In July 2006, Luis Carlos Ugalde, president of the Mexican Federal Electoral Institute, found himself at the center of international attention as the Mexican presidential election between Felipe Calderón and Andrés Manuel López Obrador became mired in controversy and accusations of voter fraud. Ugalde presided over the resolution of a post–Election Day storm that would become even more protracted than the 2000 election controversy in Florida. The resilience of Mexico’s administrative practices—widely considered by international observers to be among the most well-designed and balanced in the world—illustrates many important lessons for election administrators in the United States.
 
The AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project aims to synthesize election-related research, link the research and policy communities, track and assist the implementation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), and encourage improvements in HAVA and in election conduct and administration. Important goals of the reform project are to better inform policymakers, to provide a more comprehensive view of election reform changes among the national policy community, to raise the profile for election reform issues within Washington, and to improve coordination among groups and researchers around the country.