Election Universe

LA Voters Give Positive Reviews to New BMDs

    LA Voters Give Positive Reviews to New BMDs

The Super Tuesday primaries marked the debut of Los Angeles County’s Voting Solutions for All People (VSAP). The Ballot Marking Devices, which allowed voters to mark their choice, received excellent [...]

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10 commitments to empower participation this Democracy Day

    10 commitments to empower participation this Democracy Day

September 15 is the yearly observance to celebrate International Democracy Day. This year’s theme is “Participation.” Given that genuine democracy relies on people’s full involvement, human rights protection, collective decision-making, respect [...]

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Estonia, the unstoppable leader in online voting

    Estonia, the unstoppable leader in online voting

A significant 43.75% of Estonian voters who participated in the latest EU Elections cast their ballot online, a new record for Internet voting. The Baltic country keeps dominating the global [...]

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Election technology, the answer to the largest democracy of the world

    Election technology, the answer to the largest democracy of the world

“An election, to be inclusive, must cover all categories of the population and ensure all measures are taken to enable every eligible voter to vote” SY Quraishi, Former Chief Election [...]

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Blockchain, (just another) tool to advance online voting

    Blockchain, (just another) tool to advance online voting

The idea of using the blockchain technology to improve security, transparency, and flexibility of online voting has already proven to be a groundbreaking concept. The implementation of this innovation entails that [...]

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10 focus points from the DRC’s elections

    10 focus points from the DRC’s elections

The Democratic Republic of Congo conducted its highly awaited general elections on December 30, 2018. The elections were expected to restore peace and stability as well as creating hope [...]

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Women’s Day: Preventing violence against women in politics

    Women’s Day: Preventing violence against women in politics

“We recognize that women in various parts of the world are at different stages of participation in the life of their community, that some of them are prevented by law [...]

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How does the African Union propose to strengthen elections in 2019?

    How does the African Union propose to strengthen elections in 2019?

"Elections on the continent must be fair, based on the democratic principles of universal suffrage and political equality following international, continental and regional norms and standards." AUC Commissioner for Political [...]

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3 elections to watch in 2019 – Part II

    3 elections to watch in 2019 – Part II

Afghanistan Afghanistan’s presidential elections were scheduled for April 2019, but they are now being postponed for at least a few months to address technical problems evident in recent parliamentary elections. There is [...]

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Elections to watch in 2019 – Part I

    Elections to watch in 2019 – Part I

As the world’s innovations and communications channels keep on evolving and reshaping human existence and interactions, political participation and election integrity rise above the leading issues to monitor in 2019 [...]

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Five issues to watch in the European Parliamentary Elections

    Five issues to watch in the European Parliamentary Elections

The EU elections of 2019 together with the finalization of Brexit are reasonably close. The amalgamation of the two events is set to interrupt the present-day patterns of policy-making in [...]

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Does disinformation hurt elections? 10 proposals from the UK

    Does disinformation hurt elections? 10 proposals from the UK

Fake news can be detrimental to election processes in any democracy. Political leaders have even gone as far as considering digital misinformation a pandemic. The spread of false or manipulated [...]

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4 technology concerns in the road for the 2020 Elections

    4 technology concerns in the road for the 2020 Elections

Though the U.S. Presidential elections are just around the corner, there are cybersecurity and policymaking experts still pondering the 2016 results. Meanwhile, voters and elected officials are still adjusting to [...]

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Is Rwanda an atypical case for gender participation in Africa?

    Is Rwanda an atypical case for gender participation in Africa?

Rwanda held elections last month to choose legislators for the 80-seat Chamber of Deputies, 24 of which were reserved for women, two for youth candidates and one for people with [...]

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How much does an election cost?

    How much does an election cost?

The cost of elections is a challenging number to study as it varies drastically depending on the political, socio-economic, legal or historic contex. Broadly speaking, costs can include a variety of [...]

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How elections are contributing to peace

    How elections are contributing to peace

Elections are critical to support healthier democracies within a sustainable and peaceful environment. As we celebrate the International Day of Peace, let us focus on eight ways in which election [...]

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How to celebrate Democracy Day? 3 Perspectives beyond elections

    How to celebrate Democracy Day? 3 Perspectives beyond elections

Democracy is as much a process as a goal. It represents a mode of government and community coexistence that requires broad engagement and input by ruling bodies, individuals and all [...]

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Is Biometric voting registration a promising trend in Africa?

    Is Biometric voting registration a promising trend in Africa?

Africa has been experiencing swift political transitions during the last few decades. Reforms have come with demands for greater transparency and accountability. In consequence many of the election management bodies [...]

