According to ElectionlineWeekly, Dan Tokaji, associate professor of law at Ohio State University, argues election administration reform efforts should shift from the rules governing elections to the institutions that govern them and focus on two dominant characteristics of our election system.

Tokaji writes the problems of running elections in America is due to decentralization and partisanship.

An example where decentralization was a problem is when Ohio’s Sixth Circuit found allegations of widespread disparities in voter registration, absentee ballots, polling place operations, poll workers, provisional voting and disability access sufficient to state.

In looking abroad he finds other countries have institutions that do a better job at managing elections. Following the trend of the spread of democracy through the world, Tokaji writes a growing recognition that an independent and trustworthy chief election authority is a critical component of a true democracy.

Of the countries with an independent commission, Tokaji uses the Australian Electoral Commission as a model. Operating independently of the government, the AEC is responsible for the conduct of federal elections. The commission consists of three members, a federal court judge, an electoral commissioner and a nonjudicial member, all pointed by the governor general.

Other forms of election authorities used around the world fall into two other categories, either run by an official witin the executive branch or divided authority. Countries using divided authority run elections with the oversight of the judiciary.

Additionally, recommendations are made to guide the next wave of reform in the U.S. including:

•           Replacing party-affiliated chief election officials with entities that are more insulated from partisan politics;

•           Caution from Congress should when imposing new mandates where implementation would require federal administrative oversight; and

•           Federal courts, as the institution most independent of partisan politics, should play an essential role in policing the administration of elections for the foreseeable future.

Read the full report here.