An Examination of the Link Between Democracy and Bureaucracy through the Administration of Elections

Authors

Monica Andrea Bustinza, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Political Science

First Advisor's Name

Susannah Bruns Ali

First Advisor's Committee Title

Co-Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

N. Emel Ganapati

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Co-Committee Chair

Third Advisor's Name

Shaoming Cheng

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Kevin Evans

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

election administration, public policy, local election officials, policy implementation

Date of Defense

6-29-2023

Abstract

In recent years, significant attention has been directed toward issues concerning the administration of elections in the United States (U.S.). However, there has been limited progress in conducting empirical research to fully understand the role and significance of local election offices in implementing elections. While states are responsible for overseeing the local implementation of elections, state legislatures develop laws and policies that guide and shape the decisions of local election offices. However, their decisions are frequently influenced by the discretion that is given to them. This dissertation uses a mixed-method approach to understand and investigate the role and influence of local elections offices in implementing elections and facilitating voter participation through a three-essay structure and mixed-method design.

Employing a systematic literature review following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (n=123), operationalizing U.S. county-level data about election administration and voter participation in 2016 and 2020 (n=2846) to examine the correlation between local discretion and voter participation and using semi-structured interviews with local elections offices in Florida (n=22), this dissertation provides four specific contributions. First, this dissertation applies the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework to understand the context of local election offices. Second, it highlights the research gaps in the election administration literature and offers directions for future research. Third, this dissertation contributes to policy implementation and election administration literature. And last, it offers a unique perspective on the function and impact of local election offices in facilitating voter participation.

All in all, this dissertation demonstrates the significant role of local election offices and the influence their discretionary decisions can have on voter participation. It also demonstrates the vast array of possibilities for studying election administration to provide more information about the field, influence public policy, and encourage best practices. Most importantly, it demonstrates the need for quality research in election administration to combat mis-, dis-, and mal-information during an election denial movement.

Identifier

FIDC011184

ORCID

0000-0003-3181-4421

Recommended Citation

Bustinza, Monica Andrea, "An Examination of the Link Between Democracy and Bureaucracy through the Administration of Elections" (2023). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5380.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/5380