Cost of Voting Index

{{Infobox organization

| name = Cost of Voting Index

| formation = 2018

| location_country = United States

| leader_title = Author

| leader_name = Scot Schraufnagel

| leader_title2 = Author

| leader_name2 = Michael J. Pomante II

| leader_title3 = Author

| leader_name3 = Quan Li

| website = {{URL|https://costofvotingindex.com}}

| footnotes = [https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/elj.2022.0041| 2022 Election Law Journal article]

}}{{Short description|Ranking of how easy it is to vote by U.S. state}}

The Cost of Voting Index measures and ranks how difficult it is to vote in each state in the United States, focusing on voter registration and voting rules.{{Cite news |last1=Corasaniti |first1=Nick |last2=McCann |first2=Allison |date=2022-09-20 |title=The 'Cost' of Voting in America: A Look at Where It's Easiest and Hardest |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/20/us/politics/cost-of-voting.html |access-date=2023-01-05 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Ali |first=Shirin |date=2022-09-28 |title=These are the most difficult states to vote in |url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/accessibility/3665190-these-are-the-hardest-states-to-vote-in/ |access-date=2023-01-06 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}} The index also has rankings for every two years since 1996.{{Cite journal |last1=Schraufnagel |first1=Scot |last2=Pomante |first2=Michael J. |last3=Li |first3=Quan |date=2022-09-01 |title=Cost of Voting in the American States: 2022* |journal=Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy |language=en |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=220–228 |doi=10.1089/elj.2022.0041 |issn=1533-1296|doi-access=free }}{{Cite web |last=Shendruk |first=Amanda |date=2018-10-27 |title=The difficulty of voting in every US state, ranked |url=https://qz.com/1439299/here-are-the-states-where-its-hardest-to-vote |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=Quartz |language=en}} The states ranked as being easier to vote also tend to have higher voter turnout.{{Cite news |last=Ingraham |first=Christopher |date=October 22, 2018 |title=Low voter turnout is no accident, according to a ranking of the ease of voting in all 50 states |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/10/22/low-voter-turnout-is-no-accident-according-ranking-ease-voting-all-states/ |work=Wonkblog |publisher=Washington Post}}{{Cite news |last=Pomante II |first=Michael J. |date=October 8, 2020 |title=These states are most likely to boost turnout – despite the pandemic |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/07/these-states-are-most-likely-boost-turnout-despite-pandemic/ |work=Monkey Cage blog |publisher=Washington Post}}

June 2022 rankings

Component parts of the Index

The 2022 iteration of the index has 10 categories with various criteria within each category to measure and rank each state on how easy it is to vote.

class="wikitable"

|+

!Categories

!Issue Area

!Cost of Voting Consideration

rowspan="26" |Voter Registration

|#1–Registration Deadline (Ratio-Level)

|# of days prior to the election a voter must be registered to vote

rowspan="9" |#2–Voter Reg. Restrictions (9-Item Additive Sub-index)

|Same day registration not allowed for all elections

Same day registration not located at polling station
Mental competency req. for voter registration
No online voter registration
Same day reg. not allowed for presidential election
Felons not allowed to register while incarcerated
Felons not allowed to register after incarceration
Online voter reg. deadline greater than median
Additional documents req. beyond federal min.
rowspan="5" |#3–Reg. Drive Restrictions (4-Item Additive Sub-index)

|Official group certification required

State mandated training required
Group required to submit documents to state
Penalty imposed for violation of deadlines or rules
No registration drives allowed (scored ‘‘5’’)
rowspan="7" |#4–Pre-Registration Laws (7-Item Ordered Scale)

|0 = 16-year-olds can pre-register

1 = 17-year-olds can pre-register
2 = 17.5-year-olds can pre-register
3 = 90 days before 18th birthday can pre-register
4 = 60 days before 18th birthday can pre-register
5 = 16-year-old policy, no legal basis
6 = no state law discusses pre-registration
rowspan="4" |#5–Automatic Voter Reg. (4-Item Ordered Scale)

|0 = Citizen must opt out–‘‘Back end AVR’’

1 = Automatic reg. at more than one state agency
2 = Automatic registration at DMV, only
3 = No automatic voter registration
rowspan="29" |Voting

| rowspan="12" |#6–Voting Inconvenience (12-Item Additive Sub-index)

|No Election Day state holiday

No early voting
No all mail voting
No Voting Centers
No time-off from work for voting
No time-off from work with pay for voting
Mail voting but no Election Day polling option
Reduced number of polling stations post-Holder
Reduced # of polling stations >50% (some areas)
Excessive Election Day wait time
No postage paid envelopes
No passing out food/water to people in line to vote
rowspan="5" |#7–Voter ID Laws (5-Item Ordered Scale)

|0 = no ID required to cast a ballot, only signature

1 = non-photo ID required not strictly enforced
2 = photo ID required not strictly enforced
3 = non-photo ID required strictly enforced
4 = photo ID required strictly enforced
#8–Poll Hours (Ratio-Level)

|Min. and Max. poll hours (averaged & reversed)

#9–Early Voting Days (Ratio-Level)

|Number of early voting days (reversed)

rowspan="10" |#10–Absentee Voting (10-Item Additive Sub-index)

|State-sanctioned excuse required to vote absentee

No in-person absentee voting
No permanent absentee status allowed
No online absentee application process
Must include copy of ID to vote absentee
No convenient absentee ballot drop-off locations
Restriction on who can return an absentee ballot
Restriction on timing/quantity of ballots returned
No 3rd party dist. of absentee ballot applications
No election official distribution of absentee ballots

Factors not in Index

The following factors, while not included, also influence the ease and likelihood of voting or voter suppression.

