Pew Releases Updated Election Performance Index
On April 8, The Pew Charitable Trusts released an updated Election Performance Index (EPI), which includes data from the 2012 General Election. The EPI assesses state election administration performance based on 17 indicators. The premise of the study is based on Heather Gerken’s 2012 book, The Democracy Index: Why Our Election System Is Failing and How to Fix It, which proposed a rank-based assessment regarding how well each state runs its elections.
Pew’s most recent EPI shows improvement for some indicators. However, military and overseas voters continue to face challenges. Based on the two indicators used to assess the military and overseas voting process, 31.4% of military and overseas ballots transmitted to voters in 2012 were not returned, and 40.4% of military and overseas ballots were rejected in 2012 because they were received by election officials after the deadline for counting.
Pew’s EPI also confirms Overseas Vote Foundation’s (OVF) findings that state online voter information tools are still lacking. OVF recently investigated the extent to which online support for Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) voters is available on each state election website. Our findings are cited on page 61 in the Presidential Commission on Election Administration’s final report.
Our study, State of the States’ Website UOCAVA Support, found that very few states offer clear, accessible, and easy-to-use instructions for UOCAVA voters, or offer the specific forms required by UOCAVA voters, including the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) or Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB).
Indeed, 19 states provide no extra assistance to military and overseas voters. However, many states have created their own online tools to supplement the voter registration or absentee ballot request process, and 26 states provide a direct link to a designated military and overseas voter services page from their voting/elections homepage.
Pew’s EPI notes that disabled voters continue to face challenges at the polls, including voting technology that is difficult to use. OVF’s End-to-End Verifiable Internet Voting: Specification and Feasibility Assessment Study (E2E VIV Project) explores solutions for these voters. The E2E VIV project will examine a form of remote voting that enables a so-called “end-to-end verifiability” (E2E) property. Usability factors specific to voters with disabilities will be considered from the outset of the study.
OVF and U.S. Vote Foundation (US Vote) applaud the efforts of The Pew Charitable Trusts in facilitating the evaluation of state election performance. The EPI continues to be an innovative tool that provides valuable information to policy makers and election administrators, and can confirm the direction of key stakeholder efforts like those undertaken by OVF and US Vote.