Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories

Which states run the best elections? MIT researchers have an answer.

Best states for elections

A certain New England state achieved the highest score on MIT's elections index.

wellesenterprises/Getty Images

Despite the disinformation, legal actions and 2021 insurrection, election administration improved in 2020, according to MIT’s Election Performance Index.

And while nearly every state saw improvements from 2018, even during Covid-19 pandemic, not all states performed equally well.


The index examines voter turnout and registration, ballot problems, online tools, audits and other aspects of election administration.

The top-performing states in 2020 were:

  1. Vermont
  2. Minnesota
  3. Iowa
  4. Wisconsin
  5. North Dakota

The lowest-scoring states were:

  1. New York
  2. South Dakota
  3. Oklahoma
  4. Arkansas
  5. Mississippi

See the full rankings and read more about the methodology.


Read More

“We Can’t Afford It” Is Never an Acceptable Excuse To Deny Independents a Vote

DC voting rights advocate Lisa D.T. Rice criticized the DC City Council for failing to fund Initiative 83’s semi-open primary system, leaving 85,000 independent voters unable to participate in taxpayer-funded primaries despite overwhelming voter approval in 2024.

Photo by Getty Images on Unsplash.

“We Can’t Afford It” Is Never an Acceptable Excuse To Deny Independents a Vote

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Lisa D.T. Rice spoke before the DC City Council during a Budget Oversight Hearing on May 1 to talk about Initiative 83, the semi-open primary and ranked choice voting measure she proposed that was approved by 73% of voters in 2024.

- YouTube youtu.be

Keep ReadingShow less
Pregnant woman holding her belly during a prenatal exam.

Americans are questioning whether they have enough resources and support to raise a family in the nation's current political landscape. Julie Roland examines the contradictions of "pro-family" politics in America today and the kind of care mothers are owed to safely and successfully raise children.

Getty Images, Drs Producoes

The Trump Administration Has a Mommy Problem

My mother, who died of breast cancer when I was 18, had me when she was 32. This past Sunday, I turned 33, childless. As I officially fall behind her timeline, with no plans to have kids anytime soon, I look at the landscape of 2026 America and have to ask: Who can blame me?

The decision to start a family is a difficult one. J.D. Vance said on his first day as Vice President that he wants “more babies in America,” but many Americans simply can’t afford to have kids anymore. Perhaps that’s one reason why this administration is offering $5,000 “baby bonuses” just to incentivize birth, while also banning abortion in every way they can. But becoming a mother should be a choice. I was the result of an unplanned pregnancy–and I’m lucky my mom decided to have me and that she turned out to be the best mom ever–but as Miriam Rabkin, MD, MPH, put it: “if you want mom to be happy and healthy, she needs access to contraception so she can choose if and when to get pregnant!” Instead, this administration seems to think that if women won’t elect to have children, they should try paying them, and if that doesn’t work, then they should just force them.

Keep ReadingShow less
Religious leaders hold a press conference at the Episcopal Church Center.

Religious leaders hold a press conference at the Episcopal Church Center to outline plans for implementing the recommendations of President Johnson's riot commission. From the left are Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum, president of Inter-Religious Foundation for Community Organizations; Rev. Albert Cleage Jr., pastor of Detroit's Central Congregational Church; Rev., John Hines, co-chairman of Operation connection, and Rabbi Abraham Heschel, of New York's Jewish Theological Seminary.

Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Not Forgotten: The Need To Continue The Work of Black-Jewish Legacy

An aggressor shouting “Free Palestine” choked a 32-year-old Jewish man near Adas Torah synagogue recently in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood in LA.

This episode, following on the heels of thousands more, is a stark reminder that the surge of antisemitism in the U.S. continues unabated.

Keep ReadingShow less