Measuring electoral quality is like chasing a moving
target. Just as election management professionals improve their skills, other
factors change and evolve, impacting the quality of elections. The introduction of new technologies
(including voting machines and the internet), the use of social media, the
role of private sector service providers, public tender, and procurement
processes, are only a few of the ever-changing factors. Measuring electoral
quality assesses the integrity of an elections'
adherence with
international standards as the baseline.
The tools and methodologies used for measuring the quality
of elections are many and diverse; election observer methodologies, the
electoral cycle, performance indicators, and election integrity assessment
methodologies are all common practice when measuring electoral quality. The
electoral cycle, for example, offers a framework for measuring electoral
quality that is universally agreed upon and which organizes all the components
of an electoral process into three phases: the pre-election period, the
election period and the post-election period. Various scoring systems, both
quantitative and qualitative methods are utilized to assess distinct elements
of electoral processes. The findings of the various assessments and evaluations
of elections are used by election management professionals, political parties
and candidates, voters, and election observers to improve their skills and
inform their experiences. The practice of supporting and measuring the quality
of elections remains a central act in democratic life.
The Measuring Electoral Quality Encyclopedia topic is an introduction
to existing methodologies used to assess the conduct of elections under the
rubric of “measuring electoral quality.”
Although most of the techniques examined here are well known, they will
be grouped into several basic typologies to distinguish the qualities they
share, how their methodologies differ and the range of findings they produce.
The topic will also introduce the range of individual, national and
international actors involved in measuring electoral quality, as well as the
various approaches they implement in doing so.
