Blog – Electoral Management

Adapting elections to COVID-19: five key questions for decision makers

May 22, 2020 by Toby James

Toby James

The global spread of COVID-19 has already profoundly impacted the health and welfare of citizens around the world. Decisions being made about how elections are run during the pandemic will have a further profound effect, shaping the health of democracy in the future. Many policymakers have responded to the pandemic…

New Report on European Electoral Management

April 19, 2020April 20, 2020 by Holly Ann Garnett

Holly Ann Garnett

A new report and associated dataset were released today detailing the results of the European wave of the Electoral Management Survey. Electoral Management Survey Europe Report April 2020Download

Should elections be postponed because of coronavirus?

March 18, 2020 by Toby James

Toby James

Should elections be postponed because of coronavirus? EPA/Tannen Maury Toby James, University of East Anglia Local elections scheduled to take place in England and Wales in the first week of May – including the London mayoral vote – have been postponed as part of attempts to contain the spread of…

Who runs elections and how can they be improved? Independence, resources and workforce conditions are essential for electoral integrity

September 20, 2019September 20, 2019 by Toby James

Toby James

In new research published about how elections are run around the world, Toby S. James, Leontine Loeber, Holly Ann Garnett and Carolien van Hamfind that organisational independence matters for well-run elections, and that election management could be improved with more resources, improved working conditions for election employees – and a better gender balance in electoral…

2019 English Local Elections Poll Worker Survey

April 4, 2019April 4, 2019 by Toby James

Toby James

Researchers from the universities of East Anglia (Dr. Toby James) and Newcastle (Dr. Alistair Clark) are carrying out a survey of polling station workers and presiding officers at the 2019 local elections. This page provides some FAQs for those areas who are taking part. We will also update the page with…

Photo ID Implementation in Missouri Counties

November 7, 2018 by Toby James

Toby James

Voter ID has been a controversial policy in the US for many years. Joseph Anthony and David C. Kimball's study, presented at the Electoral Management Boston workshop, looked at the implementation in Missouri. In our study, we provide a examination of the implementation of a new photo identification (ID) requirement…

The Boston Building Better Elections Workshop

September 24, 2018October 4, 2018 by Toby James

Toby James

August saw the Electoral Management Network organised the ‘“Building Better Elections: New Challenges in Electoral Management", at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) in Boston, USA. The workshop considered how elections could be better run during times when electoral officials face major new challenges such as cybersecurity and resource constraint, and…

2018 English Local Elections Survey

February 22, 2018March 6, 2018 by Toby James

Toby James

Researchers from the universities of East Anglia (Dr. Toby James) and Newcastle (Dr. Alistair Clark) are carrying out a survey of polling station workers and presiding officers at the 2018 local elections. This page provides some FAQs for those areas who are taking part. We will also update the page with…

Electoral Management Research Network Launched

October 25, 2017October 25, 2017 by Toby James

Toby James

A new international network for research on the management of elections was launched last month. The Electoral Management Research Network aims to bring together scholars studying electoral management from around the world, providing a platform for sharing research findings and stimulating collaborative research projects. It was formally launched at a…

Funding Electoral Services in England and Wales

Many British electoral services are under financial strain

June 5, 2017June 5, 2017 by Toby James

Toby James

As the UK General Election takes place this week, a new report from the University of East Anglia and Clearview Research reveals that many British electoral services are under financial strain, writes Dr. Toby S. James. Elections in the U.K. are well run. Some may have complaints about the majoritarian…

Students at the University of East Anglia

Too late for #GE2017 – but now universities will have to play a role in registering students to vote in England

May 13, 2017 by Toby James

Toby James

It came too late for this general election – but the UK Parliament has passed legislation that will mean that universities will again have to play a role in registering their students to vote. Toby S James, Chris Rennard and Josh Dell explain why this is an important step towards…

Designing the Voter ID pilots in Britain

January 3, 2017 by Toby James

Toby James

Toby S. James analyses the UK government's proposals to pilot voter ID and makes recommendations about how the pilots are organised and assessed. Christmas is a time for tinsel, presents and major policy announcements about British electoral law, it seems. Last week, the government announced it would accept many of the…

Call for Papers: Building Better Elections, 11th ECPR General Conference Universitetet I Oslo, Oslo 6 – 9 September 2017

December 14, 2016December 14, 2016 by Toby James

Toby James

Building Better Elections: Election Management in Comparative Perspective 11th ECPR General Conference Universitetet I Oslo, Oslo 6 - 9 September 2017 Endorsed by the ECPR Standing Group on Comparative Political Institutions. We are delighted to be hosting our first event at the ECPR General Conference. We are now inviting paper…

Electoral administration at the 2016 US Presidential election

November 11, 2016 by Toby James

Toby James

In advance of the polls, Donald Trump claimed that the US Presidential election would be rigged. We probably won’t hear those claims again from the 45th American President. But after an election which put America’s electoral machinery in such a critical limelight it will still need sober and critical post-election…

Decentralised electoral administration: a cure or curse for US elections?

November 7, 2016 by Toby James

Toby James

Toby S. James from the University of East Anglia considers whether the decentralised nature of US elections helps or hinders the smooth running of electoral administration. Donald Trump’s claims that the US presidential election will be rigged have rightly been met with outrage and derision. Hillary Clinton called his remarks “horrifying”; incumbent president,…

Electoral Management Survey

October 3, 2016February 14, 2017 by Toby James

Toby James

[caption id="attachment_257" align="alignright" width="300"] Delegates from the 13th European Electoral Management Board Conference where the representatives endorsed the research project.[/caption] We are currently running a survey of electoral officials across Europe, and around the world. There has been considerable research undertaken into the laws that govern elections. Research on electoral…

The EU Referendum shows the need for electoral administration reform in Britain

September 26, 2016September 26, 2016 by Toby James

Toby James

Despite widespread fears to the contrary, the EU referendum passed off without major problems. But the vote revealed underlying problems with Britain’s electoral system – most notably the difficulty of registering to vote. Toby S James and Alistair Clark, authors of a new report by the Electoral Commission on the…

The 8 Million Missing from the Proposed UK Electoral Boundaries

September 13, 2016September 14, 2016 by Toby James

Toby James

The Boundary Commission for England and Wales are today publishing initial proposals for new Parliamentary constituencies. After a consultation, Parliament could approve them to be in place for the 2020 UK general election. Claims of 'Gerrymandering' are often made when electoral boundaries are changed. The good news is that independent bodies,…

Welcome to the website

August 19, 2016August 19, 2016 by Toby James

Toby James

I am delighted (and slightly nervous...) to launch this website about electoral management. The running of elections has been a long-held interest of mine since 2000 when the UK led the world with some innovations with postal and electronic voting. At the time it struck me how much research there was…