Research Guides: Elections and Voting Data Guide: United States (U.S.) and International: International Elections Data

Politics Librarian

Jeremy Darrington

Contact:

jdarring@princeton.edu
Firestone Library
A-13-J.1
http://scholar.princeton.edu/jdarring

609-258-3209

Subjects: Politics, Politics - American, Politics - Comparative/International Relations

Constituency Level Datasets

Constituency-Level Elections Archive (CLEA)
Repository of results of approximately 1900 elections from 170 countries at the constituency level for lower house national legislative elections. Includes votes received by each candidate/party, total votes cast, number of eligible voters, and seat figures where available. Available in Stata, SPSS, and raw data formats. Dates are variable, but generally 1945+, though some developed countries go back to the 1800s. See coverage. Now also includes shapefiles for electoral constitutencies for 74 countries (only Brazil, Sweden, and the US currently have historical maps).
Election Passport
Constituency election results in over 100 countries throughout the world for a variety of dates. Includes votes won by very small parties, independents, and frequently includes candidate names. (Data is being folded into the CLEA project.) Also includes data on some regional and ethnic parliamentary elections. 1940s-2017. Data in Excel format.
Global Elections Database
Provides election data at the constituency level for democratic countries around the world for national parliamentary elections. Compiled from official election results by Dawn Brancati, Washington Univ. of St. Louis. Data in Excel format. Dates vary, but generally 1945-2007.
Database of Political Institutions (DPI)
Covers 180 countries, 1975-2017. Codes 125 variables about executives, governments, and parties. Among other things, it contains:
- date of election, vote share & seat share for government and opposition parties in the legislature, and vote share for executives, including presidents
- coding for electoral rules, checks and balances, and federalism
- fragmentation of opposition and government parties in the legislature
- nationalist, rural, religious, and partisan economic orientation of government/opposition parties
Elections in Western Europe since 1815
Data handbook with historical electoral information and electoral results at the constituency level for lower house legislative elections. Much, though not all, of the returns are included in CLEA. Data in machine readable format from an accompanying CD-ROM is available (restricted).
British General Election Constituency Results
Pippa Norris's collection of British Parliamentary election results by constituency merged with UK census data, 1992-present. (Scroll down for the earlier files.) Data in multiple formats.

Other Election Sources

EU-NED: European Election Data by Subnational Region
Covers national parliamentary elections for current EU members states plus the UK, Norway, Turkey, and Switzerland 1990-2020 and European Parliament elections for current EU member states (plus the UK) ~1994-2020. Reports election results according to the EU's regional territorial statistical classification, NUTS, at the lowest level of aggregation NUTS 3 whenever possible. This allows easy merging to Eurostat regional- or country-level data. Also includes party codes from PartyFacts for over 800 parties, making EU-NED compatible with many datasets on political parties.
ElectionResources.org
Results of legislative and presidential elections of about 50 countries, primarily in Europe and Latin America. Results available for download in CSV format for 21 (mostly European) countries. Has results in HTML format for many additional years and countries, including subnational (state/provincial) results for various countries/elections. Also includes up to date information about the electoral system and political parties of each country.
IFES Election Guide
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) reports result totals for presidential, parliamentary, and (some) subnational election results for a large number of countries. Includes voter turnout and government structure, by region and country, 1998-present. Also has a useful calendar of upcoming elections around the world. Web-based format.
Psephos - Adam Carr's Election Archive
Statistics for national legislative and presidential elections from 182 countries, mostly late 1990s forward. Many elections have regional or subnational breakdowns. All results are in text format. Many countries also have electoral maps showing subnational results. (Browse using the alphabetical index at the top left.)
Regional Election Data
Results and turnout for European Parliament elections, national parliamentary elections, and regional assembly elections, each reported by region (e.g., state, province, 2nd tier subnational government, etc.), 1945-2015. Data in Excel. Also provides datasets comparing the national and regional vote in elections.
Wikipedia Election Lists by Country
List of election articles on Wikipedia by country. Useful for context, some data, and links to country election sources. Can also be useful to browse elections by year.
Election Data Handbooks by Dieter Nohlen
Collection of data handbooks on elections in North and South America (2005), Africa (1999), Asia & the Pacific (2001), and Europe (2010) provide results of parliamentary and presidential elections as well as important context about electoral systems, transparency and fairness, and reliability of statistics. Some are also available as ebooks.
Indian Elections Data, 1962+
The Trivedi Centre for Political Data at Ashoka University has created constituency level datasets of Indian parliamentary (Lok Sabha) and state assembly (Vidhan Sabha) elections, 1962-present. Some candidate demographics are included. Site also includes numerous data visualizations/charts/maps. Data in .csv.
African Elections Database
Election results for the 48 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, generally 1990-2011, though some countries have results for earlier elections. Also includes subnational breakdowns for some national elections as well as results for some subnational elections. Results in HTML.
Political Database of the Americas
Hosted by Georgetown and the Organization of American States, this site, no longer updated, contains results in HTML for many Latin American elections. Generally 1990s-2010, though some countries have results back to 1945.
Latin American Electronic Data Archive (LAEDA)
Now dated collection of links to electoral data for Latin America, grouped by country. Each link has a description of what data is available and for which years, mostly late 1990s to 2008; some links may no longer work.
Latin American Election Statistics: A Guide to Sources
References to election statistics culled from books on selected Latin American countries with chronologies of elections since independence at the municipal, state, and federal levels. The statistics themselves are not reproduced here except occasionally; instead, the focus is on identifying sources of electoral statistics. No longer updated, but good starting point for historical elections research in Latin America from the 1800s to around 2000.

