This year’s pandemic election will be unprecedented — and a challenge for journalists to cover for a wide array of reasons.
One of those reasons is the sheer number of problems that could arise as voters cast ballots, often through election systems that haven’t been tested during a pandemic.
To help with that daunting task, Talking Points Memo is part of a coalition of news outlets, including ProPublica, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and dozens of local newsrooms around the country, that is working to track the problems voters encounter as they go to the polls. This project is called Electionland, and it needs your tips.
How Does It Work?
Through the tiplines below, you can let us know what you’re seeing as you vote. A journalist from the Electionland Project will read your tip, and a reporter may be dispatched to look into it. TPM and our partners will then report out and publish what we find.
What Is Electionland Interested In?
Problems you have while voting: mail ballot delivery problems, changed voting locations, long lines, registration problems, purged voter rolls, broken machines and voter intimidation.
How To Send A Tip To Electionland
- SMS: Text the word VOTE, VOTA (for Spanish) or 投票 (for Chinese) to 81380 (standard text message rates apply).
- WhatsApp: Send the word VOTE, VOTA (for Spanish) or 投票 (for Chinese) to 1-850-909-8683.
- Facebook Messenger: Go to m.me/electionland.
- Complete this form to share your election experience with us so ProPublica and our partners can investigate.
Have Other Election-Related Tips?
While Electionland will be focused specifically on the problems people encounter as they seek to cast their vote, this election promises chaos in an almost unfathomable number of forms. TPM needs your tips to cover them.
You can always get in touch with us through talk@talkingpointsmemo.com. That email address goes to our entire newsroom, and we check it constantly. Some of TPM’s biggest stories have started there.
Have something we should check out? An angle we should consider? A special insight on a story? Get in touch.
Today was first day to drop off ballots in Solano county. Dropped min off at 8:30. Site was in fairgrounds and difficult to find, asked admin to put up some signs.
In California, people can register an California.ballottrax.net to check that a ballot has been received and counted.
Yesterday (10/5) had been the deadline to register in AZ but a judge ruled, yesterday, that the deadline must be extended to 10/23!