Global & Technical Leadership
VOTE COUNT VERIFICATION
Vote Count Verification Study (2006-07). DI has conducted a comprehensive review and assessment for USAID of vote count verification (VCV) techniques, including statistically based and comprehensive Parallel Vote Tabulations (Quick Counts), exit polls, public opinion surveys, and postelection statistical analyses. The project reviews the experiences with vote count verification in recent transitional or postconflict elections and makes recommendations on the advantages and disadvantages of various verification techniques, depending on the project’s specific objectives and the nature of the relevant political environment.
As part of this study, DI has conducted a number of activities in the U.S. and abroad. In March 2007, working with The Carter Center, DI convened a roundtable of experts on vote count verification in Washington, DC. Participants came from USAID, the UN Electoral Assistance Division, UNDP, International IDEA, the European Union, the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa, the Canadian International Development Agency, Organization of American States, California Institute of Technology, Cornell University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, Freedom House, NDI, The Asia Foundation, RTI International, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The presentations and discussion at the roundtable contributed to DI’s effort to synthesize recommendations for donors, policymakers, and implementers regarding VCV strategies and techniques in transitional and postconflict elections. In June 2008, DI provided training on VCV for USAID officers at the 2008 USAID Democracy and Governance Conference.
ELECTIONS AND ELECTION MONITORING
U.S. State Department, Election Expert. For the State Department, Eric Bjornlund authored “More than Elections,” in More than Elections: How Democracies Transfer Power (U.S. Department of State, January 2010), available at http://www.america.gov/publications/ejournalusa.html.
Improving International Election Monitoring (2003-07). DI has advised The Carter Center on the Center’s project to improve international election monitoring, including an effort to develop more objective indicators for the elements of free and fair elections and a methodology for monitoring electronic voting. DI advised on election standards, prepared a major working paper on international monitoring methodology, and participated in working group meetings on developing a methodology for monitoring electronic voting and on election dispute resolution. DI Program Officer Bill Gallery participated in a Carter Center study mission to monitor electronic voting in the December 2006 presidential election in Venezuela.
Elections and Security Working Group (2005-06). For the State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, DI Principal Eric Bjornlund served as an expert participant in a working group on elections and political parties in stabilization and reconstruction operations. He made a presentation at a USAID conference on elections and security in May 2006.
State Department, Democracy Dialogues, Election Administration and Election Monitoring (2006). At the invitation of the U.S. State Department, DI prepared a paper, “Elections in a Democratizing World,” for the State Department’s website and Democracy Dialogues series. The document was translated into Chinese, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, and Persian and disseminated throughout the world. As an expert on election administration and election monitoring, Eric Bjornlund conducted a State Department-sponsored webchat with participants from around the world (“Democracy Dialogues: Election Commissions and Election Monitoring,” August 2006).
Cameroon, Direct Video Conference on Role of Election Commissions (2007). For the U.S. Embassy in Cameroon, Mr. Bjornlund spoke on role of election commissions for an audience of election officials and civic leaders in Cameroon.
U.S. COURT ADMINISTRATION
Study of Court Reporters and Electronic Recording of Court Proceedings (2006-07). In the U.S., DI worked with Opinion Dynamics Corporation, a major national survey research firm, to conduct a comprehensive, national study of court reporters and electronic recording of court proceedings.
