Elections Editorial Approach

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

Election coverage at the federal, state, local, and territorial levels of government is a key element of Ballotpedia.

Facets of election coverage[edit]

Ballotpedia’s election coverage includes:

Primaries, runoffs, special elections and general elections
Profiles of incumbents and challengers from both major and minor parties who have filed for election
Election results—winners and vote totals
Analysis of key races, storylines and other data
Election dates
Election policy—including information about ballot access, redistricting and voting methods

The following types of information are also included for many of the races we cover, though there is variation with these depending on the type of election and the information available.

Polls
Campaign news
Campaign finance
Campaign themes and issues
Candidate survey responses

Types of elections[edit]

See also: Election coverage approach for Ballotpedia

Federal[edit]

Presidential election
Congressional races for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, including special elections

State[edit]

State executive offices
State legislative elections, including special elections
State supreme court elections and intermediate appellate court elections
Statewide ballot measures

Local[edit]

Municipal elections

Comprehensive ballot coverage for municipal elections in the top 100 U.S. cities by population, including races for the large counties that overlap them, as well as coverage of mayoral, city council, and district attorney elections in state capitals outside of the top 100 cities

Mayoral elections

Comprehensive ballot coverage for mayoral elections in the top 100 U.S. cities by population and all state capitals

School board elections

Coverage of school board elections in 475 school districts, which includes all school districts in the 100 largest cities by population and the 200 largest school districts by student enrollment

Local judicial elections

Local trial courts with jurisdictions overlapping the top 100 cities by population

Local ballot measures

All local ballot measures in California, as well as ballot measures within the top 100 cities by population

Expanded local coverage[edit]

Ballotpedia is currently expanding its local election coverage on a state-by-state basis to provide information on the more than 500,000 local elected offices nationwide. This expansion included 18,974 elections in 2022, 12,624 in 2023 and 37,036 in 2024 with a goal of 30,000 in 2025, across the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Click here for current-year coverage.

This expanded coverage of local elections beyond the scope described above includes:

Election dates
Office names
Lists of candidates
Additional information as available

This expanded coverage does not include election results unless otherwise specified. Additionally, this expanded coverage does not follow candidates after the election as officeholders and instead focuses on providing information to voters about the candidates on their ballots.

You can use Ballotpedia's sample ballot tool to see what local elections we are covering in your area.

Other[edit]

Territorial elections
Recall elections (various types)
Election Policy

Voting, ballot access, redistricting, etc.

Timelines[edit]

Candidate profiles[edit]

Candidate profiles are written after a filing deadline passes. We also welcome email submissions from candidates. We will add information from emailed candidates with official paperwork within 5 to 10 business days.

Results / vote totals[edit]

We pride ourselves on updating Ballotpedia in a timely manner after an election, so results are posted as soon as possible. For federal and statewide offices, elections results updates will be completed within 24 hours of poll closing times. Vote totals for high-profile races are updated frequently throughout the election night. We make sure that all results, including local results, are updated by the end of the week at the latest, as long as results are available to us from the government election offices. We do not provide vote totals in local races beyond our regular coverage scope unless otherwise specified.

Priorities[edit]

At Ballotpedia, our high standard of neutrality extends to our election coverage. Specifically, we are committed to providing a balanced amount of information about candidates from both major parties, as well as for minor party and independent candidates.

To better inform our readers, we identify the most competitive or consequential races and designate those for more in-depth coverage. These are often referred to as battleground races, which require special attention in terms of updates and analysis. Similarly, we may provide more information on notable ballot measures (both state and local) based on widespread interest in the issues at stake and the sizes of the populations affected by the measures. Races for higher offices, such as state supreme court elections, are typically covered in more detail than races for lower-level offices, such as county judgeships. In the same way, candidates in a competitive election require more attention than a candidate who is unopposed.

Although we still provide full election coverage (as defined in the election coverage section) for all of the types of elections listed previously, some races require us to go more in-depth with our research in order to better inform our interested readers. Selecting these races is up to the editorial judgment of Ballotpedia staff, taking into account the competitiveness of the race, public interest and staff hours available.

Coverage of write-in candidates occurs at Ballotpedia's discretion. Write-in candidates will typically be covered if they are actively campaigning with substantive support, if they are running in a race with no official candidates on the ballot, or if they are included on the official candidate list issued by the election agency.

Scope of Ballotpedia[edit]

To read more about the scope of Ballotpedia as a whole, beyond just elections, see: Ballotpedia:Scope.

Contact information[edit]

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