Model and Strategy
Created by Chalkbeat, Votebeat is a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting access year-round. In 2020, Chalkbeat ran Votebeat as a pop-up news network in eight states. After the success of that experiment, we aim to launch Votebeat as an ongoing initiative with full-time coverage in eight states through the midterm elections and beyond.
Votebeat’s mission is to encourage higher voter participation and preserve the legitimacy of elections by providing truthful, objective journalism at the local level, where all elections are carried out and where the dearth of quality information is most acute. Votebeat produces reporting that holds decision makers accountable by documenting flaws in the electoral system when it falls short and highlighting solutions. Our reporting helps voters feel more engaged by explaining the safeguards that protect the integrity of their ballots, and how to overcome obstacles to voting. It combats mis- and disinformation by debunking falsehoods and conveying clear information about how elections work.
Battery Powered support will help us cover:
- New laws about voting and corresponding lawsuits;
- Ballot security and cybersecurity issues;
- Voter suppression and intimidation efforts;
- Real-time news about the election process, including tabulation errors, recounts, and audits;
- Harassment and threats of election workers; and
- Attempted subversion of election results.
Our audience strategy is to: (1) to build a loyal audience of local leaders who care about voting integrity; (2) to fill the information vacuum for those doing their own research online; and (3) to reach a broad “curious & engaged” audience through partnerships with scaled tech platforms (Apple News, Associated Press, Patch, etc.) and local and national TV, radio, and legacy print and digital news sources.
Votebeat’s model closely follows one developed at Chalkbeat over the past decade, building atop infrastructure and learnings from one of the most innovative teams in local news.
Impact
Our impact ultimately will be increasing Americans’ participation in democracy and restoring the health of elections. At the local level, this would look like:
- Smoother execution of the 2022 elections at all levels of local and state government, thanks to decision makers and administrators being held to a higher bar.
- The existence of a consistent counterweight to rumors and partisan propaganda that thrive on social media.
- An increase in healthy participation in the election administration conversation from a broader crosssection of people.
We use various tools to capture our two main forms of impact — informed action (i.e. change made at the state or organization level) and informed debate (Chalkbeat's work is cited in a report, plan, statement, meeting, etc). Examples of impact from our pilot of Votebeat include:
- In partnership with Texas Monthly, our coverage of the Texas legislature’s elections bill revealed a problem that would disenfranchise several thousands of voters based on their luck in guessing a number. In response, legislators pledged a fix. The story also motivated a lawsuit against Texas.
- In Michigan, our reporters produced a fact-checked debunking of fraud myths that election administrators used to educate voters and correct misunderstandings about voting machines. Our reporters also wrote articles in the election’s aftermath that sounded the alarm on the coming anti-election hostilities. One such exclusive piece presaged the hostilities surrounding officials’ efforts to uphold the election results.
- In Pennsylvania, our reporters spotlighted the burnout and attrition of local election officials, an emergency that was cited in a legislative committee meeting and in a New York Times article.
Leadership
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Alison Go
Executive Director, Votebeat and Chief Strategy Officer, Chalkbeat
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Chad Lorenz
Editor in Chief, Votebeat