The good news is that the administration of elections in Washington state improved from 2008 to 2012, according to an interactive online report from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
The not-so-good news is that the state fell four spots, to No. 12, in the report’s nationwide rankings, as other states improved more than Washington. Still, Washington is one of just seven states to rank in the top 25 percent nationwide in 2008, 2010 and 2012.
The report looks at each state’s performance on 17 different measures.
One indicator on which the state scored poorly was “registration or absentee ballot problems,” which reflects the ease or difficulty of registering to vote.
The state might see its score improve had the Legislature this year approved House Bill 1267, sponsored by Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon of Seattle, which would have moved the deadline for registering from 29 days before an election to 11 days, or House Bill 1279, by Rep. Steve Bergquist of Renton, which would have allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to register when they get their driver’s licenses instead of waiting until they turn 18, the age when they become eligible to vote. Both measures passed the House but died in the Senate.