Local news always matters. During election season, we can’t live without it.

When our airwaves and attention spans are primarily focused on the national level, it’s easy to lose sight of the important elections happening locally. But this fall, scores of American communities will hold local elections, presenting voters with choices on local officials, referendums and other important local ballot measures. Each of these issues will have a real impact on the daily lives of local residents and, in some cases, perhaps more so than issues at the federal level.

Local news matters every day — but it plays an especially important role in election season. When trillions of American tax dollars are spent at the local and state level, it’s critical we understand who we are electing to steward these dollars and lead our communities. Research shows that civic engagement, including participation in local elections, is strongly tied to the consumption of local news. When voters head to the polls this fall, local news will help them understand what their local candidates stand for, the meaning behind ordinances they’re asked to vote on, or what the implications on any ballot could be for their lives.

The local news organizations in our portfolio represent a new generation of news organizations: nonprofit outlets building sustainable models to reach and serve audiences. They’re finding innovative ways to report on and deliver the news, and they’re arming their readers with the information they need to vote and engage in the future of their communities. 

Here’s a look at some of the local election coverage from our portfolio — it’s a good picture of the type of coverage these outlets are doing every day, not just during election season. Their work is critical, and we’re proud to partner with them to ensure they can build sustainable organizations that can grow, thrive and continue to serve their communities.

• In West Virginia, Mountain State Spotlight is using resident feedback to inform its coverage. Mountain State Spotlight’s West Virginia 2024 Election Hub highlights the community listening work it’s doing to elevate perspectives on the region’s top priorities from residents across the state. It’s gathering these perspectives through Citizens Agenda, a collaborative project by journalism professor Jay Rosen and Hearken aimed at making election reporting more responsive, inclusive and useful for voters.
  
  So far, Mountain State Spotlight has identified four areas that are important to its readers throughout the state: economic development and inequality; healthcare and social services; environmental concerns; and education and childcare. The outlet is engaging candidates throughout the state on questions in these areas and publishing the results. In some cases, it’s the only outlet publishing stories on local candidates or constituencies.

• In Georgia and Indiana, Capital B’s service journalism is engaging local audiences in ballot races. Capital B serves Black audiences in Atlanta and Gary, Indiana. Ask Capital B, its new text feature, lets residents of these communities text election-related questions to Capital B reporters, which they then research and turn into articles. This feature gives residents — regardless of their access to broadband — the ability to engage with local, election-related news.
  
  The outlet is also resuming its Black Political Power tour this fall in five cities in battleground states: Philadelphia, Charlotte, Phoenix, Detroit and Milwaukee. The Black Political Power Tour is a series of events featuring voter education resources and panel discussions that engage local audiences in issues important to local Black voters. Capital B partnered with AJP grantees Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, Spotlight PA, Outlier Media and Oaklandside for events in Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Detroit and Oakland.
  
  As part of its ongoing election coverage, Capital B also announced a partnership with Politifact to fact-check and analyze issues important to Black Americans. The partnership will help Capital B ensure its audiences receive clear, accurate information around elections.

• Across Wisconsin, Wisconsin Watch is answering questions from readers in fast, digestible ways. As part of its ongoing coverage, Wisconsin Watch’s Fact Briefs, produced in partnership with Gigafact, give readers easy-to-read fact checks of trending claims around the election and on issues across the state. It publishes its fact checks on its social platforms, allowing the outlet to quickly address issues and dispel disinformation that its readers encounter on social media. The outlet also organized local media coverage of the Republican National Convention, which was held in Milwaukee this year.

• In North Carolina, Enlace Latino NC’s voter guide gives local Spanish-speaking voters answers to their pressing questions. Enlace Latino NC is a Spanish-language digital publication that covers politics, government, immigration, and community affairs in North Carolina. Its local voter guide provides valuable information about the election for its readers — answering questions ranging from voter eligibility to polling places — while the newsroom provides ongoing coverage of local referendums and races that will affect immigrant communities.

• Across the country, local newsrooms are producing guides, dashboards and hubs for all election-related coverage. Throughout our portfolio, the outlets we support are building hubs and resources compiling the excellent coverage they’re providing. 
  • In Chicago, The Ballot houses all of Block Club Chicago’s election-related reporting and includes resources for voter registration, polling locations and more.
  • Spotlight PA’s Pennsylvania Primary Election 2024 dashboard includes key dates, state election resources, a candidate quiz, “Elections 101” reporting and a form to ask Spotlight PA questions about state elections. 
  • Nevada Independent’s Election 2024 dashboard outlines key races, primary results and ballot measures, and its dedicated newsletter, Indy Elections, distributes relevant reporting to its readers.
  • In Detroit, Vermont, Connecticut and Montana: Outlier Media’s Democracy in Detroit hub gathers all of its election-related coverage, as does VT Digger’s election coverage, CT Mirror’s politics hub and Montana Free Press’s 2024 Election Guide.
  • Houston Landing’s guide, Your Voice, Your Vote, reflects nearly 500 hours of research on candidates running for office across Harris County, Texas. It includes “chapters” on policy, public safety and judges, as well as key dates and links to external resources.

This list of election coverage isn’t exhaustive, but it’s a good picture of the valuable service that local nonprofit newsrooms are providing. We’ll continue to update this post to reflect more of the coverage and innovation we’re seeing as we near Nov. 5.

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This blog post was updated on Oct. 24, 2024.