New Mexico ranks seventh in nation for election administration, MIT index shows
New Mexico ranked seventh in the nation for election administration in a new MIT index, climbing from 25th in 2020 as officials point to improvements in security and voter access.
State climbs from No. 25 in 2020, with officials citing improvements in security, voter access and election systems
Organ Mountain News report
SANTA FE - New Mexico ranked seventh in the nation for election administration in a new report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, continuing a trend of improvement over the past several years.
The ranking comes from MIT’s 2024 Elections Performance Index, which evaluates states using indicators such as voter registration rates, ballot rejection rates, wait times, post-election audits and election security measures.
New Mexico climbed from 25th in the 2020 index to seventh in the latest rankings, based on the 2024 presidential election.
State officials said the improvement reflects changes in recent years, including the expansion of online voter registration, ballot tracking systems and election security programs.
“Yesterday’s rankings confirm what I know from working with election administrators in our state every day,” New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said in a statement released Friday. “New Mexico helps lead the country by administering elections that are secure, accurate and accessible.”
According to the report, New Mexico scored above the national average in most categories, including absentee voting by mail and overall election administration.
The state’s overall score increased from 82% in 2020 to 87% in 2024, placing it among a group of states with similar top-tier performance. Officials noted that several states ranked just ahead of New Mexico received comparable scores.
New Mexico also ranked first in the nation for its administration of the 2022 midterm elections, according to the index.
MIT’s Election Data and Science Lab, which produces the index, said the rankings are designed to help election officials evaluate best practices and improve election systems.
“By and large, states ranked high in 2024, showing that election administration continues to improve in the United States even amidst a changing electoral environment,” the lab said in a statement.
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