Ballot initiatives often give voters more reasons to go to the polls by offering a straightforward way to streamline their own election process by circumventing the incumbent politicians.{{Cite news |last=Benshoff |first=Laura |date=December 17, 2022 |title=Ballot measures on weed and abortion won in 2022. Now they're fueling a backlash |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/12/15/1142821226/ballot-weed-abortion-won-2022-fueling-backlash |access-date=2022-12-15}}

Ballot length: ballots with dozens and dozens of items to vote on can discourage citizens from doing the difficult research they may feel is required, spending less time researching each race.{{Cite journal |last=Seib |first=J. Drew |date=2016-09-01 |title=Coping with lengthy ballots |journal=Electoral Studies |language=en |volume=43 |pages=115–123 |doi=10.1016/j.electstud.2016.05.011 |issn=0261-3794|doi-access=free }}

Compulsory voting: voting is easier when 90%+ of citizens vote, creating positive cultural norms, establishing voting habits, and having more citizens who can help each other navigate the process.

Election frequency and timing: two-round elections, recall elections, and off-year elections all suppress voter turnout.{{Cite journal |last=Anzia |first=Sarah F. |date=2011-04-01 |title=Election Timing and the Electoral Influence of Interest Groups |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1017/S0022381611000028 |journal=The Journal of Politics |volume=73 |issue=2 |pages=412–427 |doi=10.1017/S0022381611000028 |issn=0022-3816|url-access=subscription }}

Gerrymandering can disincentivize voting by artificially making certain races less competitive.{{Cite book |last=Seabrook |first=Nick |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1286675891 |title=One person, one vote : a surprising history of gerrymandering in America |date=2022 |isbn=978-0-593-31586-6 |edition=1st |location=New York |oclc=1286675891}}

Information accessibility and press freedom: information warfare,{{Cite book |last=Ressa |first=Maria |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1333867107 |title=How to stand up to a dictator: the fight for our future |others=Foreword by Amal Clooney |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-06-325751-1 |edition=First |location=[New York] |oclc=1333867107}} support for public or nonprofit media, and transparency in government operations all influence the ease of voting and trust of voting systems through enhanced election security. 2/3 of U.S. college students cited a lack of information as a reason for why they didn't vote.{{Cite book |last=Rusch |first=Elizabeth |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1124772479 |title=You call this democracy? : how to fix our government and deliver power to the people |date=2020 |isbn=978-0-358-17692-3 |location=Boston |oclc=1124772479}}

Party membership requirements: requiring voters to register with a party makes voting more complex and difficult, especially for those people who don't identify with the party that is likely to win the seat in the general election.

Purges of voter rolls: the act of unregistering voters by sending postcards requiring what amounts to re-registration or employing a 'use it or lose it' approach where after a certain number of elections of not voting, voters are automatically removed from the voter rolls without any evidence that they have moved.{{Cite web |title=Voter Purges {{!}} Brennan Center for Justice |url=https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/vote-suppression/voter-purges |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=www.brennancenter.org |date=20 July 2018 |language=en}}

Threats and voter intimidation: Intimidation can result from the presence of cameras or guns at polling places to ballots that may not be secret.{{Cite magazine |last=Newman |first=Lily Hay |date=November 7, 2022 |title=The Secret Ballot Is US Democracy's Last Line of Defense |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/secret-ballot-voter-intimidation-2022-us-midterms/ |access-date=2022-12-09 |issn=1059-1028}} Following-through on threats by physically harming or killing people can severely deter voter participation.{{Cite web |last=Roush |first=Wade |title=Truly Secure Voting Is on the Way |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/truly-secure-voting-is-on-the-way/ |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=Scientific American |date=January 2020 |language=en}}

Voter enfranchisement: voting starting at the age of 16 helps the learning process of how to vote, and simplicity with regard to felony enfranchisement also makes voting simpler.

Voter verification: a substantial match standard for signatures on mail-in ballots, for example, makes it less likely for valid votes to be destroyed than in a system with an 'exact match' standard, without any evidence of an increase in fraud.{{Cite book |last=Litt |first=David |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1120147424 |title=Democracy in one book or less: how it works, why it doesn't, and why fixing it is easier than you think |date=2020 |isbn=978-0-06-287936-3 |edition=1st |location=New York |oclc=1120147424}} Many states in the U.S., for example, also allow voters to remedy ballots where the signatures seem too different.{{Cite web |last=Graham |first=David A. |date=2020-10-21 |title=Signed, Sealed, Delivered—Then Discarded |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/signature-matching-is-the-phrenology-of-elections/616790/ |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}} Other sources of complications arise from issues in matching data from different databases where discrepancies could arise for lots of reasons for those with the right to vote.{{Cite web |last=Justin Levitt, Wendy R. Weiser, and Ana Muñoz |date=March 24, 2006 |title=Making the List: Database Matching and Verification Processes for Voter Registration |url=https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2019-08/Report_Making-the-List.pdf}}

See also

References

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