Voters cast their ballots on Election Day at the Cheyenne High School polling station in North Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.
Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 | 6:20 p.m.
Nevada is behind just four other states in a national ranking of election administration performance based on the 2016 election.
The state is fifth with North Dakota in fourth, after Delaware, Minnesota and No. 1 Vermont, the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office announced Thursday. The ranking is in the Elections Performance Index released by MIT’s Election Data and Science Lab, which looks at factors such as ballot problems and the availability of online voter registration.
“We have assembled an outstanding Elections Division and have established strong relationships with Nevada’s local election officials,” Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske said. “We are extremely proud that all of their hard work is recognized on a national level.”
Nevada was first in voting machine performance, which is analyzed by comparing turnout to ballots cast. This rate spiked nationally this year as more people abstained from making a selection, and Nevada’s rate could be lower than the rest of the country because of its “none of these candidates” option, according to the index.
Idaho, which did not offer online voter registration for the 2016 election, ranked last in the index, after Oklahoma and California in the bottom three.
