Calidad de la democracia / Administración electoral / Organismos electorales /
Administración electoral / Cultura política / ArgentinaThe majority of democratic regimes in Latin America have overcome the phase of democratic
consolidation, which means that the focus of studies is currently on their quality. Although the quality of
democracy is a concept that is undoubtedly based on the principles of poliarchy (Alcántara 2008), it also
considers many other aspects, including Electoral Administration, due to its key role in guaranteeing
transparent, free and impartial elections. Electoral Administration in Latin America follows different
models, which can be placed on a continuum whose extreme sides range from complete formal/legal
independence from Bodies of Electoral Management (BEM) to their dependence on the powers of the
State. Taking into account that the literature on this topic claims that these bodies need to be
independent if they are to function properly (Hartlyn, McCoy y Mustillo, 2008), this study aims to analyze
from the perspective of Argentine citizens and legislators of the model of electoral administration in
Argentina, which is characterized by a certain dependence of their BEMs on the Executive and Judicial
Powers (López Pintor, 2000) in order to see if there is any relationship between this dependency and the
considerable fall in electoral participation in the last presidential elections (held in October 2007), as the
turnout of 76.20% is the lowest since the country�s return to democracy