March 19, 2021
It is exceedingly difficult to get election news beyond the “play-by-play” action of the campaigns. This kind of news expectedly culminates with the election night results. However, each election cycle can bring about local administrative changes that election officials need to be aware of in order to implement for the upcoming election. Advocates and other practitioners may be interested in tracking proposed changes across hundreds of jurisdictions. Where can these different audiences go to relevant, in-depth election news beyond election day?
The shift away from traditional media towards digital media is nothing new. Most Americans get their news on a digital device. Only 5% actually prefer print publications – about half as many as those that prefer to get their news from social media platforms. The explosion of interest in and capabilities of digital platforms is actually an advantage for the audience of a niche subject like election administration news. A digital-first publication strategy allows news publishers to be more timely, have greater audience reach, and keep tighter focus on the subject-matter compared to traditional print publications.
Election administrators, advocates, and other practitioners have a number of options that can help them stay informed year-round. Here are a few examples: Electionline is a news aggregation site with a long history of providing daily and weekly reviews of national and state election stories of interest to a broad audience. Campaigns & Elections has a more narrow focus on the tools and techniques of the political consulting profession. Votebeat, a project of nonprofit news organization Chalkbeat, is a pop-up newsroom dedicated to covering local election administration and voting in eight states. High Turnout Wide Margins is a podcast hosted by local election administrators who take a deeper dive into election and voting topics with subject-matter experts and policymakers.
This shift toward publishers being able to micro-target niche audiences at a relatively low cost does carry some risk. People now have access to a variety of local, national, and international news sources. Each of these news sources brings its own mix of standards, resources, and biases that ultimately influences their audience. In some cases, broad appeal is no longer a viable business model, and malicious actors can use that to their advantage in their attempts to undermine elections through influence campaigns. It is not just voters that need trustworthy sources of election news.
Maurice Turner
Election Security Analyst, USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative
Maurice Turner is a recognized technologist and cybersecurity expert who regularly provides analysis for television, print, and social media on issues relating to election security and election administration. He has held numerous positions in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, including the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), and the United States Senate.