Report Finds States Cutting Wait Times for Voters
Voters across the country waited less time in line to cast their ballots in 2012 than in 2008, a sign that states were doing a better job at running elections, says a report released Tuesday by the Pew Charitable Trust’s Election Initiatives.
The elections index rates how well states conducted the 2012 elections according to 17 criteria, including whether voters can register or find voting information online, how long they have to wait in line, how many voters must use provisional ballots, the handling of mail-in, military and overseas ballots, voter registration rate and turnout. Forty states improved their ratings from the 2008 election, according to the Pew report.
Average wait time at polls inched down about three minutes, from more than 14 minutes in 2008 to just over 11 minutes in 2012, according to Pew’s Elections Performance Index. South Carolina, which had waits of more than an hour in 2008, cut its time to about 25 minutes. Florida’s waiting time was the worst, and at 45 minutes it was far longer than the 29 minutes voters waited in 2008.