The ACE topics covers 12 key areas in electoral management, with an emphasis on sustainability, professionalism and trust in the electoral process, they are:
Electoral Systems
Focuses on the design, mechanisms, and effects of 12 distinct electoral systems on national, local and supranational levels.
Legal Framework
Using a comparative perspective, this topic analyzes specific issues related to legal and administrative regulations which can be seen as fundamental for any election aspiring to be conducted in a free and fair manner.
Electoral Management
Offers in-depth coverage of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs), their roles and functions, and their involvement in organising, financing, and managing elections.
Boundary Delimitation
Discusses the administrative and cost implications of delimiting electoral districts for representation purposes and considers the social and political context in which delimitation takes place.
Civic and Voter Education
Introduces civic education and voter education and explores the possibilities and constraints of civic education as a way to secure democracy in varying political contexts and where appropriate, addresses more specific voter education programmes.
Voter Registration
Provides an overiew of voter registration as a mechanism to establish the eligibility of individuals to cast a ballot and characterizes elements of effective registration systems, namely the periodic list, the continuous register and civil register.
Voting Operations
Deals with the fundamental process of recording votes and providing access to votings with consideration of electoral legislation and management, administrative regulations, technology and special considerations for voting operations in less developed countries.
Parties and Candidates
Covers the role of political parties and candidates as key stakeholders in the electoral process.
Vote Counting
Addresses the importance and fundamental principles of vote counting, including coverage of transparency, security, professionalism, accuracy, secrecy, timeliness, accountability, and equity in the vote counting process.
Media and Elections
Provides a comprehensive look at the role of the media during election periods and importance of facilitating media freedom.
Electoral Integrity
Discusses issues of transparency, accountability and accuracy in electoral administration, as well as the ethical behaviour of key players able to contribute to maintaining integrity.
Elections and Technology
Aims to introduce various technologies and their impact on electoral administration.