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Pakistan heads to the polls to combat gender inequality at the ballot box

    Pakistan heads to the polls to combat gender inequality at the ballot box

Promoting the participation of women in politics must be a priority for all election management bodies. As the legendary American civil rights leader, Susan B. Anthony stated, “There never will [...]

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5 surprising points about Paraguay General Elections

    5 surprising points about Paraguay General Elections

Last April, more than four million Paraguayans were registered to hit the polls for a general election. Voters went to choose both national and local authorities. The event is the [...]

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Controversy surrounds election automation in DRC

    Controversy surrounds election automation in DRC

The controversy around the upcoming DRC elections has only increased after the South Korean Government distanced itself from Miru Systems, the Korean company that will be providing voting equipment to [...]

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Colombia’s presidential election, beyond the peace process

    Colombia’s presidential election, beyond the peace process

The three national elections scheduled in Colombia for 2018 are keeping election authorities quite busy. The first round of elections were held on March 11, when citizens elected members of Senate [...]

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Campaign period winds down as Turkmen voters get ready for parliamentary and local elections

    Campaign period winds down as Turkmen voters get ready for parliamentary and local elections

Although Turkmenistan is recognized internationally as a repressive and authoritarian regime, citizens are scheduled to head to the polls on March 25 to elect 125 five seats in the Turkmenistan [...]

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Technology a boon for illiterate voters – study reveals

    Technology a boon for illiterate voters – study reveals

Illiteracy has always been a major exclusionary factor in elections. Voters who lack the ability to read and write often find themselves unable to exercise their right to choose their [...]

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Despite challenges and setbacks, democracy remains resilient – IDEA international publication

    Despite challenges and setbacks, democracy remains resilient –  IDEA international publication

There is a persistent perception that democracy is on the wane. In fact, a report from Freedom House showed that 71 countries registered declines in political rights and civil liberties, [...]

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7 things to know about the upcoming presidential elections in Czech Republic

    7 things to know about the upcoming presidential elections in Czech Republic

Election Day is scheduled for January 12-13. If none of the candidates wins a majority of the votes, the top two will head to a second round set for [...]

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5 tips to avoid being fooled by ‘Fake News’

    5 tips to avoid being fooled by ‘Fake News’

Arguably the biggest story in the last two years is how fake news has contaminated the news ecosystem, deceiving millions and even unduly influencing the outcome of some elections. Fake news [...]

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Some 478 million voters in the Americas to restore faith in Democracy

    Some 478 million voters in the Americas to restore faith in Democracy

The year 2018 will be an important one for the Americas as roughly 82% of the approximately 580 million eligible voters in the region are expected to cast a ballot [...]

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Trust is in decline, Edelman Intelligence finds

    Trust is in decline, Edelman Intelligence finds

Around the world, key democratic institutions are taking a bad hit on their trust index. This “implosion of confidence” was revealed in the 2017 Trust Barometer conducted by Edelman Intelligence, [...]

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Nepal parliamentary elections set

    Nepal parliamentary elections set

Nepalese voters are set to vote for federal and provincial members of parliaments in a two-phase elections set for November 26 and December 7. Local and foreign observers are closely [...]

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How automated polls boosted the Philippine economy

    How automated polls boosted the Philippine economy

While largely underreported, well-run elections can significantly impact the economy of a country. Credible results that are acceptable to the general public have the effect of immediately dousing whatever political heat [...]

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Germany decides as world watches

    Germany decides as world watches

On September 24, Germany is set to elect members of the Bundestag, the country’s lower house.  Some 61 million eligible voters are expected to cast their votes that could decide [...]

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Africa’s Election Season 2017

    Africa’s Election Season 2017

Following recent elections in Algeria, Gabon, Republic of Congo and Senegal, the African continent is preparing to observe several more elections- including the first local elections in Tunisia, legislative elections [...]

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Elections in Europe – Winter Season

    Elections in Europe – Winter Season

With the month of July soon ending, the international community still waits to see a number of critical elections be held in Europe- including presidential elections in Slovenia, parliamentary elections [...]

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Entrepeneur lauds online voting in Estonia as the future

    Entrepeneur lauds online voting in Estonia as the future

Noted internet entrepreneur Kalev Leetaru recently cited the Estonian online voting system saying that the ability it gives to voters to cast their vote and verify it by using two different [...]

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The Business of Voting

    The Business of Voting

The Penn Wharton Public Policy Institute  of the University of Pennsylvania recently published a comprehensive report on the U.S. election technology industry. ‘The Business of Voting’ closely analyzes the market trends, [...]

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High turnout marks Turkish plebiscite

    High turnout marks Turkish plebiscite

Eighty six per cent of the 58 million registered Turkish voters turned up in polling precincts to decide whether or not to adopt 18 proposed amendments in the Constitution. While Turkish [...]

