Brady Faby

Professor Katz
11/21/2014

Elections in America have always been and continue to be a fundamental element of our
government. They do a number of things that result in the political landscape seen today. As
author Larry Sabato most notably states, Elections continue to be the cornerstone of American
government, a continual reaffirmation of the right of the people to rule.1 Elections also provide
a peaceful exchange of power, are barometers of public interest in politics, and can result in
changes in the direction of the country. However, gerrymandering, low voter turnout, and
cynicism surrounding campaign funding of political parties often question whether elections in
the United States are "free and fair." Elections have a large impact on the entire country and
significantly affect the lives of American citizens. A uniform standard for a democratic "free and
fair" electoral process has been published and revised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
An in-depth look into the IPU's standards, along with comprehending the entirety of the current
United States electoral process, will allow for an analysis on the changes that need to be made in
order for the United States to abide by the "free and fair" standards of the IPU.
Throughout the study of American history, it has become clear that there have been
critical elections that directed the country onto a new path. A simple and often cited example of
this is in 1932 when FDR defeated Herbert Hoover and considerably changed American politics
for the next three decades, redefining the role of the executive branch for years to come. While
FDR is remembered for his achievements while in office, his legacy was born in the election of
1932. In this case, the election was the vehicle for change and the citizens vote to elect a new
leader caused a series of events that affected their everyday lives. FDRs laws directly influenced
the lives of almost all Americans in some way. The entire direction of the country was changed
by FDRs election victory, yet the overall electoral system in the United States may not be "free
and fair. The Inter-Parliamentary Union is an international organization, which plays an integral
role in gaining further knowledge on requirements for "free and fair" elections as well as
assisting on other political and global issues.
Frederic Passy and William Cremer created the IPU in 1889 with the initial goal of
holding political negotiations for members of parliament. The overall objective of the IPU has
since changed. The original focus was tailored to the individual members of parliament and has
subsequently pivoted since then to focus on the parliaments of sovereign states. Since its origin
in 1889, the IPU has progressed and evolved substantially. The IPU adopted the Declaration on
Criteria for "free and fair" Elections in 1994, pertaining to the topic of elections and democracy.
This laid an important foundation for the spread of knowledge on holding a "free and fair"
election. This criteria became "universally recognized as the standard by which the quality of
elections is to be judged."2 Authors, such as Richard Katz, may disagree with this statement as he
claims the assessment of a free and fair election is much harder and complex then it would
1 Connor, Karen, and Larry Sabato. American Government: Roots and Reform. Special Preelection Preview Ed., Special Preview ed. New York: Macmillan ;, 1993. Print. (489)
2 Boda, Michael D. Revisiting "free and fair" Elections: An International Round Table on
Election Standards Organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva, November 2004.
Geneva, Switzerland: Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2004. Print. (5)

initially seem.
The Declaration on Criteria for "free and fair" Elections provides detailed analysis of
what embodies a "free and fair" election and covers many different topics. The adoption of this
work by the IPU was imperative in providing information at a global scale. In the Declaration
on Criteria for "free and fair" Elections, they define "free and fair" elections by famously
declaring, "In any State the authority of the government can only derive from the will of the
people as expressed in genuine, "free and fair" elections held at regular intervals on the basis of
universal, equal and secret suffrage."3 This gives us a broad outlook of how "free and fair"
elections can be implemented as well as a democratic standard.
There are many different complex aspects to this declaration. The in-depth explanation
for each of these different ideas goes into great detail. These extensive details are necessary in
framing a proper international guideline for "free and fair" elections in order to avoid disputes or
multiple forms of interpretation. The Constitution of the United States encounters this issue and
many of the framers ideas will forever be disputed and exploited.
The IPU's has stayed current with the further adoptions of the Universal Declaration on
Democracy in 1997 and the Codes of Conduct for Elections in 1998. The adoption of the
Universal Declaration on Democracy was a very important step towards publicizing the
requirements and needs of a democracy. It states, The key element in the exercise of democracy
is the holding of "free and fair" elections at regular intervals enabling the peoples will to be
expressed."4 This portrays the importance of "free and fair" elections in maintaining a
democratic government that is legitimate.
The adoption of the Codes of Conduct for Elections expanded further on the elements of
a "free and fair" election. This expansion added many important features that include, "the rule
of law, political parties and funding, political parties, candidates and candidature, campaign
activity and fair campaign practices, the role and responsibility of the media, election
administration and polling (including the role of independent or impartial commissions, and of
domestic and international observers), dispute resolution, and results."5 The constant evolvement
of the IPU's documents proves beneficial and is a progressive trend in maintaining up to date and
accurate information.
International organizations like the IPU and United Nations can provide great value to nations by
openly supporting them in their given endeavor. The support of reputable international
organizations provide a sense of legitimacy, from the public and other nations, towards a
particular nation or institution and this sense of legitimacy is invaluable.
Before exploring the steps necessary to bring the 2014 midterm election to the "free and
fair" standards of the IPU, we must first explore Richard Katz's work regarding democratic
principles along with the assessment of "free and fair" elections. In Richard Katz's portion of
Revisiting "free and fair" Elections, he sheds a unique light on the compatibility of freeness and
fairness. Freeness is described as being "understood to mean the lack of restrictions on those
contesting elections or otherwise participating in electoral politics," and fairness as being,
3 Gill, Guy S. "free and fair" Elections: International Law and Practice. Geneva: InterParliamentary Union, 1994. Print. (viii)
4 Gill, Guy S. "free and fair" Elections: International Law and Practice. Geneva: InterParliamentary Union, 1994. Print. (4)
5 Gill, Guy S. "free and fair" Elections: International Law and Practice. Geneva: InterParliamentary Union, 1994. Print. (6)

