A Rubric for Measuring Electoral Equity in the United States

• In Event: Democracy, or the Lack Thereof, in State Elections I

Abstract

A basic premise of a democracy is that all citizens have an equal opportunity to participate in governance. Voting is the most common and direct from of citizen participation, but electoral equity requires more. One of the challenges in assessing the degree of political equality in the United States is that the country does not have a single electoral system; instead it has multiple systems, at the state, county, and local levels. Moreover, voter resources factor into their costs of voting. We propose a tripartite model of electoral equity encompassing the dynamics within state and county electoral ecosystems, as well as the resource base within the community. In what follows, we develop this model to measure: 1) the state electoral ecosystem, 2) the county electoral ecosystem, and 3) resource availability for voters. We pilot a data collection project based on that model for five states: Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Carolina. We then develop a set of indicators—one encompassing equity score at the state and county levels, and subcomponent scores of voting access and voter resources, usable by scholars and policy practitioners interested in voting equity and access.

Authors

• Jean Reith Schroedel, Claremont Graduate University

• Joseph John Dietrich, Towson University

• Tessa Provins, University of Arizona

• Melissa Ziegler Rogers, Claremont Graduate University