The Atlantic: "The Best Way to Protect Elections From Partisan Manipulation"

From ERN Newsletter

Former White House Counsel and Law Professor Larry Schwartztol cites ERN research in his opinion piece on impartial elections for The Atlantic.

Nonpartisan, professionalized election administration is the norm in many other democracies; the American system of allowing partisan politicians to run elections is an outlier. Democracies around the world administer their elections in a host of different ways, reflecting their own histories and systems of government. But they have one thing in common: Outside the U.S., they almost uniformly rely on professionals who have nothing to do with the hurly-burly of elective politics to oversee elections.

Some countries rely on a national body; others devolve authority to regional or local governments. None of them vests power over elections in officials who run in partisan races for the job of election chief. The American system of election officials chosen through partisan elections, or appointed based on their affiliation with partisan officials, has not found takers among democracies abroad.