"understood as the metaphorical level playing field."6 By looking further into Katz's analysis on
the topic of freeness and fairness, one can conclude that "free and fair" elections are the formula
to having a legitimate democracy. However, there are many possible detrimental situations that
could negate the relationship between "free and fair" elections. The balance of freeness and
fairness is an important theme in Katz's work.
Holding a "free and fair" election is possible and beneficial in striving for a legitimate
democratic state. Contrastingly however, there is an immense amount of unknown variables that
can negatively affect the "free and fair" electoral process. Katz proves this point by stating there
is a "wide range of conditions and circumstances under which freeness and fairness are
incompatible."7 These "conditions and circumstances" he mentions describes the local conditions
among other factors. The importance of local conditions cannot be overlooked because these
conditions can be the deciding factor in gaining a legitimate democracy. Finally, due to these
local conditions and the sovereignty of states, Katz does not support a uniform set of democratic
standards.
The United States midterm elections were held on November 4th, 2014. The Republican
Party had a successful election by winning control of the Senate along with expanding their
majority in the House of Representatives. This election was the most expensive in history
spending a collective 3.7 billion dollars. In an ironic twist, the 3.7 billion dollars spent produced
the lowest voter turnout since World War II. The results of this election will implement one of
the largest Republican majorities in the history of the nation.
Congressional elections as a whole have demonstrated their importance in the political
landscape since they can cause a shift in majority in the Capital building. The 2006 midterm
election is a grand example of a congressional election that greatly affected the shape of the
country. The Democratic majority was won in both houses of congress for the first time since
1994. This greatly affected the last two years of republican George Bushs presidency as he
struggled mightily to get anything accomplished. President Bush was unable to get much of his
agenda through congress as he began to take much of the blame for the countries struggles
during his second term. The congressional election of 2006 mattered because it gave the
democrats momentum. They needed this momentum heading into the crucial and historical 2008
election, thus starting the chain of events that have led to the political scene of President Obama's
first term. The 2006 congressional election was a catalyst for the liberal government that
followed.
Using the similarities of the 2006 midterm elections as a foundation, the 2014 midterm
election exemplified the same situational shift with the party's being reversed. The 2014 midterm
election could prove to be just as important for the Republican Party as it was for the Democratic
Party in 2006. Also, it will be interesting to observe if the situation will be just as detrimental for
Obama's second term as it was for Bush's. The act of gerrymandering played an important role in
the Republican Partys victory.
Gerrymandering was first coined in 1812 as Governor Elbridge Gerry approved a plan to
6 Boda, Michael D. Revisiting "free and fair" Elections: An International Round Table on
Election Standards Organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva, November 2004.
Geneva, Switzerland: Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2004. Print. (32)
7 Boda, Michael D. Revisiting "free and fair" Elections: An International Round Table on
Election Standards Organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva, November 2004.
Geneva, Switzerland: Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2004. Print. (36)

