They’re not conventional political journalists, but they might have the most important beat of 2020. This election year was going to be different even before the pandemic. Legislatures in several states had changed election laws in 2018 and 2019 in ways that made voting for many people more complicated. But those passed under the radar […]

The American Press Institute’s Trusted Elections Network today announced the first round of micro-grants to support local news outlets with special projects to provide accurate information to voters or address misinformation at the local level. The Network, which brings election experts and newsrooms together to ensure accurate election news, received 100 submissions during a two-week […]

The American Press Institute is offering micro-grants and free expert support to news organizations seeking to strengthen their coverage of Election 2020 in service of the American electorate. Micro-grants will be awarded in amounts from $2,000 up to $10,000 USD. The pool of available funds is up to $110,000.   The grants are part of API’s […]

Summary In the midst of a national reckoning over voting by mail, the complicated, localized picture of how people actually vote needs more attention than ever. Some voters, especially first-time voters, may lack the knowledge to comfortably vote by mail or vote at all. Voters from some communities may prefer to vote in person. Others […]

API’s Trusted Elections Network connects journalists with experts in elections and misinformation to help audiences participate knowingly and meaningfully in elections this year. As part of that effort, we’ll publish occasional roundups of elections- and misinformation-related news we’re tracking, especially from participants in the network. If you’d like to learn more about the Trusted Elections […]

Experts warn that much of the discourse voters see this election will be laced with false information, misleading or out-of-context claims, and targeted disinformation. Most of that will be designed to suppress voter turnout and undermine confidence in our election system and election results.  And it is spreading. According to ProPublica and First Draft, nearly […]

The 2020 primaries so far in states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have shown a lack of readiness for voting in a pandemic. Many states are, at the same time, implementing new rules or laws, meaning voters and elections officials were already dealing with change before the health crisis hit. Journalists, advocates and policymakers are all […]

API’s Trusted Elections Network connects journalists with experts in elections and misinformation to help audiences participate knowingly and meaningfully in elections this year. As part of that effort, we’ll publish occasional roundups of elections- and misinformation-related news we’re tracking, especially from participants in the network. If you’d like to learn more about the Trusted Elections […]

The spread of misinformation can be a black box. Bubbles, filters and algorithms form the boundaries of our online life, and they tend to delineate what we see when we’re browsing. We may try to reflect on what we’re missing and seek news from an atypical source to keep ourselves in check. But even if […]

Wisconsin’s election on April 7 was a test of how a democracy functions in a pandemic.  Democracy held on, but at a price. The election offered a window into the logistical challenges of trying to forge ahead with voting at a time of social distancing, and it was a closely watched battleground in the larger […]