Turnout and other context

IDEA Voter Turnout Database
Contains the most comprehensive global collection of voter turnout statistics from presidential and parliamentary (including European Parliament) elections since 1945. Uses both the number of registered voters and voting age population (VAP) as indicators, and in some cases the data includes statistics on spoiled ballots.
Journal of Democracy Elections Coverage
Index of election results and in-depth analysis of individual elections around the world from this influential journal, 1990-present. Full-text of the articles is available through Project Muse.
Global List of Electoral Management Bodies
The IDEA maintains this list of national electoral management bodies (EMB), their composition, term of office, and who appoints/elects them. While not a directory, per se, you can use the names to search for each EMB's website (if one exists) to look for election results or voting statistics. For most countries, you can also search online for [country name] electoral commission.
International Election FAQs/Primers
IFES provides brief primers on elections around the world to provide key facts and figures about the key players, context, and procedures of each covered election. 2013-present.

Precinct / Below the Constituency Level Data

Finding voting results below the level of the electoral constituency/district (i.e., the level at which seats are distributed) can be very challenging. Each country reports at different levels of geographic aggregation. I have placed links to the lowest level I could find, which in all cases is below the constituency level. Emphasis is on parliamentary (specifically the lower house) elections.

European Election Database (This covers a higher geographic level, but allows comparison of elections in 35 countries over 20 years at NUTS levels 1-3 to facilitate comparison with Eurostat regional statistics.)

2008 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by municipality (zipped Excel file)

2006 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by municipality (zipped Excel file)

2002 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by municipality (zipped Excel file; alternately as a zipped .csv or .txt file)

1999 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by municipality (zipped Excel file; alternately as a zipped .csv or .txt file)

1995 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by municipality (zipped Excel file)

1994 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by municipality (zipped Excel file)

For other types of elections 1994-2002

2010 House election by polling place (.csv file; additional House stats in .csv and Senate stats in .csv including by polling place)

2007 House election by polling place (.csv file; additional House stats in .csv and Senate stats in .csv including by polling place)

2004 House election by polling place (.csv file; additional House stats in .csv and Senate stats in .csv including by polling place)

2001 House and Senate elections (includes by polling place) (zipped CD-ROM)

1993, 1996, and 1998 House and Senate elections statistics (zipped CD-ROM)

2010 parliamentary election (Chambre des Représentants/Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers) by electoral canton (kieskanton/canton électoral) (Excel file)

2007 parliamentary election (Chambre/Kamer) by electoral canton (in HTML; select a constituency from the dropdown, then choose a canton)

1848-2003 parliamentary elections (Chambre/Kamer) by electoral canton (in HTML separately for each canton)

2011 and 2007 parliamentary (Folketing) elections by polling precinct (afstemningsområder) (click on British flag at top for English, then choose Elections on the left nav bar; each elections link is to a table for one of the 10 multimember constituencies (storkreds) where you can download a table of all the polling precincts in that nomination district (opstillingskreds) in various formats (.xls, .csv., .txt, etc.))

