Elections editorial approach

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

## Contents

* 1 Facets of election coverage
* 2 Types of elections
* 2.1 Federal
* 2.2 State
* 2.3 Local
* 2.3.1 Expanded local coverage
* 2.4 Other
* 3 Timelines
* 3.1 Candidate profiles
* 3.2 Results / vote totals
* 4 Priorities
* 5 Scope of Ballotpedia
* 6 Contact information
* 7 See also

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 37,036 elections in 2024, 35,050 in 2025, and an estimated 40,000 in 2026 across the following 31 states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, 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.

## See also[edit]

* Elections
* Election results
* Elections by state and year
* Elections and events calendar
* State Poll Opening and Closing Times
* Voting laws by state

v • e

Ballotpedia policy explainers

Candidates and officeholders|

How we define candidacy • How we research for proof of official candidacy (FAQs) • How we define noteworthy presidential candidates • How we define incumbency • How we handle partisan affiliation • How we cover campaign themes • How we write biographies • How we cover noteworthy events • How we cover noteworthy cases • How we organize social media platform links on person profiles • How we review person photo submissions • How we review candidate video submissions • How we verify Candidate Connection survey responses • How we handle Candidate Connection survey edit and removal requests

Election coverage|

How we choose battleground elections • How we cover primaries • How we order candidate lists • How we cover polls • How we cover endorsements • How we cover campaign finance and satellite spending • How we decide when to update vote totals on and after election night • How we decide when to call an election • How we decide when to cover a recall effort • How we cover election lawsuits and recounts • How we write ballot measure article titles • How we write original summaries of ballot measures • How we cover endorsements in support of or opposition to ballot measures • How we cover media editorial endorsements in support of or opposition to ballot measures • How we cover ballot measure campaign finance • How we calculate initiative signature petition costs • The Ballotpedia Power Index • How we handle court-ordered postponements of election dates and candidate filing deadlines

Scope, editorial approach, and other policies|

Ballotpedia's overall scope • Elections editorial approach • Federal government editorial approach • State government editorial approach • Local government editorial approach • Influencers editorial approach • Fact check editorial approach • Public Policy editorial approach • Editorial policy • Writing about key campaign messages • Writing about reports and analyses • Story selection for the Daily Presidential News Briefing • Story selection for presidential election news events • Editorial independence policy • By-district vs. at-large election boundaries • Partnership with Transparency USA • Criminal behavior and scandal policy • Ad policy • Privacy policy • MyVote privacy policy • Plagiarism policy • Image use policy • Copyright policy • Error correction policy • Content accuracy policy • Generative AI policy • Neutral point of view policy • Categories of bias • General disclaimer

Ballotpedia

About

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Executive: Leslie Graves, Founder and CEO • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer

Communications: Alison Graves, Director of Communications • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Sarah Groat • Nathaniel Harwood • Dillon Redmond
External Relations:  Geoff Pallay, Director of External Relations • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Ashley Fleming • Thomas Mardik • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski, Director of Operations • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Tech: Matt Latourelle, Director of Technology Operations • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Joseph Sanchez • Mary Susmitha

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

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Editorial Content

Josh Altic, Director of Content • Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data • Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures • Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News • Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion • Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections • Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law • Joel Williams, Managing Editor of Events • Joseph Greaney, Managing Editor of Policy • Andrew Bahl • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Jon Dunn • Victoria Edwards • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Thomas Grobben • Brianna Hosea • Molly Kehoe • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Nathan Maxwell • Brandon McCauley • Andrew McNair • Ellie Mikus • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Annelise Reinwald • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Emma Soukup • Alexis Thacker • Mina Vogel • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox • Heather Yates