Ensuring Free and Fair Elections: A Comparative View of the Mexican Experience

Constitutional conversation with Pamela San Martín.

Mexico has one of the most sophisticated sets of electoral procedures. With stringent rules around the use of money and expedited accountability mechanisms, control over TV and radio propaganda, a national electoral census, and a system of randomly selected citizens who staff polling stations and count votes, Mexico boasts a very robust electoral system. At its core is a national autonomous institute that oversees and organizes electoral procedures in the country. This model is one built over several decades of reforms and in parallel with the country’s transition to democracy, as a response to historical distrust in elections.

In this talk, former Electoral Councilwoman of Mexico’s National Electoral Institute, Pamela San Martín, analyzes some of the distinct elements of Mexican elections and its main challenges and opportunities. Her talk will provide key comparative insights into how this young democracy ensures free and fair elections and what lessons it holds for other democracies, young and old, such as the US, and beyond.