International Foundation for Electoral Systems global perspective, when are elections considered good enough? And what is needed to make a determination whether to validate or annul an election? The answer to these questions is not straightforward, and different jurisdictions have taken different approaches. In some contexts, there may be a readily quantifiable number of votes affected by one or more irregularities. In other cases, however, such as voter intimidation, cyberattacks, or electoral disinformation (consider the recent activities of Cambridge Analytica in the U.S. and Kenyan elections),9 determining the impact of an irregularity on an election will be difficult or impossible. With that difficulty in mind, it is critically important for jurisdictions to have clear and pre-determined rules governing when annulment is available as a remedy, both to ensure that annulment is available if needed, but also so that annulment is not misused to frustrate the will of the voters. This paper outlines various legal approaches to election annulments, explores different grounds for annulment, and outlines procedural considerations for courts and adjudicators when determining whether to annul an election result, drawing on international principles and global jurisprudence. It does not examine systemic issues, such as weak legal frameworks, or the distorting effect of private money in politics, but focuses instead on irregularities in the process that can call the legitimacy of an election into question. While annulments can happen in single polling places or in particular districts, this paper focuses on annulments of entire elections, especially at the national level, since they raise a distinct set of legal and practical problems and have particularly strong implications for the legitimacy of elections and democratic government more broadly. II. Annulments as a Remedy for Electoral Irregularities Legal Approaches to Annulment Almost all jurisdictions allow for the annulment of elections, but the grounds for annulment, and the way challenges to results are handled, vary from place to place. In a minority of jurisdictions, especially in Latin America, the law specifies the irregularities or other circumstances under which annulment may be ordered.10 In Mexico, for example, if the vote margin between candidates is less than five percent, elections can be annulled if it is proven, through corroborated and objective evidence, that a candidate’s campaign overspent by five percent of the total amount authorized, illegally purchased media coverage, 0-%20Proofed2.pdf. http://www.electionlawissues.org/Resources/~/media/Microsites/Files/election/Chapter%20Nine%20%20Proofed2.pdf. 9 See Eric Auchard and David Ingram, “Cambridge Analytica CEO claims influence on U.S. election, Facebook questioned,” Reuters, March 20, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-cambridgeanalytica/cambridge-analytica-ceo-claims-influence-on-u-s-election-facebook-questioned-idUSKBN1GW1SG; and Nation Reporter, “Cambridge Analytica says it worked for Uhuru Kenyatta,” Daily Nation, March 20, 2018, https://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/How-Cambridge-Analytica-influenced-Kenyan-poll/1064-4349034le7xbuz/index.html. 10 See ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, “Annulment and re-running of an election at district level,” http://aceproject.org/electoral-advice/archive/questions/replies/606553070. 2