UCLA

This dissertation examines emerging challenges to election administration including partisan polarization, the limits of local accountability, underrepresentation of racial minorities, and heightened turnover in the profession. Chapter 1 examines whether voters or local elites more effectively monitor and sanction local officials. I find that appointed election officials outperform their directly elected counterparts. Chapter 2 presents evidence that election leaders have become more diverse, that minority leadership does not alleviate racial disparities in turnout or election administration, and that minority voters place more trust in election officials of color. Chapter 3 studies the extent to which increasing polarization affects the way that Democratic and Republican election officials run elections. Chapter 4 examines whether increasing turnover among election officials negatively affects the quality of elections.