The Election Reformers Network published this useful discussion of nonpartisan election administration in Canada. As many scholars have argued, nonpartisan election administration is obviously preferable to the U.S. model of partisans running elections. If only we could solve the here-to-there problem.

In Nonpartisanship Works: How Lessons from Canada Can Re-establish Trust in U.S. Election Administration, we take aim at two of the biggest problems facing U.S. democracy: the threat of partisan manipulation of elections, and the self-serving skepticism of political leaders who oppose nonpartisan reform.

In this study, we explain how delegating authority to independent professionals in Canada overcame widespread fraud, put in place a system that won the trust of voters, and managed COVID with little of the partisan rancor experienced here.

Adapting these principles to the US context, we outline practical steps that can incrementally build nonpartisan control of US elections and protect against partisan manipulation.