From PEW Foundation

The Elections Performance Index (EPI) is the first-ever comprehensive assessment of election administration in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Using data from 17 key indicators, the EPI makes it possible to compare election administration policy and performance across the states and from one election cycle to the next.

The Index presented here is based on the 2008 and 2010 elections and will be updated once 2012 data become available.

LINK: Elections Performance Index

LINK: Breakdown by Performance Area

Hawaii Elections Performance Index  Report

Hawaii 2010 -- Rank 44th Overall

• 65.8% Voter Registration Rate
• 10.2% Registration or Absentee Ballot Problems
• 2 Voting Information Look-Up Tools Available
• Absentee Ballots Rejected 0.3%
• Turnout 40.1%
• Data Completeness 92.6%

Hawaii 2008 – Rank 30th Overall

• 69.6% Voter Registration Rate
• 6.5% Registration or Absentee Ballot Problems
• 1 Voting Information Look-Up Tools Available
• Turnout 49.0%
• Voting Technology Accuracy 0.5%
• Voting Wait Time 5.7

Overview

Overall EPI Average:

• 2008—66%
• 2010—54%

Chief Election Official: Chief election officer of the state’s elections commission

Absentee Voting: Changed—

• In 2008, No-excuse—allows any registered voter to request an absentee ballot without providing a reason
• In 2010, Permanent—allows any registered voter to request an absentee ballot without providing a reason and offers voters the option to receive automatically mailed absentee ballots for future elections

In-person Early Voting: Allowed

Notable Indicators

2008

• Lowest turnout and registration rates: Hawaii was the only state with less than 50 percent turnout.
• Low rate of provisional ballots cast
• Low rate of nonvoting due to disability- or illness-related problems
• Low average wait time of 5.7 minutes
• High voting technology accuracy, measured by a low residual vote rate of 0.5 percent

2010

• Lowest registration rate
• Low rate of provisional ballots cast
• High rate of absentee ballots rejected
• Low rate of military and overseas ballots unreturned
• Highest rate of nonvoting due to registration or absentee ballot problems: Hawaii was the only state with an increase in the rate of registration and absentee voting problems of more than 1 percent between the two years.