2005 parliamentary election (Folketing) by municipality (kommune) (in PDF; tables 75 and 77, starting on p. 96)

2001 parliamentary election (Folketing) election by precinct (afstemningsområder) (in PDF; tables 2 and 3 of the appendix, starting on p.325)

1998 parliamentary election (Folketing) by precinct (afstemningsområder) (in PDF; tables 2 and 3 of the appendix, starting on p.310)

1994 parliamentary election (Folketing) by precinct (afstemningsområder) (in PDF; tables 2 and 3 of the appendix, starting on p.288)

1990 parliamentary election by municipality (kommune) (in PDF; tables 73 and 75, starting on p. 86)

1983-2011 parliamentary election results by municipality (kunta) (can download to a variety of formats)

Data.gouv.fr (Google Translate version) hosts a variety of French elections—presidential, legislative (Assemblée nationale), municipal, cantonal, European—in Excel or .csv format for a variety of geographies—circonscription (constituency), région, département, commune (municipality), canton, and bureaux de vote (polling station)—generally 1990s-present, but legislative back to 1958.

1980, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2017 parliamentary elections (Bundestag) by polling precinct (wahlbezirke). Prior to 2002, Erststimme (first round votes) data only goes down as far as the municipality level (Gemeinden). 1980 only has data for Gemeinden (both first and second rounds, Erstimme and Zweitstimme), and 1987 has no Erststimme data at all. Data are delimited .txt files; Princeton users only. (Source: Ergebnisse der Bundestagswahl [YEAR] nach Wahlbezirken als CD [Results of the [YEAR] Bundestag elections by polling district on CD], from the German Federal Statistical Office.) Now available online, 1980–present, together with data by independent cities and districts (kreisfreien Städten und Landkreisen). For each election year, click on Ergebnisse, then Weitere Ergebnisse. The file is the first listed, Ergebnisse nach Wahlbezirken.

2010 parliamentary (Tweede Kamer) elections by municipality (Gemeente) (.csv)

2006 parliamentary (Tweede Kamer) elections by municipality (Gemeente) (online database; each municipality must be looked up individually)

2003 parliamentary (Tweede Kamer) elections by constituency (kieskring), province (provincie, and municipality (Gemeente (zipped .html; will convert to spreadsheet if opened directly in Excel)

2002 parliamentary (Tweede Kamer) elections by constituency (kieskring), province (provincie, and municipality (Gemeente) (zipped .html; will convert to spreadsheet if opened directly in Excel)

1998 parliamentary (Tweede Kamer) elections by constituency (kieskring), province (provincie, and municipality (Gemeente) (zipped .html; will convert to spreadsheet if opened directly in Excel)

2009 parliamentary (Storting) election by municipality (kommune) and by polling precinct (valgkrets) for Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, and Trondheim (.xls)

2001-2005 parliamentary (Storting) elections by polling precinct (valgkrets) for Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, and Trondheim (online database; can download to variety of formats)

1945-2009 parliamentary (Storting) elections by municipality (kommune) (choose desired years and then export to Excel or other formats)

The Spanish Electoral Archive holds all the results recorded from General (1979–2019), Regional (1989–2021), Local/Municipal (1979–2019), and European Parliamentary (1987–2019) elections held in Spain since the restoration of democracy in the late '70s. Results are provided at the following levels in most cases: mesas (ballot boxes), secciones (Census sections), distritos (Local districts), municipios (municipalities), provincias (provinces), and CCAA (autonomous regions). Data are best downloaded in the original Microsoft Excel workbook format.

2010 parliamentary election (Riksdag) by polling district (valdistrikt); and by municipality (kommune) (Excel)

2006 parliamentary election (Riksdag) by polling district (valdistrikt); and by municipality (kommune) (zipped Excel)

1973-2006 parliamentary election (Riksdag) by polling district (valdistrikt) (each election is a separate dataset; must be requested from Swedish National Data Service)

1973-2010 parliamentary election (Riksdag) by municipality (kommune) (online database; can download to variety of formats)

2011 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by political commune (Gemeinde) (Excel)

2007 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by political commune (Gemeinde) (Excel)

2003 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by political commune (Gemeinde) (Excel)

1999 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by political commune (Gemeinde) (Excel)

1995 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by political commune (Gemeinde) (Excel)

1991 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by political commune (Gemeinde) (Excel)

1987 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by political commune (Gemeinde) (Excel)

1983 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by political commune (Gemeinde) (Excel)

1979 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by political commune (Gemeinde) (Excel)

1975 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by political commune (Gemeinde) (Excel)

1971 parliamentary (Nationalrat) election by political commune (Gemeinde) (Excel)

