election science

{{Short description|Study of election administration}}

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Election science is a field that deals with the conduct and administration of elections. It is distinct from the study of public opinion and election forecasting (which fall under political science and psephology). Election science combines the theoretical study of social choice theory (a branch of math and welfare economics) with empirical research dealing with the administration of elections (a branch of political science).

File:Butterfly_Ballot,_Florida_2000_(large).jpg's supporters to accidentally vote for Pat Buchanan]]

The study of election science can be traced back to early scientific studies of electoral systems and particularly the development of the field of social choice theory, including the Marquis de Condorcet's analysis of electoral systems in the 18th century. The field came into being following the 2000 United States presidential election,{{Cite journal |last1=Brams |first1=Stephan J. |last2=Herschbach |first2=Dudley R. |title=The Science of Elections |journal=Science |year=2001 |volume=292 |issue=5521 |page=1449 |url=https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.292.5521.1449 |doi=10.1126/science.292.5521.1449|pmid=11379606 |s2cid=28262658 |url-access=subscription }} where several administrative{{Cite journal |last=Stuart |first=Guy |date=2004 |title=Databases, Felons, and Voting: Bias and Partisanship of the Florida Felons List in the 2000 Elections |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20202391 |journal=Political Science Quarterly |volume=119 |issue=3 |pages=453–475 |doi=10.2307/20202391 |jstor=20202391 |access-date=2023-02-10|url-access=subscription }} and technical failures{{Cite journal |last=Wand |first=Jonathan N. |date=December 1, 2001 |title=The Butterfly Did It: The Aberrant Vote for Buchanan in Palm Beach County, Florida |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3117714 |url-status=live |journal=American Political Science Review |volume=95 |issue=4 |pages=793–810 |doi=10.1017/S000305540040002X |jstor=3117714 |s2cid=12182778 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124091828/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/the-butterfly-did-it-the-aberrant-vote-for-buchanan-in-palm-beach-county-florida/AB4BE772AE12CB20D7D8EB7CF5ED130A |archive-date=November 24, 2016 |access-date=2023-02-10|url-access=subscription }} may have affected the outcome of the election. Examples of subjects where election science methods are applied include gerrymandering, electoral fraud, suffrage, and voter registration.

There is an academic conference{{Cite web |title=Election Science, Reform, and Administration Conference |url=https://esra-conference.org/about |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=esra-conference.org |language=en}} dedicated to the study of election science and the Southern Political Science Association has a sub-conference for the study of election science.{{Cite web |title=2023 Election Science Conference-within-a-Conference |url=https://josephacoll.weebly.com/2023-election-science-conference-within-a-conference.html |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=Joseph A. Coll |language=en}} In addition, multiple universities now offer a bachelor of science in political science for a data science track.{{Cite web |title=BS in Data Sciences in Political Science |url=https://www.american.edu/cas/mathstat/data-sciences-for-political-science.cfm |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=American University |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Data Science Track {{!}} Political Science |url=https://politicalscience.stanford.edu/tracks/data-science-track |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=politicalscience.stanford.edu |language=en}}

The Center for Election Science supports academic research in the fields of election science and social choice theory,{{cite web |url=https://electionscience.org/specialbriefingnyc/|title=Ranked Choice in NYC: A Look at the Voter Experience with Professor Lindsey Cormack | last=Raleigh | first=Chris | date= 2024-04-08

}} as well as making outreach and education efforts towards the broader public.{{cite web |url=https://electionscience.org/about/|title=About Us}}