State Government Editorial Approach

Ballotpedia's editorial approach documents
Federal government
State government
Local government
Public Policy
Influencers
Fact check
Elections
Editorial independence

Our mission[edit]

Ballotpedia's state government coverage informs and empowers citizens with fact-based analysis of state politics.

Our editorial approach[edit]

Ballotpedia's state government coverage aims to tell a data-rich story about how politics works across the United States. We prioritize coverage of elections and appointments so that readers, writers and voters can have the basic information they need about candidates.

Our coverage[edit]

State Executive Officials

This covers all of the major state executives in all 50 states. Elections and election news are prioritized. Major offices SEP covers include governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, superintendent of schools, and numerous other down-ballot offices.

State Legislatures

This covers the 99 U.S. state legislative chambers. Coverage includes articles on each legislator and candidate running for office. In addition to keeping our chamber data up-to-date, the project prioritizes analysis of competitive elections and battleground chambers.

State Ballot Measures

This covers ballot measures in the 50 states, including initiatives and referendums in the 26 states that allow them. Our in-depth coverage runs from the moment a measure is filed until the final voter decision, but our commitment to encyclopedic content means we even cover measures that don’t make the ballot.

State Courts

This covers all statewide courts, focusing particularly on intermediate appellate courts (IAC) and state supreme courts (SSC). We prioritize election and appointments, along with the resultant judicial and court profiles.

Contact information[edit]

For questions about our editorial approach or coverage, please contact us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

See also[edit]

• Federal government editorial approach
• Local government editorial approach
• Public Policy editorial approach
• Influencers editorial approach
• Fact check editorial approach