Angels are in the Institutional Details: Voting System, Poll Workers, and the Integrity of Election Administration in Taiwan

Abstract

What had prevented the KMT regime from stealing more elections during its heydays and thereby made possible Taiwan’s transition to democracy under the old voting rules? Whereas the existing literature on electoral authoritarianism, democratization, and electoral malpractice has addressed issues concerning the integrity of election administration in authoritarian states mainly at the wholesale level, this chapter looks into the rise and fall of vote rigging at retail level in Taiwan and argues that two under-appreciated voting arrangements—on-site ballot counting and poll worker selection—make much difference to the development of election administration integrity in Taiwan. In addition to relying on the deterrence of election monitoring and criminal law enforcement against vote rigging, the Taiwan experience suggests that election administration integrity can be strengthened from within by choosing good men and women to manage a voting system that is as transparent and meaningful as it can be.

Keywords: electoral authoritarianism, electoral malpractice, voting system, poll workers, election administration integrity