Whether or not they are right, public perceptions matter for electoral integrity. It is, after all, voters who ultimately grant legitimacy to elected governments. In an age when electoral processes face a bevy of new challenges, and public trust in democratic institutions is declining, protecting electoral integrity is of utmost importance. Perceptions of the electoral process are complex, the result of multiple, intersecting drivers. Nonetheless, electoral rules and EMB behaviour have a demonstrable impact on public confidence, and attention to these factors can help boost trust.
While experts have long pointed to campaign finance and campaign media as among the weakest aspects of the electoral cycle, our data reveal that court challenges (and from there the public) are much more focused on voting and vote counting. This is unsurprising because voters engage with the electoral cycle differently than others. They tend to have a different and narrower set of touchpoints throughout the electoral cycle than actors such as political parties, EMBs and observers.
Going forward, it will be important to integrate public perception data into decision making. More consistent and focused communication strategies that span the entirety of the electoral cycle will be critical, as they can help foster an important trusted relationship between EMBs and the public and mitigate unfounded doubts, allegations or suspicions of fraud and irregularities. Increased attention to polling stations and vote-counting centres is also important, as these areas are focal points for voters who want to be engaged with elections in their respective countries. Finally, voters and the public pay attention to the rules and regulations in place, and deviations matter in public assessments of the credibility of elections.
If elections are to continue to act as the foundation stones of democratic systems, it is critical to reinforce public trust in them. Integrating popular opinion into the activities of the electoral cycle is one important step in this process.