Policy Advice & Electoral Reform Essay – Master’s in Electoral Policy and Administration

  Individual essay (scenario-based)
/ Assessed

Objective

The scenario-based
activity is immersive, and you act as the main character. Therefore, you are to
perform the tasks assigned to you as if they were actual challenges you face in
your workplace.

The objective of the
electoral scenario exercise is: allow students to gain working familiarity
with the major electoral reforms and policy advice.

Description

1. Please identify an electoral reform that has been implemented in
   your country during the past 10-20 years. It may be administrative, legal,
   political, or it may have a combination of these characteristics.

If you cannot identify a reform in your own country, please choose a
reform implemented in another country.

To help you in identifying an electoral reform, here are some types
of reforms to consider:

•        
Change in the legislative
electoral system

•        
Change in the presidential
electoral system

•        
Change in the structure,
appointment process, or role of an EMB

•        
Changes in the voter
registration and identification process

•        
Significant changes related to
political finance or party funding

•        
Significant changes related to
the registration of political parties

•        
Changes in candidate
eligibility requirements

•        
Changes in voter eligibility
requirements

•        
Introduction of new election technology

•        
Significant changes in how
votes are counted, aggregated

•        
Prominent changes in civil or
political rights affecting the electoral process (for example, laws prohibiting
discrimination, protecting free speech, assembly, or association)

•        
Other reforms that have
impacted the electoral process.

1. Once you have identified the implemented reform, please discuss
   in max 2000 words the following:

1.     
Identify two electoral stakeholders
and describe how the reform may have benefitted or harmed each of them. Keep in
mind that opinions may differ as to whether a reform has been positive or
negative, so feel free to argue one side of the debate. In describing whether
the reform has been harmful or helpful, provide evidence (if possible) showing
the harm or benefit to the stakeholder (these may be survey results, changes in
voting patterns or turnout, change in political support, news articles, op-ed
or opinion columns, academic research, or information from other credible
sources). If you cannot locate evidence, in your own words describe in a few
sentences why you believe this stakeholder has been advantaged or disadvantaged
by the proposed reform.

2.     
Demonstrate how the implemented
reform meets, or fails to meet, international electoral standards and the
country’s national constitutional requirements. To do this, consider, and cite,
domestic and international electoral observation reports, and pronouncements
(if any) by human rights bodies or courts, as well as academic research, news
reports, CSO reports, and other sources. If you cannot locate such information,
in your own words describe in a few sentences why you believe this reform 1)
meets international standards 2) fails to do so or 3) explain why international
standards are not relevant to the reform.

3.     
If applicable, demonstrate how,
if applicable, the implemented reform has positively or negatively impacted
democratic “health” or the democratic environment overall. You may wish to
consider changes in voter turnout, party membership or number of political
parties, voter registration, candidate registration and applications,
percentage of invalidated ballots, or survey results showing that all or a
subset of voters are more or less engaged in the political process than before
the reform was implemented, among other data. In researching this, you might consider
academic research, surveys, news articles, political party statements, CSO
reports, election observation reports, and other credible sources. Note that it
may be that an electoral reform has had no measurable effect on the strength or
robustness of democracy.

!!! Important: I kindly ask you to consider the implementation of new technology in BRAZIL: Electronic voting machines. 

If you need reference readings please check the module’s handbook I uploaded. I also uploaded useful articles that you could translate if you don’t read Portuguese.

Please conduct a thorough analysis of the matter, and use as many references as you can, the more the better. 

Thank you!!