability of the data is important for democratic participation. It enables patterns of (non)participation to be traced and interventions to be developed to encourage turnout – including amongst marginalised communities and disengaged voters. It also enables political parties to reach voters and engage them in…Read more UK Electoral Data Report

Supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro have stormed the country's Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace. In the run up to the election, Bolsonaro repeatedly claimed that Brazil's electronic voting system was vulnerable to fraud - a claim dismissed by the electoral authorities. So how strong are Brazil's elections? Ahead of the…Read more Electoral Integrity in Brazil, in comparative perspective

Football fans face a moral quandary. Do they avidly follow the men's World Cup? Or boycott and stay away? The FIFA World Cup is one of the most anticipated sporting events in the world. But it is also being held in a country where serious concerns have been raised about human rights. These includes LBGTQ+…Read more Qatar 2022: the world’s most autocratic World Cup venue?

How does the quality of US elections compare globally? Here's a mini-Vlog lecture briefing ahead of the 2022 November mid-terms. Key points: There is a long history of problems with US elections dating back to the foundation of the Republic. The US is middle ranking when compared internationally - and 16th amongst the Americas. Electoral…Read more How does the quality of US elections compare globally?

The UK Elections Act 2022 gave the government of the day power to set a Strategy and Policy Statement outlining the strategic and policy priorities for elections and referendums. This document shapes the role, priorities and responsibilities of the Electoral Commission. In evidence to the UK Parliament I argue that this is removing the independence…Read more The UK Electoral Commission’s independence matters

The South African Electoral Commission hosted the Association of World Election Bodies' 5th General Assembly and International Conference Cape Town, South Africa. A key concern of the workshop was the democratic recession. I presented research developed with Holly Ann Garnett on whether there was an electoral integrity recession (look out for our forthcoming special issue of Electoral…Read more The Global Democratic Recession and Electoral Integrity: Strategies for EMBs

The Electoral Integrity Project hosted two workshops in Montreal, ahead of the APSA 2022 Annual Workshop. The first event focused on electoral integrity around the world in collaboration with the ACE Network and Elections Canada https://www.electoralintegrityproject.com/2022-eip-global-workshop. I presented findings from the recent EIP Global Electoral Integrity Report. Speakers included: Electoral Integrity Project – Global Electoral…Read more The Electoral Integrity Project in Montreal