Help News Consumers See How Their Vote Counts
Ideas for Covering an Election Just Two Weeks Out
We’re just two weeks away from Election Day 2022. Whether you cover elections on a local, state, or national level, there’s a lot you can do during the next fourteen days to prepare your viewers, listeners, or readers for the big day.
It’s important that every voter believe that their vote will count this year. The percentage of eligible voters who cast ballots in mid-term elections averages about 40% — except 2018 when the percentage was 50%. Many political experts think that the 2022 general election may be 50% or higher based on early voting and polling. Many of those voters will be looking to the news media for information to help them as they make their decisions.
Many voters have already cast their ballot and may be willing to talk with journalists about how they voted. Others may be willing to tell you how they plan to vote and why. Both are good stories in the run-up to Election Day.
Here are some other ideas for your pre-election coverage —
Early polling of potential voters .. in addition to asking them how they plan to vote, also ask them why .. run a one or two-day poll on air or online to find out what issues are guiding voters this year.
Do voters plan to vote along party lines or will they vote for individual candidates .. is that a change from the way they’ve voted in the past?
Voter profiles .. profile a Republican, a Democrat, and an Independent voter to show what people are thinking about this election and why.
Early voting information .. when is the last day for early voting in your state? what do voters need to do to meet the deadline?
Mail-in voting .. when is the last day for mail-in voting in your state? what do voters need to do to meet the deadline?
What election officials are doing to get ready .. profile a couple of election officials to show their process .. also visit polling places to show the voting process for new voters .. highlight any changes in election laws and ask election officials to explain how those changes will affect voters.
How election officials are protecting integrity of the vote .. what does election integrity entail? How election officials protect the vote .. how they protect the ballots (mail-in, early, and in-person on Election Day) .. what is the protection process? Is law enforcement involved in any way? If so, talk with law enforcement officials about what they do to protect the vote.
What political party groups are doing to get out the vote .. profile party officials and workers and explain their process for getting out the vote .. what laws affect them and how do they ensure they’re abiding by the laws?
What candidate campaigns are doing to get out the vote .. profile individual candidate campaigns to show their process for getting out the vote.
Hold a live candidate debate for one or more of the important races in your local community .. invite an audience that represents a cross-section of the community .. anchors, editors, political experts ask questions, plus take questions from the audience.
Any October surprises to cover? .. Even if you haven’t seen any October surprises yet, remember that a November 8th election date could mean some November surprises.
Behind the scenes of how you’ll cover election day .. this works for radio, television, newspapers, and online news organization .. tell them, or show them if you work in television, how your election coverage will work on Election Day .. introduce them to the anchors and political commentators you’ll have on air election night (editors and political commentators for newspaper and online).
What other ideas do you have to share with us? Please add them to the Comments section below.
Next Newsletter
What drives voters to vote? I’ll dive deeper into this important topic in the next newsletter.
Comments Welcome
I hope these thoughts are helpful to you as a journalist or news consumer. Please share your comments and I’ll respond as quickly as I can. If you like what we’re doing in this newsletter, please let your friends know about it so they can subscribe.
Newsletter Purpose
The purpose of this newsletter is to help journalists understand how to do real journalism and the public know how they can find news they can trust on a daily basis. It’s a simple purpose, but complicated to accomplish. I’ll do my best to make it as clear as I can in future newsletters.
