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

David Meyers
March 15, 2022
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.

Related Articles Around the Web
  • Elections Performance Index ›
  • The Elections Performance Index: Past, Present, and Future by ... ›
  • Elections Performance Index | The Pew Charitable Trusts ›
  • Elections Performance Index ›
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