Who runs the best election in America?

Elections Performance Index

Critical Analysis

1. The Elections Performance Index (EPI) compares election administration policy and performance across the states and from one election cycle to the next. It measures indicators like voter turnout, voter registration rates, prevalence of post-election audits, rejected mail ballots, average voting wait time, among other factors. Based on the visual above, what areas of the country did worst in election administration?

2. Which areas of the United States did best in election administration?

3. How does the elections map above reflect the concept of federalism.

4. Nevada and Arizona are still counting votes from Tuesday’s election. That doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad at administering elections, but it definitely makes some citizens lose confidence. What is one consequence of poor voting administration?

5. Describe the level of success of election administration in your state?

6. Based on the visual below* what was the average wait time for voters in the 2020 election?

7. Based on the visual below* what state had the highest voter turnout?

8. Explain the relationship between election administration and the public’s trust in the electoral process.

9. In recent years there has been a dramatic increase of conspiracy theories and claims of election fraud. In what way does the The Elections Performance Index (EPI) help fight against claims of fraud.

10. The Elections Clause (Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution) is the primary source of constitutional authority to regulate elections for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. The Clause directs and empowers states to determine the “Times, Places, and Manner” of congressional elections, subject to Congress’s authority to “make or alter” state regulations. It grants each level of government the authority to enact a complete code for such elections, including rules concerning public notices, voter registration, voter protection, fraud prevention, vote counting, and determination of election results. Make a claim about whether we would do better to have our elections run by the federal government instead of by states.

Learning Extension

Use the interactive map at the MIT Elections Performance Index to see how your state did in election administration!

Action Extension

Let your state board of election know how you feel about their election performance index ranking.

Visual Extension*