General Discussion

deminks

(11,014 posts) Thu Nov 20, 2014, 11:05 AM Nov 2014

'Electoral Integrity Project' Report Ranks U.S. 26th Amongst World Democracies

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=10949

A new report [PDF] by researchers at Harvard and the University of Sydney finds the U.S. ranks just 26th on a global index of election integrity. That finding places the U.S. in the category of nations with "Moderate" election integrity, ranking the country one notch above Mexico and one notch below Micronesia, according to the findings tracking elections in 66 countries.

(snip)

"It is also striking," the researchers wrote, "that despite centuries of elections, in the 2012 presidential contests, the United States was ranked only 26th worldwide by experts in the overall comparison of electoral integrity. This rating was similar to countries such as Mexico, Mongolia, and Georgia."

"Further analysis of the data showed that experts reduced the overall score for the United States due to concern about the quality of their electoral laws, voter registration, the process of drawing district boundaries, as well as regulation of campaign finance," the study notes.

"Voter registration, in particular, has become increasingly polarized and litigious in the United States ever since the 2000 'Florida' debacle, generating growing controversy in state-houses and the courts and a blue-ribbon Presidential Commission. The PEI [Perceptions of Election Integrity index] evaluations suggest that the role of money in American politics, and the redistricting process, both deserve more detailed scrutiny."

(snip)

Nations with elections found to have more integrity than the U.S., as per the study's benchmarks, include Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Iceland, Czech Republican, South Korea, Austria, Slovenia, Israel, Cyprus, Lithuania, Australia, Rwanda, Japan, Chile, Italy, Grenada, Malta, Argentina, Georgia, Mongolia and Micronesia.

(end snip)

Sigh.