Elections Performance Index ranks each state by effectiveness of election administration

North Dakota has the nation's most efficient election system, while Alabama is least efficient, according to the Elections Performance Index by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The index, which includes data from 2014 elections, scores election administration on 17 indicators of performance. States were given an overall score on a scale of 0-100 based on an average score of all indicators. State data are available for each indicator. Rankings also are available from 2008, 2010 and 2012 elections. (Chart shows state ranks; click on it for a larger version)

The 17 indicators are: Data Completeness; Disability- or Illness-related Voting Problems; Mail Ballots Rejected; Mail Ballots Unreturned; Military and Overseas Ballots Rejected; Military and Overseas Ballots Unreturned; Online Registration Available; Postelection Audit Required; Provisional Ballots Cast; Provisional Ballots Rejected; Registration or Absentee Ballot Problems; Registrations Rejected; Residual Vote Rate; Turnout; Voter Registration Rate; Voting Information Lookup Tools Available; Voting Wait Time.

North Dakota, which has topped the last four indexes, was given a score of 84. Minnesota was second at 83, followed by Virginia and Wisconsin (82), Connecticut (81) and Colorado and Delaware (80). Alabama scored 49. Also scoring low were California (54), Oklahoma and Idaho (57) and Arkansas, Hawaii and Mississippi (59).