Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index

The Elections Performance Index is a report released by the Election Initiatives project of Pew Charitable Trusts, a Washington D.C.-based independent nonprofit research group. The report examines election administration performance across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, assigning each an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. The original index was released in February 2013 and was based on the 2008 and 2010 elections.

The report states that the Elections Performance Index "builds a new baseline for measuring election administration and helps policymakers, election administrators, and other citizens: evaluate elections based on data and not just anecdotes, compare overall and indicator specific performance across states, measure the impact of changes in policy or practice over time, reveal trends that otherwise might not be identified, and encourage better data collection and further research into how elections are run."

Complete scores and rankings

Election Performance Index Scores and Rankings
State	2008 overall EPI %	Rank out of 51	2010 overall EPI %	Rank out of 51	2014 overall EPI %	Rank out of 51	2016 overall EPI %	Rank out of 51	2018 overall EPI %	'Rank out of 51	2020 overall EPI %	Rank out of 51	2022 overall EPI %	Rank out of 51
Alabama	42	49	42	49	45	51	67	44	73	34	75	41	77	38
Alaska	68	16	65	20	66	29	79	17	80	16	83	16	82	19
Arizona	58	38	59	37	64	34	71	35	77	22	84	14	82	24
Arkansas	53	46	60	35	59	45	63	49	48	51	71	50	67	50
California	49	48	44	48	54	50	63	48	62	50	73	46	72	45
Colorado	69	10	75	3	80	5	78	19	86	4	87	9	87	3
Connecticut	67	20	72	7	80	6	80	11	81	12	83	20	81	25
Delaware	70	9	75	4	80	7	85	3	83	10	81	27	81	26
District of Columbia	38	51	55	43	61	40	82	6	71	40	85	11	79	36
Florida	68	14	63	26	67	28	73	32	76	24	83	17	79	35
Georgia	74	4	63	29	67	27	73	31	68	45	83	21	85	11
Hawaii	65	22	58	41	58	47	70	38	69	44	81	29	79	33
Idaho	56	40	49	47	57	49	60	50	72	38	80	30	79	32
Illinois	61	33	58	39	71	21	81	8	78	21	82	23	75	39
Indiana	54	45	60	36	65	31	75	25	76	25	80	31	82	20
Iowa	73	6	69	13	71	22	80	14	86	5	88	3	86	7
Kansas	55	43	62	31	63	37	64	46	70	43	74	44	80	28
Kentucky	62	30	63	27	60	43	67	43	71	41	80	32	77	37
Louisiana	64	25	65	23	65	32	78	21	73	32	75	42	72	48
Maine	67	18	74	6	75	13	64	45	74	30	80	33	79	31
Maryland	67	17	67	18	77	9	79	18	80	15	83	19	82	18
Massachusetts	60	35	61	32	69	25	81	9	83	11	86	10	86	9
Michigan	71	7	71	10	76	11	77	23	74	31	87	7	88	2
Minnesota	77	3	78	1	83	2	86	2	88	2	89	2	86	8
Mississippi	40	50	37	51	58	46	64	47	62	48	68	51	66	51
Missouri	73	5	87	16	78	8	79	16	76	23	82	22	83	16
Montana	63	28	71	8	75	12	75	26	79	19	79	36	75	40
Nebraska	68	15	57	42	73	17	81	10	84	7	87	6	87	5
Nevada	64	27	68	15	74	15	82	7	80	14	85	13	83	15
New Hampshire	61	34	59	38	66	30	73	33	76	27	76	39	72	46
New Jersey	64	26	58	40	62	39	69	40	67	46	75	43	74	42
New Mexico	69	12	66	19	62	38	73	28	83	9	82	25	88	1
New York	57	39	39	50	60	41	69	39	62	49	73	47	72	47
North Carolina	65	21	65	21	69	24	73	34	71	39	76	40	81	27
North Dakota	85	1	88	1	84	1	84	5	90	1	88	5	84	12
Ohio	58	37	63	30	71	18	77	24	80	13	82	26	82	22
Oklahoma	55	44	49	46	57	48	59	51	63	47	71	49	74	41
Oregon	60	36	71	9	76	10	74	27	84	6	81	28	82	21
Pennsylvania	67	19	63	28	70	23	80	13	72	37	79	35	80	29
Rhode Island	65	23	64	24	65	33	73	29	75	28	87	8	86	6
South Carolina	55	41	55	44	74	14	79	15	76	26	82	24	83	17
South Dakota	69	11	71	11	71	20	67	42	73	33	72	48	73	44
Tennessee	62	31	65	22	64	35	69	41	75	29	77	37	73	43
Texas	62	29	64	25	60	42	71	36	71	42	80	34	79	34
Utah	55	42	67	17	64	36	70	37	73	35	77	38	80	30
Vermont	68	13	61	33	73	16	87	1	86	3	90	1	87	4
Virginia	65	24	68	14	82	3	80	12	80	18	83	18	85	10
Washington	71	8	70	12	71	19	78	20	80	17	85	12	84	14
West Virginia	50	47	52	45	68	26	77	22	78	20	84	15	82	23
Wisconsin	81	2	74	5	82	4	84	4	83	8	88	4	84	13
Wyoming	62	32	61	34	59	44	73	30	72	36	74	45	68	49

Methodology

The 17 indicators analyzed in the Index were chosen within the framework of determining the convenience and integrity of each of the three administrative phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. The indicators are: Absentee Ballots Rejected, Absentee Ballots Unreturned, Data Completeness, Disability- or Illness-Related Voting Problems, Military and Overseas Ballots Rejected, Military and Overseas Ballots Unreturned, Online Registration Available, Post-Election Audit Required, Provisional Ballots Cast, Provisional Ballots Rejected, Registration or Absentee Ballot Problems, Registrations Rejected, Turnout, Voter Registration Rate, Voting Information Look-Up Tools, Voting Technology Accuracy, Voting Wait Time.

The Index relies on a variety of data sources, including census data, state collected data, Pew Center on the States reports, and public surveys. After the raw data for each indicator is determined, the states are placed on a scale that runs from 0 to 1, or 100%, for each indicator with 0 reserved for the state with the lowest performance measure and 1 reserved for the state with the highest measure. The remaining states would then be set to values that reflected their ranking and were relative to the distance between the high and low values. The overall state percentiles and “performance bars” used in the EPI interactive report are based on a method that essentially calculates the average of all indicator rankings for each state. This, by nature of averages, weighs the indicators equally.

External links

• Pew Charitable Trusts, Election Performance Index Report
• MIT News, 3 Questions: Charles Stewart ranks the voting systems in the 50 states, February 6, 2013