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10 fast facts about the upcoming Bulgarian elections

    10 fast facts about the upcoming Bulgarian elections

Bulgaria will hold parliamentary elections on March 26. Originally scheduled in 2018, the elections were bumped up following the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the failure of the political [...]

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Modernizing elections – Recommendations by WebRoots Democracy

    Modernizing elections – Recommendations by WebRoots Democracy

In January, WebRoots Democracy published a report entitled ‘Democracy 2.0’, which analyzes the progress made since 2015 when the UK’s Speaker of the House, John Bercow, reported the findings of [...]

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Enfranchised is empowered: how tech can ensure all voters can vote

    Enfranchised is empowered: how tech can ensure all voters can vote

In an age when so much can be accomplished without ever stepping outside,  it seems anachronistic and downright anomalous to hear of voters still not able to vote just because [...]

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Powering democracy in Africa through Technology

    Powering democracy in Africa through Technology

Technology is playing a big role in strengthening democracy by modernizing election administration. This was noted by Brigalia Bam, former chairperson of Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa who wrote [...]

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Technology a boon to voters in India

    Technology a boon to voters in India

Dr. S.Y. Quraishi, former head of the Election Commission of India, recently penned an article in which he provides some interesting insights on the benefits technology has brought to Indian [...]

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Online survey reveals voters want more and better voting technology

    Online survey reveals voters want more and better voting technology

An online survey conducted by Edelman Intelligence right after the recent U.S. presidential election revealed that voters are ready for an overhaul of the election technology inventory. According to survey results, [...]

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Philippines, Estonia, Brazil, India: Digital Democracy trailblazers

    Philippines, Estonia, Brazil, India: Digital Democracy trailblazers

Richard Soudriette, founder and former president of International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), labeled Philippines, Estonia, Brazil, India and Estonia as pioneers for their pioneering efforts in implementing electoral technology. In [...]

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e-Democracy and the empowerment of citizens

    e-Democracy and the empowerment of citizens

Photo courtesy of: http://beyondthe.eu/e-democracy-ukraine/ Political observers who are quick to spot movements just bubbling under the surface have recently taken notice of how e-Democracy is enabling more and more citizens to [...]

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By a hairline: Four US elections that were really really close

    By a hairline: Four US elections that were really really close

Pundits have started to speculate how close the US presidential race will be. Is it going to be a blowout similar to when President Lyndon Jonson trounced Barry Goldwater (R) [...]

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The Future of Elections

    The Future of Elections

“The 21st Century is truly the golden age of technology. Humanity depends on technology for everything with one notable exception, voting. For more than two centuries democracies have relied on [...]

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The inclusion imperative: why elections need to be more accessible to disabled voters

    The inclusion imperative: why elections need to be more accessible to disabled voters

Persons with disabilities (PWDs) have always been consigned to the fringes of society and generally do not enjoy the same access to services as more able-bodied citizens. Even in the [...]

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UK, Australia, South Korea blaze e-government trail

    UK, Australia, South Korea blaze e-government trail

Once a fringe area, e-government is fast gaining acceptance worldwide as governments finally turn to the internet to amplify their service delivery capabilities. At the moment, UK, Australia, and South Korea [...]

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Study confirms very high acceptability of internet voting among Toronto voters

    Study confirms very high acceptability of internet voting among Toronto voters

A recent survey of Toronto voters showed an extremely high support for internet voting, with as much as 98% of respondents saying that they are likely to again vote online [...]

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Vietnam climbs 10 notches on UN e-Government list

    Vietnam climbs 10 notches on UN e-Government list

In what observers are considering a strong indicator of Vietnam’s resoluteness in adopting e-Governance, the country has just moved up ten places in a UN study ranking the progress of [...]

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Identification tech crucial in e-Governance – Estonian president

    Identification tech crucial in e-Governance – Estonian president

Speaking at the Tallinn e-Governance Conference last May, Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves underscored the importance of a reliable identification technology in ensuring better e-Government services. "I believe that the role [...]

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More Rwandans get e-Government services

    More Rwandans get e-Government services

Residents of the Gasabo District in Rwanda finally got a taste of e-Government services with the launch of an e-Government online portal. The initiative garnered praises from residents who expressed [...]

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Philippine electronic count “almost perfect”

    Philippine electronic count “almost perfect”

Automated elections in the Philippines got a boost when an election watchdog announced that its random manual (RMA) showed a 99.8% match between the electronic count and the manual count. "It [...]

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The Philippines improves speed of election proclamations

    The Philippines improves speed of election proclamations

On May 9 the Philippines automated its third national election with great result. Leveraging technology, basically all candidates vying for local offices were proclaimed between Election Night and the next [...]

