Illicit Tactics as Substitutes: Election Fraud, Ballot Reform and Contested Congressional Elections in the United States, 1860- 1930
(2017) In Comparative Political Studies 50(5). p.665-696- Abstract
- What is the relationship between ballot reforms and electoral malpractice? This article contributes to the growing comparative politics literature on the causes of election fraud in democratizing countries using the case of the 19th-century United States. We examine the adoption of the Australian ballot and disenfranchisement laws, and estimate their effects on multiple types of election fraud. Using a new measure of fraud in elections to the House of Representatives from 1860 to 1930, we find that the Australian ballot and disenfranchisement measures reduced vote-buying and voter intimidation. However, we further find that the Australian ballot had an “iatrogenic effect” of increasing registration and ballot fraud. Voting secrecy... (More)
- What is the relationship between ballot reforms and electoral malpractice? This article contributes to the growing comparative politics literature on the causes of election fraud in democratizing countries using the case of the 19th-century United States. We examine the adoption of the Australian ballot and disenfranchisement laws, and estimate their effects on multiple types of election fraud. Using a new measure of fraud in elections to the House of Representatives from 1860 to 1930, we find that the Australian ballot and disenfranchisement measures reduced vote-buying and voter intimidation. However, we further find that the Australian ballot had an “iatrogenic effect” of increasing registration and ballot fraud. Voting secrecy therefore led to substitution of one illicit electoral tactic for another. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/bb190afb-273c-42e9-af6d-48967f3905f3
- author
- Teorell, Jan LU and Kuo, Didi
- organization
- publishing date
- 2017
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Comparative Political Studies
- volume
- 50
- issue
- 5
- pages
- 665 - 696
- publisher
- SAGE Publications
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85013484210
- wos:000400003300005
- ISSN
- 1552-3829
- DOI
- 10.1177/0010414016649481
- project
- Swedish election corruption in historical-comparative perspective
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- bb190afb-273c-42e9-af6d-48967f3905f3
- date added to LUP
- 2016-05-10 17:41:02
- date last changed
- 2022-04-24 07:34:16
@article{bb190afb-273c-42e9-af6d-48967f3905f3, abstract = {{What is the relationship between ballot reforms and electoral malpractice? This article contributes to the growing comparative politics literature on the causes of election fraud in democratizing countries using the case of the 19th-century United States. We examine the adoption of the Australian ballot and disenfranchisement laws, and estimate their effects on multiple types of election fraud. Using a new measure of fraud in elections to the House of Representatives from 1860 to 1930, we find that the Australian ballot and disenfranchisement measures reduced vote-buying and voter intimidation. However, we further find that the Australian ballot had an “iatrogenic effect” of increasing registration and ballot fraud. Voting secrecy therefore led to substitution of one illicit electoral tactic for another.}}, author = {{Teorell, Jan and Kuo, Didi}}, issn = {{1552-3829}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{5}}, pages = {{665--696}}, publisher = {{SAGE Publications}}, series = {{Comparative Political Studies}}, title = {{Illicit Tactics as Substitutes: Election Fraud, Ballot Reform and Contested Congressional Elections in the United States, 1860- 1930}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0010414016649481}}, doi = {{10.1177/0010414016649481}}, volume = {{50}}, year = {{2017}}, }