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Join the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) and the Embassy of Canada to the United States for a discussion on the risks and opportunities for AI in elections and the launch of International IDEA’s new report "Artificial Intelligence for Electoral Management.” The event will be held in-person at the Embassy of Canada and will also be live streamed for people abroad to watch the event.          &

The launch of the Women and Youth in Democracy (WYDE) | Women’s Leadership Initiative, funded by the European Union and learn more about its implementation through the project "Advancing Women’s Political Participation and Decision-Making through Social Norms Change, Networking and Global Advocacy.”

What role can countervailing institutions play in strengthening democracy, ensuring the rule of law, upholding rights, and enabling accountable institutions and citizen participation?

On April 15th, 2023, tensions between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) turned into fighting, escalating into a severe armed conflict that has engulfed the country in what risks turning into a large-scale civil war. The warring factions took power together through a military coup on October 25th, 2021, which upended a fragile democratic transition that started after the removal of long-time ruler Omar Al-Bashir.

Do you want to learn more about International IDEA’s support to constitution building processes around the world, the new dataset of the Global State of Democracy Indices and IDEA’s most recently launched tool to track democratic developments around the world?

International IDEA will participate in the event "Democratic Backsliding: What it means for America and the world," hosted by Georgetown University on 18 November 2021.

The event will include the following speakers:

Explore the evolving landscape of digital campaigning and its impact on political finance. This report examines key challenges and opportunities in regulating online fundraising, spending and transparency.

On 25 March 2025, President Donald Trump signed the Executive Order ‘Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections’. The order outlines sweeping reforms that aim to protect US elections from fraud, foreign interference and systemic error.  

The principal mandates of the Executive Order (EO) include:

Historically, conducting elections during wartime has been a rare and complex endeavor. While some countries have managed to hold elections despite active conflicts, most have chosen to postpone elections until conditions allow for a free, fair, and secure electoral process.

While new 2023 regulations for political ads are more comprehensive, loopholes persist and are reinforced by the US Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) limited enforcement capacity. The study recommends expanding the FEC’s role to include digital finance, addressing for example anonymous cryptocurrency transactions that risk illicit contributions to political campaigns.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) congratulates President-elect Donald Trump on his election as the 47th President of the United States. We also extend our congratulations to the United States, an Observer State of International IDEA, on a free, fair, peaceful and orderly election.

Legislatures are vital institutions at the heart of any democracy. They not only enact laws and approve budgets, but also act as representative and deliberative assemblies, and as bodies that scrutinize and oversee the actions of the executive. In order to perform these functions effectively, legislatures need to be organized, in terms of their internal leadership, their committee structures, and the rules by which they transact public business.

Ahead of the Tuesday, November 5 general elections in the United States, some aspects of the US electoral system stand out globally, particularly in its innovations to make voting more accessible, such as through postal voting.

In a time when the health of democracy is a global concern, this report provides an analysis of the state of American democracy over the past decade.

In the past week, Hurricane Helene – a Category 4 storm – has caused destruction, including almost 200 deaths, across several southeastern US states. With the 2024 presidential election only a month away, Madeline Harty and Erik Asplund look at the long-lasting potential implications of the storm on voting in these states.

Extreme weather events are often described by meteorologists as the ‘fingerprint of climate change’. These climate-induced disasters are becoming more damaging and more frequent, at times occurring close to elections and impacting upon them. As climate-related natural hazards will continue to do so, states must consider protecting elections and building resilience.

Ahead of the Tuesday, 5 November general election in the United States, states like Idaho, Minnesota and South Dakota will open for early in-person voting* on 20 September, followed by Virginia, Vermont, North Dakota** and Illinois later in September and 40 more states in October.

International IDEA condemns the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and we wish him a speedy recovery. Our thoughts go out to all the victims of the shooting at the Pennsylvania rally.