Tech impacts every election.

Whether it's ballot scanners, biometrics, or social media, every election runs on and is shaped by technology. At IFES we are helping build resilient democracies that deliver for all. And that means the tech stack too, from undersea cables to avatars.

This site is a resource for anyone interested in democracy, technology, and all the strange ways they come together.

Launch of IFES' AI AGE: The Artificial Intelligence Advisory Group on Elections - June 12, 2025, 10:00am EDT

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming more powerful and influential, while, at the same time, democracy is under attack globally. Electoral authorities and AI experts – two groups crucial to restoring democracy worldwide - are largely working in siloes. Join the Carnegie Endowment’s Technology and International Affairs Program and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems for the launch of the AI AGE initiative and a discussion of critical issues at the intersection of AI and elections, including biometric identification, data governance, content provenance, and information integrity.

Learn more and watch

Updates across our initiatives

AI AGE Op-ed: Solidarity, Not Speed, for AI Governance

June 18, 2025

Dr. Lisa Poggiali, IFES’ Global Digital Democracy Advisor, penned an op-ed for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on the power of cross-regional and cross-sectoral solidarity for driving a democratic global AI ecosystem.

Industry leaders, technologists, and policymakers failed to create a democratic model for governing social media, and we have been playing catch-up, unsuccessfully, since its invention. As AI extends into more and more domains of public life, the world now risks repeating this failure. But this does not mean we should adopt the “move fast and break things” ethos that has been embraced by tech companies and authoritarians alike.

Read it here

AI AGE in the News

June 17, 2025

As AI AGE officially kicks off, the group is receiving media attention from around the world. See below for key media mentions to date:

Announcing the founding AI AGE members

June 12, 2025

On June 12, 2025, IFES officially launched the AI Advisory Group on Elections (AI AGE) at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington D.C. AI AGE is a first-of-its-kind global coalition linking election authorities and AI experts to safeguard democracy. “We all recognize that AI holds immense potential. But it also presents profound challenges: deepfakes, echo chambers, and precision persuasion attacks that can undermine public trust and fuel polarization,” said Taiwan’s Cyber Ambassador, Audrey Tang, an AI AGE member. “Rest assured, no democracy is an island, not even Taiwan.”

At the launch, the founding cohort of AI AGE members were announced, including a diverse group of experts in AI and in elections.

Learn more about the AI AGE members.

The Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania formally endorses the guidelines

April 05, 2024

The Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania has issued a statement formally endorsing the Voluntary Election Integrity Guidelines for Technology Companies. Their statement reads:

Protecting election integrity is an essential part of our constitutional mission as electoral administration. Access to accurate and reliable information lies at the foundation of informed choices. By promoting new ways to protect voters from disinformation spread throughout online platforms and completing recent recommendations given by the European Commission on inclusive and resilient electoral processes, the present Guidelines mark a step forward towards strengthening trustworthy communication during elections.

The Supreme Elections Tribunal of El Salvador formally endorses the guidelines

April 03, 2024

The Supreme Elections Tribunal of El Salvador (Tribunal Supremo Electoral / TSE) has issued a statement formally endorsing the Voluntary Election Integrity Guidelines for Technology Companies. Their statement, shared by TSE Magistrate President MSc. Dora Esmerelda Martínez de Barahona, reads:

I want to express our sincere interest and full support to the Voluntary Election Integrity Guidelines for Technology Companies. We deeply value this IFES initiative which promotes electoral integrity by enhancing cooperation among digital platforms and Elections Management Bodies around the world. In El Salvador we recognize the need to establish international standards that guarantee integrity and safety of our electoral processes, as we believe that an active participation by technology companies around this joint effort, is key to achieve a more robust and more threats resistant electoral system.