Cyrus Samii writes:
Prior to 1990, landslides were the norm, since then close elections have become increasingly common. . . in very recent years, we see that there cease to be any “near 100%” margin-of-victory elections. . . .
Elections have become more competitive, with the proportion of elections resulting in executive turnover having risen from almost zero [in 1980] to about 25% as of 2007.
Cyrus goes on to talk about the challenges of conducting and monitoring elections in an era when they can be closely contested. This reminds me of the inherent clash between the desirable goals of (1) competitive elections and (2) elections whose outcomes are noncontroversial. No surprise here–if elections are close, they can be subject to manipulation and mistrust. But still good to remember.
