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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