‘Celebrating’ the Tenth Anniversary of the 2000 Election Controversy: What the World Can Learn from the Recent History of Election Dysfunction in the United States

27 Pages Posted: 13 Dec 2010

Date Written: December 12, 2010

Abstract

This essay recounts the history of election dysfunction in the United States over the past ten years with an eye toward lessons it can teach the rest of the world. The U.S. experience has been plagued by three deeply rooted problems, each of which exists in other countries, but which, in combination, have made U.S. election reform quite difficult. First, the U.S. has not found a way to craft authentically nonpartisan institutions to oversee elections. Second, the extreme decentralization of the American system ensures that the quality of democracy will vary both between and within states. Finally, the reliance on relatively untrained volunteers to supervise the actual process of voting inhibits the potential for legal change as the voting experience depends on the fortuity of judgments made by novice administrators. The essay concludes with a discussion of potential metrics for democratic success.

Suggested Citation

Persily, Nathaniel, ‘Celebrating’ the Tenth Anniversary of the 2000 Election Controversy: What the World Can Learn from the Recent History of Election Dysfunction in the United States (December 12, 2010). Indiana Law Review, Vol. 44, 2010, Columbia Public Law Research Paper No. 10-257, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1724125

Nathaniel Persily (Contact Author)

Stanford Law School ( email )

559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA 94305
United States
9175703223 (Phone)

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