LCSSP / Priority Initiatives / Democracy & Elections

Democracy & Elections

Democracy thrives on the principles of participation, accountability, and trust. Elections are the mechanism through which those values are expressed. The study of democracy and elections at LCSSP intersects with science, technology, and society, highlighting how data, innovation, and rigorous analysis can strengthen civic institutions.

Latest Updates

Image of Mike Alvarez with graphic screenshots of substack post titles including "Howe Election Rumors Spread", "Can AI Improve Election Administration", and "Does California Need Federal Election Monitors".

We need science and facts to study election administration, and no drama - you'll find all this and more on Election Science Field Notes, the new Substack from Professor Michael Alvarez.

An image of professor Jonathan Katz speaking while seated at a desk, alongside a graphic redistricting map of the U.S. and a photograph of ballot boxes.

In the run up to California's Prop 50 ballot measure, Professor Jonathan Katz joined LCSSP's Election Science Office Hours series to share his perspective on the latest developments in congressional redistricting with host Professor Michael Alvarez.

Credit: Caltech Science Exchange

New research forthcoming in Political Analysis from LCSSP researchers and Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and NVIDIA collaborators introduces a new GPU machine learning method that can be used to identify and measure topics in extraordinarily large, unlabelled text datasets.

Credit: Kangaslahti et al. (2025)

Co-organized by LCSSP and the WashU Political Science Department, the "Protecting the Election: AI & Governance Conference" included a poster session that showcased leading research on the implications of emergent technology for democracy.

Credit: Washington University in St. Louis Dept. of Political Science

LCSSP's Democracy & Elections Work

Overview

Democracy thrives on the principles of participation, accountability, and trust, and elections are the mechanism through which those values are expressed. At the LCSSP, the study of democracy and elections intersects with science, technology, and society, highlighting how data, innovation, and rigorous analysis can strengthen civic institutions. From exploring the integrity of election systems and the voting process itself, to examining the role of public engagement in shaping policy, our work in this space underscores that democratic resilience depends not only on fair processes, but also on informed citizens and clear, transparent communication about these technologies and processes. By collaborating directly with election practitioners, we ensure that research insights translate into practical solutions that support the administration of elections and build public confidence. By bringing together interdisciplinary expertise, the LCSSP fosters deeper understanding of how elections safeguard representation and how democratic systems can adapt to the challenges of a rapidly evolving world.

Photograph of Southern California election center featuring blue flag that reads "Vote Here".

Key Initiatives

Caltech Election Integrity Project

Founded in 2024 and supported by a Major Research Grant from the Haynes Foundation, this effort enables the LCSSP to help states build comprehensive quantitative election performance auditing applications

protectingtheelection.us

Protecting the Election Conferences & Workshops

An information hub for agendas, videos, photos and research papers presented at past events and details about future Democracy & Elections events organized by the LCSSP

Learn More

Election Science Office Hours

Webinars hosted by LCSSP's Michael Alvarez that introduce viewers to election practitioners, technologists and other experts to discuss current topics in election integrity, technology and administration

Full Series Here

Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project

Research effort founded by former Caltech President David Baltimore and former MIT President Charles Vest to prevent a recurrence of the problems that threatened the 2000 U.S. presidential election

vote.caltech.edu

Democracy & Emergent Technology: Understanding the Benefits and Risks for Election Integrity

Democracy amid emergent technology highlights the tension between innovation and safeguarding election integrity. On one hand, new tools such as secure digital platforms, advanced data analytics, AI, and improved communication channels can expand voter access, streamline election administration, and strengthen transparency. On the other hand, these same technologies introduce risks - cybersecurity threats, misinformation campaigns amplified by AI, and unequal access - that can undermine public trust and distort democratic participation. Understanding both the benefits and vulnerabilities is essential to ensuring that technological progress supports, rather than jeopardizes, the legitimacy of elections.

To explore these challenges and opportunities in greater depth, the LCSSP's Democracy & Elections research program investigates critical areas such as:

Advanced Quantitative Methods: Computational Models of Electoral Behavior and Political Decision-making
Electoral System Design and Administration: How the Policies are Made and Why They Matter
Voter Registration Policy: How Rules Are Created and Their Impacts on Voters
Redistricting and Gerrymandering: Evaluating the Effects of Independent Redistricting Commissions on Electoral Competitiveness