Electoral Administration and Events

National Elections Across Democracy and Autocracy (NELDA) dataset
Provides detailed information on all election events from 1945-2020, whether or not they are competitive, free, or fair. To be included, elections must be for a national executive figure or for a national legislative body and mass voting must occur. Only direct elections are included. Codes more than 50 variables about the conduct and context of elections.
Democratic Electoral Systems Dataset
Provides detailed coding of the electoral rules and party system size for 1,578 lower-house parliamentary and 602 first-round presidential elections in democratic states from 1946 through 2020. Codebook has a very helpful glossary explaining the different electoral systems and formulas used for distributing seats.
Electoral System Design Database
Specifies the electoral system for parliament and the president in 217 countries and territories in ~1400 elections since 1991. Also includes the number of tiers of representation, the number of legislators directly elected, and the number of voting members. Interactive database can also be downloaded in .csv.
ACE Electoral Knowledge Network
Extensive collection of news, reports, and documentation on elections in more than 200 countries. Includes statistics and comparative data on elections law, administration and management, voting technology, electoral systems, registration, parties and campaigns, voter education, and more.
Expert Perceptions of Electoral Integrity dataset
Uses experts to rate whether national elections meet internationally-recognized standards. Covers elections in 150+ countries, 2012+. Collects 49 indicators to evaluate eleven stages in the electoral cycle as well as generating an overall Perception of Electoral Integrity (PEI) index and comparative ranking. The Electoral Integrity Project site posts an annual Year in Election Report describing the full results. See also this list of surveys that gauge the public's perception of electoral integrity.
Data on International Election Monitoring: Three Global Datasets on Election Quality, Election Events and International Election Observation
Drawing on the reports of international election monitoring organizations and the State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, this dataset codes numerous variables about the conduct and quality of national-level legislative and presidential elections in more than 100 countries from 1980-2004. It also codes the actions of international election monitors.
Free and Fair Elections Dataset
Dataset by Bishop and Hoeffler provides ten variables to assess the quality of elections covering 169 countries over the period 1975–2011. Codes both electoral rules and rights and their application during the campaign and the actual election. Sources include Keesing’s Contemporary Archives, the U.S. State Department's Human Rights Reports, and reports from organizations like Freedom House and election observers. Data in Stata and Excel.
Extraterritorial Rights and Restrictions Dataset
Codes the voting rights extended to non-resident citizens, the restrictions placed on the exercise of these rights, and how these rights and restrictions change over time for 195 countries, 1950-2020. Variables cover implementation, eligibility criteria, voting methods, quotas, and type of election. Data in multiple formats.

Election Monitoring Organizations and Reports

ACE Electoral Knowledge Network Election Observation Portal
More than 1000 observation reports from a variety of NGOs and international organizations. 1990-present.
International Republican Institute Election Observation and Assessment Reports
Since 1983, IRI has monitored more than 135 elections in more than 41 countries.
Carter Center Election Reports
Numerous election reports for many countries going back to the early 1990s in some cases. Final reports are in bold.
National Democratic Institute Election Mission Archives
Many election observation and monitoring reports grouped by region and country.
Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM)
Links to hundreds of election monitoring organizations around the world, grouped by country.
Electoral observation organizations
Collection of links from the Electoral Integrity Project to the most prominent election monitoring organizations around the world.

Voting in International Organizations

United Nations General Assembly Voting Data
This is a dataset of roll-call votes in the UN General Assembly 1946-2020 (sessions 1-75) compiled by Erik Voeten of Georgetown University. The dataset includes issue codes and descriptions and indicates "important votes" as identified by the State Department. It also contains ideal point estimates derived from these votes. Data in .csv.
United Nations Roll Call Votes
General Assembly and Security Council roll call votes from 1946-present. In addition to the voting breakdown, there are links to the full text of the resolution.
more...less...
It may be easier find roll call votes for UNSC resolutions if you already have the resolution number of the vote you’re looking for. You can get a list of all resolution numbers by year from https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/resolutions. You can retrieve items by searching the document number in quote marks, e.g., "S/RES/2367".

For more information on searching UN Documents, see the UN Library Research Guide.
United Nations Security Council Vetoes
Table listing all UNSC vetoes from 1946-present. Table indicates the Permanent Member casting a negative vote. To see how non-permanent members voted, view the attached meeting record.
European Parliament Roll Call Votes
Collection of roll call vote data from the first 6 sessions of the European Parliament (1979-2009) by Simon Hix, Abdul Noury, and Gerard Roland. Data in Excel format.
VoteWatch Europe dataset
"Two types of data are available: 1) The votes by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in all roll-call (recorded) votes between July 2004 and June 2022, as well as information about each of these votes; and 2) The votes cast by the member state governments of the EU when voting in the Council of Ministers of the EU (or 'EU Council'), between July 2009 and February 2022." Data in Excel.
WTO Disputes
Search or browse the full list of cases brought before the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body.