Stuffing the ballot box : fraud, electoral reform, and democratization in Costa Rica / Fabrice E. Lehoucq, Iván Molina.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

"Stuffing the Ballot Box is a study of electoral fraud and reform. It focuses on Costa Rica, a country where parties gradually transformed a fraud-ridden political system into one renowned for its stability and fair elections by the mid-twentieth century. Lehoucq and Molina draw upon a unique database of more than thirteen hundred accusations of ballot-rigging to show that, independently of social structural constraints, parties denounced fraud where electoral laws made the struggle for power more competitive. They also explain how institutional arrangements generated opportunities for several executives to assemble legislative coalitions to enact far-reaching reforms. This book argues that nonpartisan commissions should run elections; it explains why splitting responsibility over election affairs between the executive and the legislature, as classical constitutional theory suggests, is a recipe for partisan rancor and political conflict." "Stuffing the Ballot Box will interest a broad array of political and social scientists, constitutional scholars, historians, election specialists, and policy-makers interested in electoral fraud and institutional reform."--Jacket.

Cover; Half-title; Series-title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Tables and Figures; Preface; Introduction; 1 Electoral Fraud during Indirect and Public Elections, 1901-12; 2 Institutional Change, Electoral Cycles, and Partisanship, 1910-4; 3 Electoral Fraud during the Public Ballot, 1913-23; 4 Institutional Change, Electoral Cycles, and Partisanship, 1924-8; 5 Electoral Fraud during the Secret Ballot, 1925-48; 6 Political Polarization, Electoral Reform, and Civil War, 1946-9; Conclusion: Ballot-Rigging and Electoral Reform in Comparative Perspective; Index.

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