5.4 Investigation and Enforcement
During an election campaign, there must be some mechanism for ensuring parties and candidates remain compliant with election laws and regulations. These functions are vital for maintaining public trust in elections. In most countries, an EMB is responsible for monitoring and enforcement of election laws (ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, n.d.-d). By contrast, some EMBs, such as New Zealand’s electoral commission, do not have the power to investigate election-related offences (Thomas & Gibson, 2015 ).
Campaign Finance
Tracking financial expenditures from candidates and campaigns is an important part of election oversight. Elections Canada, for example, combines spending limits, financial disclosure, and transparency requirements to manage the influence of money in election campaigns (Elections Canada, 2024 September). In America, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) handles campaign finance oversight, and it is composed of three democratic and three republican appointees. The FEC’s bipartisan structure often results in deadlocks that block enforcement action, and the body itself may lack a quorum if a president fails to appoint commissioners (Weiner, 2025).
Canada’s Robocall Scandal
In the 2011 Canadian Federal Election, some voters in a Guelph area electoral district reported receiving an automated voice message, called a robocall. The recorded message left instructions for voters to vote at an incorrect polling location. An investigation was conducted by Canada’s election commissioner (See Summary Investigation Report on Robocalls [PDF]). Eventually, one campaign worker was found guilty of preventing an elector from voting (The Canadian Press, 2014)
Campaigns in the Digital Age
Most election laws are country-specific and tied to geographic regions, yet digital communications technologies don’t adhere to terrestrial boundaries. Canada has grappled with the implications of foreign interference in domestic elections (Hogue, 2025). Elsewhere, digital advertising has proven challenging for election authorities in Europe, who have struggled to regulate online advertising (Wolfs, 2024). The spread of AI and other communications technologies will no doubt complicate election oversight.
