Citizenship Verification Laws Among Factors Propelling Tennessee, Arkansas to Top Election Integrity Scorecard

Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida are the leading states in The Heritage Foundation’s 2026 Election Integrity Scorecard, which was released on Tuesday.

The key drivers behind the rankings this year were stronger citizenship-verification laws and state laws protecting against foreign funding of elections or ballot initiatives.

The scorecard ranks states based on the strength and enforcement of election laws and safeguards. It compares and ranks 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The scorecard, launched in 2021, covers 15 different categories considered essential for free and fair elections. It also reviews election laws.

The Heritage Foundation periodically updates the scorecard’s criteria, which the think tank says is to encourage states to continually improve their processes. In addition to citizenship verification, the categories include voter ID, accuracy of voter registration lists, ballot harvesting restrictions, restrictions on same-day voter registration, and election audits.

It also looks at procedures governing elections and administration by election officials in the states.

“The Heritage Foundation is committed to ensuring that American elections remain secure, accurate, and transparent,” said Don Palmer, senior legal fellow for election integrity at The Heritage Foundation, in a statement.

Arkansas and Tennessee tied for first place, with an overall score of 91. Alabama placed third, with a score of 89. Louisiana ranked fourth, with a score of 85. Florida and Georgia tied for fifth place, with a score of 83. Hawaii was the lowest ranking state with a score of 22. California was ranked 50th of 51 with a score of 26. The states of Vermont and Oregon were tied for 48th with a score of 31.

The Heritage Foundation will convene a series of meetings with election integrity experts to provide more insight into how states are enforcing their election integrity laws and will include their findings as part of the 2027 rankings.

“States can anticipate that our priorities for 2027 will include adopting proof of citizenship for voting, ensuring election laws are enforced and crimes prosecuted, establishing state election fraud divisions, and conducting compliance audits,” said Palmer, a former chairman of the Election Assistance Commission.

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