change the district lines into what looked like the "outline of a mythical salamander."8 The
splitting of Essex County occurred because the Federalists at the time were becoming too strong
so the idea of splitting their territory to weaken them arose.
According to Mark Rush, the definition for Gerrymandering is very complex and before
his publishing, there was not an adequate explanation for it. He believes that gerrymandering is
the "alteration of district lines in order to deny or impair the representational opportunity of a
group of voters who, under other circumstances (i.e., a different districting plan), could, if they
so desired, coalesce to ensure the election of a candidate who would serve as their delegate to a
legislature assembly."9 Due to the altering of the district boundaries, an unfair partisan advantage
to the gerrymandering party. Gerrymandering played a crucial role leading up to the 2014
elections and ultimately led to the Republican Party gaining a majority in the Senate as well as
increasing their majority in the House of Representatives. The plan to redraw the congressional
lines had been in place since 2010. The emergence of more republican governors and state
legislatures provided optimal conditions to gerrymander, thus giving the Republican Party a
major partisan advantage.
The continued practice of gerrymandering in the United States government shows the
lack of democratic integrity in todays political system. Government officials self-interest
continuously takes precedent over the needs of the American people. Gerrymandering portrays a
negative aspect of the election process and democracy as a whole.
The detrimental effects of gerrymandering go further than just electoral results. It also likely
played a role in the low voter turnout. If a democratic voter resides in a state where the district
borders have been altered to heavily favor the Republican Party, the voter loses his incentive to
vote. However, there are many other factors which also effect the voter turnout.
The state and congressional elections lack the same importance as the presidential
election to most Americans. Since they cannot see the affect that their senator or congressman
has on their everyday lives, coupled with the fact that they are too busy (or not interested
enough) to keep up with the elections in the first place. Low-voter turnout is common in these
state and congressional elections unless they come on the same Election Day as the Presidential
one. So while there are a few handfuls of elections that do matter, there are a thousand on the
other side that dont. Then again, it is hard to ignore Conrad Burns Montana state senate victory
in 1988.
The United States, in general, does not produce a high voter turnout in comparison to
other countries. A high voter turnout helps exemplify legitimacy in a democracy. The current
implementation of Voter ID laws in the United States also negatively effects the number of voters
along with being discriminatory.
In order to adhere to the "free and fair" criteria of the IPU, the Voter ID laws should be
changed. A case can be made that the Voter ID laws are in breach of the IPU's criteria for the
"Voting and Election Rights." According to the IPU, "Every adult citizen has the right to vote in
elections, on a non- discriminatory basis."10 These laws happen to be discriminatory towards the poor,
homeless, and minority citizens who may not have photographic identification. These are citizens of the

8 Rush, Mark E. Does Redistricting Make a Difference?: Partisan Representation and

Electoral Behavior. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins UP, 1993. Print. (2)
9 Rush, Mark E. Does Redistricting Make a Difference?: Partisan Representation and
Electoral Behavior. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins UP, 1993. Print. (3)
10 Gill, Guy S. "free and fair" Elections: International Law and Practice. Geneva: InterParliamentary Union, 1994. Print. (viii)

United States and their process of voting should not be harder than other citizens.
Another issue that the IPU would have with the Voter ID laws is the overall process in acquiring a
"free" Voter ID. In the work, The High Cost of 'Free' Photo Voter Identification Cards, Richard Sobel
explores if, in fact, these Voter ID's are free. While the Voter ID itself has no cost, the "expenses for
documentation, travel, and waiting time are significant, especially for minority group and low income
voters, typically ranging from about $75 to $175."11 This should not be considered holding a free election.
In order to acquire this "free" Voter ID, the citizen must purchase the required certificates before being
able to attain their Voter ID. The overall process and expenses in acquiring a Voter ID can discourage and
even stop citizens from voting. Discrimination against the poor and minority citizens of the United States
through the requirement of Voter ID laws is undemocratic and not in the bounds of the "free and fair"
election criteria of the IPU. The Voter ID laws should be thrown out.
The United States government justifies the use of Voter ID laws by citing the issue of fraudulent
voters or impersonators. While voter fraud is a concern, it is not a substantial one. In the 2012 presidential
election, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas had over 15 million citizens vote. Of those 15 million
citizens, there were four accounts of in-person voter fraud. 12 This is a well upwards of a one in a million
chance of in-person fraud based off of this data. With the realization of this data, it begs the question of if
Voter ID laws can even differentiate from previously discriminatory laws that included literacy tests and
poll taxes, which have both been abolished. Overall, if the United States wants to adhere to the "free

and fair" standards, they need to either abolish the current Voter ID laws or provide a service that
allows all citizens to acquire a Voter ID with absolutely no expense.
With this years midterm election's spending being the highest in the history of the United States
at 3.7 billion dollars, regulating campaign spending can be argued as a justifiable solution. Katz
explores this possibility and gives a scope of the possible causes and effects related to regulating
political funding. In summation, the issue of electoral fairness comes into play here as different
amounts of funding often correlate to and unfair political party system.
Katz examines some possibilities of restricting funding on political parties that the IPU
should look further into if they want to explore the possibility of "free and fair" elections in the
United States. Katz's initial analysis about limiting the size of the contribution of individuals
along with the potential overall ban of other sources of political spending. If this were
implemented, all of the funding for political parties would come from individuals on a much
regulated basis. Political parties in the United States have thrived on large contributions from
individuals. If the IPU were going to explore this tactic, they would have to consider the amount
of overall funding that would be suspended. Groups with already established diverse forms of
funding may believe that they are being discriminated against. This would essentially take power
away from them and level the playing field for other political parties. While leveling the play
field, in a sense, can be considered a step towards a more "free and fair" electoral system, Katz
demonstrates an important counter point. Parties with diverse resources and funding "should be
allowed to protect and advance their interests as best they can."13 The IPU should not try and
implement this drastic of a funding restriction plan. The ensuing negative aspects shown above
and the amount of overall change in the electoral process would have to go through could prove
11 Sobel, Richard. High Cost of Free Photo Voter Identification Cards. Goodway Group,
2014. Print. (2)
12 Sobel, Richard. High Cost of Free Photo Voter Identification Cards. Goodway Group,
2014. Print. (8)
13 Boda, Michael D. Revisiting "free and fair" Elections: An International Round Table on
Election Standards Organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva, November 2004.
Geneva, Switzerland: Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2004. Print. (33)

