dan centinello: has the u.s improved the way it runs elections?

HAVE WE.IMPROVED THE

WAY WE RUNELECTIONS?

an examination, by dan centinello

CENTINELLO .WORDPRESS .COM

IN THE LAST FEWMONTHS ,THERE ’VE BEENCONFLICTINGREPORTSREGARDINGVOTER TURNOUT .

ON SEPTEMBER 5 ,BLOOMBERG .COMREPORTED THAT“TURNOUT IN 2014WAS THE LOWESTSINCE WORLDWAR I I . ”

However, the Election Performance Index (EPI), a

comprehensive amalgamation of 17 key indicators

that measures overall election administration in the

US, suggest increased turnout in recent election

years. Their evidence implies that despite swirling

rumors of rigged elections, despite reports of

incredibly long lines, and despite alleged voter fraud

and unprompted last-minute party switches, the

United States has improved its overall election

administration.

BETWEEN 2010 AND 2014,ONLY 10 STATES SAW THEIROVERALL SCORE DROP,WHILE 39 SAW INCREASESIN THAT FOUR-YEAR SPAN.

Part of the reason for this increase is simply

due to states getting more efficient at

reporting their data–with a higher rate of data

reported, a state’s score will go up. Efficiency

also plays into other facets of a state’s EPI

score–as state governments further embrace

advances in technology, voter registration

becomes a more fluid and seamless process.

The easier it is for a citizen to register to vote,

the more likely they are to complete

registration; the states that have utilized

online voter registration tools (eight in 2010, 21

in 2014) have seen increases in overall

registration.

Arizona seemed during the primary season to be the

epicenter of long voter lines and frequent complaints.

The complaints, however, aren’t reflected in Pew’s EPI

score for the state–the 2.2 minute average voter wait

time was good for 12th in the nation, and four times

shorter than that of North Carolina.

Similarly, Arizona–which placed 35th overall and

showed an improvement over its 2010 scores–also

ranked highly in terms of catering to those with

disabilities, as the 7.7 percent report rate was 6th best in

the nation. Perhaps not coincidentally, Arizona features

both online registration and a 100 percent data

completeness rate according to Pew.

ANECDOTAL EVIDENCEASIDE, IT’S CLEAR BYINSPECTING PEW’S EPISCORES THAT WE ARE, ASA COUNTRY, GETTINGBETTER AND BETTER ATRUNNING ELECTIONS.

DANCENTINELLO

Follow Dan on Twitter: @centinello