The R Street Institute Releases its Election Policy 50-State Scorecard
American elections are highly decentralized, meaning state and local governments hold much of the authority for deciding how to conduct elections in their jurisdictions. The resulting variety of approaches to election policy reflects the belief that states should serve as laboratories of democracy in which to different ideas can be tested. Lessons from those policy experiments can then inform decisions in other states and help strengthen American elections nationwide.
The R Street Institute recently published a 50-state election policy scorecard to help facilitate the exchange of election policy ideas across state lines and better understand the inherent tradeoffs state policymakers face when setting election policy. The scorecard measures each state on 18 election administration policies across six categories:
- Voter eligibility
- Voter registration
- Voter list maintenance
- Verifying voter identity
- Early voting
- Tabulation and audits
Our scoring methodology favors state policies that promote secure and trustworthy elections while limiting the amount of red tape voters must navigate in order to participate in the democratic process.
Results indicate that although American elections stand on a strong policy foundation, most states have opportunities to make substantive improvements to their election systems. Total state scores ranged from three stars to five, with an average of four stars. Significant variation was noted across policy categories, with states scoring highest on voter list maintenance (average 4.5) and lowest on verifying voter identity (average 3.1). While states commonly earned five stars within a given category, a few states earned category scores of zero or one star.
Four states—Georgia, Florida, Ohio, and Utah —received full credit on 17 of the 18 policies, earning an overall score of five stars. At the other end of the spectrum, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Wyoming need the most improvement, with an overall score of three stars. The drivers of these relatively lower scores varied by state. For example, New Hampshire and Mississippi earned low scores in early voting while Wyoming’s lowest scores were in voter list maintenance. Each of these states earned four or five stars in other categories, proving there are bright spots even in the lowest-performing states. These score variations can help lawmakers identify and prioritize the policy areas most in need of change.
From a political perspective, there were relatively small differences in average scores depending on which party controlled the state government.
- States with divided government: 4.1
- Republican-controlled states: 4.0
- Democrat-controlled states: 3.9
Republicans control all four of the top-performing states as well as the three lowest. Rhode Island and Colorado were the top performing states controlled by Democrats, while Arizona, Kansas, and North Carolina led the way among divided government states, all earning 4.5 stars.
Republican-controlled states had the highest average scores in the voter eligibility, voter registration, and verifying voter identity categories. Democrat-controlled states led on voter list maintenance as well as tabulation and audits, and divided-government states had the highest score in voting before Election Day. Unlike Republican or Democratic states, divided-government states never scored lowest in any category, claiming the highest average score overall.
One of the most interesting takeaways from the scorecard is that states on very different paths can end up earning the same overall score. Consider Tennessee and Iowa, Republican-controlled states that did not share a single common score across the six categories even though both earned an overall score of four stars. Iowa’s scores were relatively stable, with four stars in four categories and either three or five stars in the rest, while Tennessee received five stars in three categories and three stars in the remaining ones. This type of analysis allows states with similar overall scores and political orientation to compare policies and identify where they can learn from one another. The scorecard serves as an ongoing resource for policymakers exploring opportunities to improve state election policies over time. While the overall scores are important, the true value lies in the different approaches states take to conducting free and fair elections. No state earned a perfect score; however, the scorecard reveals a strong policy foundation in all 50 states and identifies a clear path toward improvements that will continue to strengthen American elections.