New Mexico’s 2022 election was ranked most well-run in the country by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data and Science Lab’s Elections Performance Index.
“The professional election administrators who keep the polls open and the votes counted and the engine of democracy running in New Mexico are exemplary and it’s an honor to see this work recognized on the national stage,” New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said in a press release. “Alongside my incredible staff and the tireless work of our thirty-three county clerks and their staffs, I’m proud to have helped modernize New Mexico’s elections by finding a critical balance between voter access and election security.”
Toulouse Oliver also thanked members of the legislature for updating election laws over the years.
“I’m particularly proud of the index’s recognition of New Mexico’s excellent online voter resources, our low ballot rejection rates, our use of post-election audits, and our membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) – all of which were cited as indicators of our peak performance,” she continued.
The EPI was launched in 2012 by the Pew Charitable Trusts as a means to measure states’ performance on metrics ranging from voter wait times and turnout to voter registration rates and election audits.
New Mexico previously ranked ninth in 2018.
The index reflects not only how states are administering elections but how election administration has changed in the intervening elections.
“The latest update to the EPI shows that election management across the United States improved in the 2022 midterm election, continuing an upward trend we see throughout the past few iterations of the index,” MIT said in a press release. “In 2010, the nationwide average score on the index was just 63 percent. In 2022, that has leapt to 80 percent, an incredible achievement. Among the biggest factors driving state improvement have been improved data collection and practices, as well as more capable websites that feature better tools for voters.”
For more information about New Mexico’s elections including how to apply for or update your voter registration, visit www.NMVote.org.
