Covering Voter Intimidation
Covering Voter Intimidation
Top Story: Covering Voter Intimidation
It’s voter intimidation season. That means entities who oppose free and fair elections are working all over the country to scare people into NOT VOTING.
This is a local story.
This is a trend story.
This is a human interest story.
This is a public service story.
Here’s how to cover it:
Tips on Covering Voter Intimidation
Understand this is political.
Voter intimidation is a Far Right political tool to win elections. Dig into which voters are routinely suppressed on your beat and offer that background. These are not one-offs. They are part of a larger, long-term plan to silence voters.
Name names.
Intimidating letters, announcements, phone calls, warnings, ads, and home visits are most often conducted by state and local departments and/or agencies who have been ordered to do this. Name the person/people who authorized it. And make sure to include their political party.
Understand the tactics.
Voter intimidation uses fear, misinformation, and the withholding of information to keep people from voting. Explain that.
Be a resource.
Correct any misinformation being spread to suppress voting. Remind voters how and where to vote early and often.
Get feedback.
Communities that are being targeted by voter intimidation tactics need to be given extra voice in your stories. They are often already underrepresented and under-protected.
Know race matters.
Voter intimidation is often race-based. Voters of color are disproportionately targeted. Make that clear.
Repeat.
Report on all voter suppression schemes in ways that help voters assess for themselves:
Who wants them to vote and who doesn't
Identify anti-democratic patterns
Learn what is and is not normal in a democracy.
Voter Intimidation Stories That Work
Why Me?
Jason Lamb @ News Channel 5 (Nashville) gives voice to baffled voters who are being intimidated.
Democrats have questions
Adam Friedman at The Tennessee Lookout explains that this is political and this is partisan.
Fixing what's not broken?
We’re Watching
Frontline’s The Fight Against Voter Suppression
We’re Reading
“Uncounted: The Crisis of Voter Suppression in America” by Gilda R. Daniels
Voter Suppression Sources
Comic Relief
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See You Next Week!
Our Staff
Executive Editor Kyle Spencer
Managing Editor Christen Gall
Our Board of Advisors
Alex Aronson, executive director of Court Accountability
David Armiak, research director for the Center for Media and Democracy
Connor Gibson, founder of Grassrootbeer Investigations
Maurice Cunningham, retired associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and author of Dark Money and The Politics of School Privatization.
Reed Gallen, co-founder of The Lincoln Project
Isaac Kamola, associate professor of political science at Trinity College, founder of Faculty First Responders and co-author of Free Speech and Koch Money, Manufacturing a Campus Culture War
Nancy MacLean, William H. Chafe distinguished professor of history and public policy at Duke University and author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America
Ralph Wilson, founder of the Corporate Genome Project and co-author of Free Speech and Koch Money, Manufacturing a Campus Culture War
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