The State of Voting Rights
A look into how well states are protecting fair, free and accessible elections
By Chris deLaubenfels, Director of Policy and Communications, Let America Vote
Let America Vote is fighting to protect voting rights across the United States. That’s why we’ve compiled this analysis to reveal how well states are actually doing to promote fair and free elections. We’ve identified 10 policies to help assess how voter friendly each state is as of 2019. The 10 policies include measures that make voter registration accessible, make voting more convenient and protect citizens from voter suppression. While other election-related policies also shine a light on how pro-democracy states are, these 10 policies provide a snapshot into how accessible voting is in each state.
For each policy, a state received a 1 if it has the policy in place, 0.5 if the policy is partially in place, and a 0 if the policy is not in place in the state. Each state was then given a score from 0 to 10, with 10 being the most voter-friendly states and 0 being the least voter-friendly states.
Highlights
- Vermont is the only state that received a perfect 10, with California and Colorado coming in close behind by each receiving 9.5.
- Mississippi is the only state to receive a 0, with Alabama receiving the next-lowest score at 2.
- Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia–all states that were covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act–are in the bottom third of states for voter accessibility.
- States with Democratic trifectas are leading the way in promoting free and fair elections. For example, California (9.5), Colorado (9.5), Hawaii (8.5), Illinois (9), Maine (8), Nevada (8), New Mexico (8.5), Oregon (8), and Washington (8) are 9 of the top 13 states in protecting the right to vote.
- Seven of the 10 worst states for voting rights—Alabama (2), Arkansas (3.5), Indiana (3), Kentucky (1.5), Mississippi (0), Tennessee (2), Texas (2) —are currently under complete Republican control.
- While Kentucky (1.5) and Virginia (3) are currently two of the worst states for voting rights in the country, the big Democratic wins in this year’s elections should be a major step forward for voting rights in those states. Now that Democrats have flipped the Virginia General Assembly, we look forward to the advancement of pro-voter, pro-democracy policies in Virginia. We are also optimistic that the election of Andy Beasher as governor of Kentucky will help promote access to the ballot in the Bluegrass State.
| Total | |||||||||||
|
Alabama |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Alaska |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8.5 |
|
Arizona |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
0 |
1 |
.5 |
6 |
|
Arkansas |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.5 |
3.5 |
|
California |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
9.5 |
|
Colorado |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
9.5 |
|
Connecticut |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
7 |
|
Delaware |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.5 |
0 |
0 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
|
Florida |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.5 |
4.5 |
|
Georgia |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.5 |
5.5 |
|
Hawaii |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8.5 |
|
Idaho |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
0 |
1 |
.5 |
7 |
|
Illinois |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
|
Indiana |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
|
Iowa |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
7.5 |
|
Kansas |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.5 |
4.5 |
|
Kentucky |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1.5 |
|
Louisiana |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.5 |
0 |
0 |
.5 |
3 |
|
Maine |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
|
Maryland |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
|
Massachusetts |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
|
Michigan |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8.5 |
|
Minnesota |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
7.5 |
|
Mississippi |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Missouri |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.5 |
0 |
1 |
.5 |
4 |
|
Montana |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
7.5 |
|
Nebraska |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
6.5 |
|
Nevada |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
|
New Hampshire |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.5 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3.5 |
|
New Jersey |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.5 |
6.5 |
|
New Mexico |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
8.5 |
|
New York |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
|
North Carolina |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.5 |
4.5 |
|
North Dakota |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
5 |
|
Ohio |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
6.5 |
|
Oklahoma |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.5 |
0 |
1 |
.5 |
5 |
|
Oregon |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
|
Pennsylvania |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
|
Rhode Island |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
5.5 |
|
South Carolina |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
4 |
|
South Dakota |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
5 |
|
Tennessee |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Texas |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.5 |
0 |
0 |
.5 |
2 |
|
Utah |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8.5 |
|
Vermont |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
10 |
|
Virginia |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.5 |
3 |
|
Washington |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
0 |
1 |
.5 |
8 |
|
West Virginia |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.5 |
1 |
1 |
.5 |
6 |
|
Wisconsin |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.5 |
5.5 |
|
Wyoming |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
6 |