to be more detrimental to the electoral system and democracy as a whole than initially thought.
There is an important paradoxical aspect of democracy that becomes clearer upon further
research. If a campaigning group claims an opposing group is anti-democratic or has antidemocratic ideals and should be banished, that accusing entity is in fact acting in an antidemocratic way. This paradoxical situation arises in many democratic theorists because in Katz's
analysis of Rousseau he states, "democracy requires that the continuation of democracy always
be regarded as an open question."14 A situation may arise where it is necessary to for a given
democracy to vote and change their form of government. The option to allow the people of a
nation to choose how they want their government to be run is a basic principle of democracy
even if the people elect to choose a different type of government.
This paradox could relate directly to a political party that would against the "status quo."
Political parties that stray away from the democratic norm "depend on a very few large donors or
access to public resources in order to build public support in the first place." In order to have
evolving and diverse political parties and avoid negatively effecting the overall ideals of
democracy, the individual donors should not be regulated and access to public resources should
be maintained. The IPU would likely explore this option in attempting to create a "free and fair"
electoral system, but the most appealing proposal is the implementation of a "non-political
election management agency."15
The IPU should create a non-political election management agency for the use of the United
States and this agency would embody no forms of political awareness. These agencies are
usually put into effect in areas or nations that have a history of conflict. The IPU should take the
template of the Electoral Management Agency the United States Agency for International
Development has created. This Electoral Management Agency is an "organization or body which
has been founded for the purpose of, and is legally responsible for, managing one or more of the
elements that are essential for the conduct of elections, and of direct democracy instruments."16
The non-political election management agency that the IPU creates would embody the same
principles and mission of the current Electoral Management Agency but would play a vastly
different role in elections. The main purpose of this agency would not be running the electoral
process as a whole. Instead, they would serve one main purpose in implementing Biometric
Identification Technology into the electoral process.

Biometric Identification Technology is a relatively broad term that can identify people using
voice patterns, eye scans, handwriting style, faces, hands or fingerprints. (EAC 1) Fingerprint
14 Boda, Michael D. Revisiting "free and fair" Elections: An International Round Table on
Election Standards Organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva, November 2004.
Geneva, Switzerland: Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2004. Print. (32)
15 Boda, Michael D. Revisiting "free and fair" Elections: An International Round Table on
Election Standards Organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva, November 2004.
Geneva, Switzerland: Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2004. Print. (34)
16 Fischer, Jeff, Patrick Quirk, and Leora Addison. "Best Practices in Electoral Security A
Guide For Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Programming." USA Agency for
International Development, 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2014. (42)

scanning is currently used in the United States for acquiring a drivers license and also
implemented in other social service programs.
What this para graph needs:
How exactly it will work. Using a current database of fingerprints (convicts, drivers liscense,) it
would allow people to be identified correctly with out the abiluity of fraud or use of an
identification car.
The problem it solves : voter ID card dilemma, elimination of fraud, make election more free and
fair.

Katz's would likely counter this proposal of electoral reform. He states that, "Since there can be
no unproblematic standard by which freeness or fairness can be assessed, this means that to
propose reforms, even in the name of fairness or neutrality, is likely to be perceived by some
participants as taking sides in the substance of political competition."17 While it is alarming that
the assessment of "free and fair" elections is likely always problematic, the electoral reform
proposed above would increase the element of "free and fair" in the electoral process without
serious political bias. Although it provides a relatively small increase of freeness and fairness, it
is, nonetheless, an increase.
It is unrealistic to assume that true "free and fair" elections can exist in the United States
using the IPU's criteria. It would likely compromise the overall stability of the nation while
toeing the line on many fundamental democratic ideals. Nonetheless, the IPU's interest in the
pursuit of holding "free and fair" elections have helped reconstruct governments along with
putting in place electoral and democratic ideals for different nations. If there is a nation where
conflict has broken out and they are trying to rebuild their government, the use of the IPU could
prove to be very beneficial.

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17 Boda, Michael D. Revisiting "free and fair" Elections: An International Round Table on
Election Standards Organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva, November 2004.
Geneva, Switzerland: Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2004. Print. (37)

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