Tennessee is setting the standard for election integrity, ranking first in the nation for conducting safe and fair elections, according to the recently updated Election Integrity Scorecard from the Heritage Foundation.
First published in December 2021 and updated last month, the scorecard currently ranks Tennessee—tied with Arkansas—as the top state for election security and fairness, with both earning a score of 91.
The scorecard compares the election laws and regulations of each state and Washington, D.C. that affect the security and integrity of the process to the Heritage Foundation’s “best-practices recommendations.”
Behind every secure election are the officials who make it happen. Thank you to all 95 counties for protecting the vote. #TrustedBallot #ElectionsDoneRight #GoVoteTN pic.twitter.com/i8H6YBBdc5
— Tre Hargett (@tnsecofstate) September 2, 2025
“Thanks to members of the Tennessee General Assembly, county administrators of elections, and county election commissions, who help us ensure secure and transparent elections for Tennesseans. The Volunteer State leads the nation in election integrity for the fourth consecutive year,” Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (pictured above) said.
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said the Election Integrity Scorecard is meant to give states a “better idea of how their state laws and regulations compare to best practices and where they need improvement.”
For Tennessee to earn a perfect score of 100 on the Heritage Foundation’s Election Integrity Scorecard, the state must move to strengthen its voter registration lists by incorporating photographs of registered voters into the electronic poll books used at polling places; better manage absentee ballots; implement election litigation procedures; and restrict private funding of election officials and government agencies.
“The right to free and fair elections and to having every legal vote count is one of the most basic civil rights in our republic. Americans should be able to have complete confidence in the security of the electoral process, and that their vote will not be lost, stolen, altered, or negated by fraud,” the Heritage Foundation said upon launching the Election Integrity Scorecard in 2021.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Sec. State Tre Hargett” by Sec. State Tre Hargett.
