Democracies thrive on free and fair elections, which require both robust formal procedures and broad trust in the sanctity of those procedures. Yet, these fundamental tools of democracy are facing a deficit of trust. In countries around the world, voters’ beliefs are being challenged from multiple sides. Ideological divergence is encouraging extreme forms of propaganda, while widespread access to technology lowers the costs of disseminating misinformation. The introduction of digital technologies into voting—intended to increase efficiency and minimize stolen elections—itself faces scrutiny while parallel technological innovations have made illicit campaign finance transactions and corruption in spending more difficult to track. At the frontlines of current threats to democratic practice are the government officials charged with implementing elections. Not only must these actors attempt to hold elections in the safest and most effective manner possible; they must also actively combat the challenges to voters’ perceptions of elections. This initiative tackles such challenges facing election administration in India, the largest democracy in the world. Our aim is to support the work of State Election Commissions (SECs), which administer thousands of state and local elections in the country every year. It will foster new research on the practicalities of elections and how to ensure that this foundational aspect of democracy is secure in the face of existing, and future, challenges to democratic legitimacy. Particularly, the initiative aims to bring U.C. Berkeley faculty, doctoral students, alumni, and undergraduates in conversion with the state election commissioners and their staff to identify areas where empirical research by U.C. Berkeley researchers could inform reform efforts and decision-making within the Indian states. The initiative will also fund pilot research projects developed in collaboration with the SECs.