A new index reveals that voters in counties with higher levels of poverty and racial diversity experience less effective election administration. Researchers urge for more equitable funding to ensure election integrity.
A landmark study conducted by researchers at Washington State University and the University of Iowa has uncovered a significant link between the economic and racial composition of counties and their election administration performance. This critical finding highlights disparities in election administration that could affect the integrity and accessibility of voting across the United States.
The study introduced the County Election Administration Index to measure election performance at the county level, a departure from the traditional state-focused analyses. The index, which evaluates 19 different measures of election administration, from voter wait times to the percentage of rejected provisional ballots, was published in the Election Law Journal.
Lead researcher Michael Ritter, a political scientist at Washington State University, emphasized the stark inequalities laid bare by the study.
“Most of the funding for election administration comes from the local tax base, so what we found is that the overall wealth of a county very much impacts the level of election administration that a county is able to afford,” Ritter said in a statement.
Ritter added that economic disadvantage often aligns with racial and ethnic demographics. The index revealed that areas with a higher concentration of racial and ethnic minorities were more prone to lower-performing election administrations. This trend was prominent in urban regions, with New York City, San Antonio and San Diego ranking lowest among metropolitan areas in the 2020 election. Conversely, Louisville, Milwaukee and Seattle’s King County were top performers.
Ritter and co-author Caroline Tolbert, a professor of political science at University of Iowa, created the index to capture the decentralized nature of election administration in the United States.
“The United States is unique among advanced democracies in that election administration is very decentralized,” added Ritter. “The federal government and states may set general directives about how elections are to be administered, but a lot of those actions are carried forth by county-level governments.”
The study’s findings suggest that the disparities in county-level election administration can be traced back to the uneven distribution of resources, which hampers the ability of less wealthy and more racially diverse counties to efficiently manage elections. This issue is compounded by the lack of uniform post-election or risk-limiting audit laws in some states, which are intended to ensure votes are counted correctly and election machines function properly.
The researchers have made the data from the County Election Administration Index available for public use and are developing an interactive website to make it easier for individuals to access their county’s performance data. By providing this information, they hope to inspire informed advocacy and drive improvements in election administration nationwide.
To address these disparities, Ritter advocates for more balanced funding.
“I would suggest that we need to have an even greater national role in funding election administration, so every county has a similar level of funding based on its population,” he said. “Then the average county is more likely to have the resources and personnel it needs to effectively implement U.S. elections.”
The newly developed index is a step forward in understanding and addressing the complexities of election administration in the diverse socio-economic landscape of the United States. As the research indicates, ensuring that every vote counts equally necessitates addressing the disparities uncovered by this study.