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US voting technology – A market research

    US voting technology – A market research

Smartmatic, a world leader in election technology, recently conducted a market research study to explore the relationship between voter turnouts and the voter experience and the voting technology in the [...]

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Philippine poll body launches voter education campaign

    Philippine poll body launches voter education campaign

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is going to great lengths to ensure that all registered voters in the Philippines are equipped with knowledge on how to properly cast their votes [...]

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Women participated in Saudi Arabia elections for the first time

    Women participated in Saudi Arabia elections for the first time

For the first time since 2005 when municipal council elections were carried out in Saudi Arabia, women were able to participate as both voters and candidates. In this election there were [...]

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Argentina General Election 2015: key facts

    Argentina General Election 2015: key facts

On October 25th a general election was held in Argentina. Voters went to the polls in order to choose both the President and the Congress, while some provinces also elected [...]

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Electronic voting in Venezuela, another successful election

    Electronic voting in Venezuela, another successful election

On December 6, Venezuelans headed to the polls to elect 167 representatives to the National Assembly. Electronic voting played a key role in helping authorities run the election. Only a few hours [...]

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7 facts about Polish Parliamentary elections

    7 facts about Polish Parliamentary elections

On October 25th, elections to both the lower chamber of the Polish parliament (Sejm) and the upper chamber (Senate) were held for the 2015-2019 period. 460 seats were contested for [...]

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Historic vote in Burma

    Historic vote in Burma

On November 8th the citizens of Burma headed to the polls in order to cast their votes in the first elections since 1990 when the military government recognise the victory [...]

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9 facts about the upcoming Venezuelan Parliamentary elections

    9 facts about the upcoming Venezuelan Parliamentary elections

A total of 167 deputies will be elected on December 6, 2015. 164 deputies will be chosen at the state level while 3 additional deputies will be elected to represent Venezuela’s indigenous [...]

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Can Google rig elections? – the rebuttal

    Can Google rig elections? – the rebuttal

Amit Singhal, senior vice president and software engineer at Google, responded Robert Epstein’s article which suggested that Google had the power to shift the voting preferences of undecided voters. Given [...]

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The modernisation of the US voter registration system

    The modernisation of the US voter registration system

September 22 was National Voter Registration Day in the United States, and what a better day to discuss the current registration system. One point of view adding value to the [...]

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US Voting Machines: An imminent crisis ahead?

    US Voting Machines: An imminent crisis ahead?

According to a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice (New York University School of Law), authored by Lawrence Norden and Christopher Famighetti, the United States’ election technology is [...]

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Can Google rig elections?

    Can Google rig elections?

“How Google Could Rig the 2016 Election” is the title of an article written by Robert Epstein and published by Politico in August. According to Epstein, Senior Research Psychologist at the [...]

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8-point listicle for the upcoming Guatemalan General Elections

    8-point listicle for the upcoming Guatemalan General Elections

Next Sunday, September 6, Guatemalans will head to the polls to elect the President and Vice President, Congress (158 deputies), Central American Parliament (20 deputies), and Mayors and councils for [...]

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New elections laws could disenfranchise voters in Canada

    New elections laws could disenfranchise voters in Canada

As Canada prepares for its 42nd federal election, some advocacy groups are rising concerns over the possible disenfranchisement of voters resulting from the recent changes in election legislation. The Fair Election Act (Bill [...]

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The case for election technology

    The case for election technology

Antonio Mugica, CEO and founder of Smartmatic, recently published an article titled “The Case for election Technology” in the European View journal. According to Mugica, despite the ubiquity of technology in [...]

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Elections 2015 in Haiti: Top 3 challenges

    Elections 2015 in Haiti: Top 3 challenges

1. Scope of the elections. One of the major challenges Haiti will be facing this year is having to put nearly all of its elected officials to the test. To schedule [...]

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Great expectations for Myanmar’s first open general election?

    Great expectations for Myanmar’s first open general election?

On 8 November Myanmar will hold its first open general election in 25 years to elect a second government under the 2008 constitution. The president in Myanmar is not directly [...]

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Top 10 facts about Burundi’s presidential election

    Top 10 facts about Burundi’s presidential election

Burundi’s presidential election will be held July 21, after been postponed by nearly a week. The postponement comes as a response to a request by leaders from the East African [...]

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The Philippines: gearing up for the 2016 general elections

    The Philippines: gearing up for the 2016 general elections

With a little over ten months to go before the Philippines goes to the polls to select the next president, the country’s poll body is itself deep in the process [...]

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What the last midterms taught us on the road to 2020 elections

    What the last midterms taught us on the road to 2020 elections

The 2020 U.S. general elections are around the corner. Approximately four hundred more days to go. The Election Commissions across the country have already started voting preparations, which include assessing [...]

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