Do electoral observers (apoderados, fiscales, etc) steal votes? Or they prevent electoral fraud?

What is it about?

We show that when a party has an electoral observer at the polling booth, it obtains more votes. This is specially true in neighborhoods with low civic capital and when there are no other observers from the other parties. Since the data is from a Latin American country (Argentina), it could be thought that an electoral observer could influence the election in other ways (buying votes, buying turnout, etc), however we show that none of these strategies takes place in this context (and with this data). Moreover, we show that the most likely scheme to obtain more votes is the theft of ballot papers of the other parties.

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Why is it important?

If elections are at the cornerstone of democratic accountability, we need to make sure that they are fair. However, if the individuals in charge of assuring the fairness of the election are the same biasing the electoral outcomes, we need to improve the electoral administration around the world.