24/08/2023
Problems that prevent an election from being "free and fair" take various forms:
Early voting has been criticized as harmful to democracy.
Lack of open political debate or an informed electorate
The electorate may be poorly informed about issues or candidates due to lack of freedom of the press, lack of objectivity in the press due to state or corporate control, and/or lack of access to news and political media. Freedom of speech may be curtailed by the state, favoring certain viewpoints or state propaganda.
Unfair Rules
The Presidential Election in Argentina, the Polling-Station at the Church of La Merced, Buenos Ayres. "The rival voters were kept back by an armed force of police out of sight to other Only batches of two or three were allowed to enter the polling-office at a time. Armed sentries guarded the gates and the doors leading to the office, and were also posted on the roofs of adjoining houses and in the belfry and tower of the church." (G. Durand, The Graphic, 21 May 1892).
Gerrymandering, exclusion of opposition candidates from eligibility for office, needlessly high restrictions on who may be a candidate, like ballot access rules, and manipulating thresholds for electoral success are some of the ways the structure of an election can be changed to favor a specific faction or candidate.
Interference with campaigns
Those in power may arrest or assassinate candidates, suppress or even criminalize campaigning, close campaign headquarters, harass or beat campaign workers, or intimidate voters with violence. Foreign electoral intervention can also occur.
Tampering with the election mechanism
This can include confusing or misleading voters about how to vote, violation of the secret ballot, ballot stuffing, tampering with voting machines, destruction of legitimately cast ballots, voter suppression, voter registration fraud, failure to validate voter residency, fraudulent tabulation of results, and use of physical force or verbal intimation at po
