Election science

Election science is a branch of social choice theory and political science dealing with the conduct and administration of elections. It is distinct from the study of public opinion and election forecasting (also known as psephology).

The study of election science can be traced back to early scientific studies of electoral systems and particularly the development of the field of social choice theory, including the Marquis de Condorcet's analysis of electoral systems in the 18th century. The field came into being following the 2000 United States presidential election, where several administrative and technical failures may have affected the outcome of the election. Examples of subjects where election science methods are applied include gerrymandering, electoral fraud, suffrage, and voter registration.

There is an academic conference dedicated to the study of election science and the Southern Political Science Association has a sub-conference for the study of election science. In addition, multiple universities now offer a bachelor of science in political science for a data science track.