A new data release from The Elections Archive (THEA), a project co-founded and co-directed by CISSM Research Director David A. Backer, is expanding researchers’ ability to analyze electoral competition around the world.
Released in September 2026, the latest update expands the geographic and historical depth of the data to include new information from 87 elections across 24 countries and territories. The project also collects subnational election results at the district level, allowing researchers to examine how voting and political competition vary within and between countries over time. Additional data breaks down the structure of party competition and constituency support across different regions of a country.
According to Backer, THEA's unique value addition is in its ability to triangulate information across disparate sources and produce a comprehensive, analysis-ready election dataset as a public good. “The extensive, detailed THEA data cover more than 2,000 elections conducted in roughly 200 countries around the world, with records stretching back to the 1780s,” he said. In addition to Backer, the project draws together collaborators from the University of Michigan, University of Zurich, Notre Dame and American University.
