Two weeks before the November 3rd election, The Dallas Morning News held a voter resource event at a bookstore in the eclectic Bishop Arts District near downtown Dallas. The newspaper alerted readers to the session through news stories. And on the evening of the informal gathering, editors and reporters answered attendees’ questions about races on the ballot.
The journalists studiously avoided taking sides at the event. Rather, they informed the curious about various issues involved in the races and what candidates have said or responded. The News team also handed out flyers that summarized federal and statewide offices on the ballot. The handouts listed candidates competing for the U.S. Senate and every statewide position.
The event was part of how The News connects with readers during an election season. It also publishes an online Voter Guide that contains short profiles of candidates and provides candidates’ responses to topics involved in the race.
Separate from the newsroom, the editorial department weighs in with election recommendations. For the November 2026 ballot, the paper recommended in more than 30 statewide and local races. The Morning News did so after editorial board members met with candidates, reviewed Voter Guide responses, and researched hopefuls in each race. The editorial board’s recommendations and the Voter Guide frequently attract more pageviews than other pieces in the newspaper.
The Dallas paper is certainly not the only news organization providing readers opportunities to learn about local or state elections. Many voters across the country rely on their local newsrooms for ballot and election information.
The VT Digger, a nonprofit news site that covers Vermont, offers readers several tools. They include:
- How to cast a ballot.
- Location of polling places.
- A primer on what local and state offices require of their occupants.
- Information about candidates.
- A breakdown of how much money candidates for state office have raised.
- A list of contests by county.
- Maps of state House and Senate districts.
The Minnesota Star Tribune offers something similar. Tabs on the top of the for-profit newspaper’s homepage contain information about:
- How to cast a ballot.
- A voter guide to candidates and issues.
- Information about state legislative races.
- How candidates use AI to gather voter data.
As with The VT Digger, The Star Tribune covers a large swath of the state. And its political reporters update readers on the ins-and-outs of significant races, such as the contest for governor.
The Star Tribune editorial board recommends candidates for offices, too. The recommendation process, which some newspapers call endorsements, have been part of local newspapers’ leadership role in communities going back to the earliest days of American newspapers.
In Louisiana, the online Verite News in New Orleans provides readers information about races from U.S. Senate to state board of education to judgeships to constabularies. The nonprofit journalism organization presented candidates with a list of questions in each race and published their answers on its site.
Similarly, the digital Mississippi Today, a Pulitzer Prize-winning nonprofit news organization, gives readers information about when, where, and how readers can vote. And it provides short profiles of candidates, along with requests from readers about what issues matter to them. (Verite News and Mississippi Today are part of the Deep South Today network of nonprofit news operations being formed in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana.)
Numerous other local news organizations inform voters across the nation about the upcoming mid-term elections. And not just with traditional political reporting about who’s up, who’s down, and who’s raised the most money. They alert citizens about how to register and where to vote, provide candidates a chance to speak directly to voters through questionnaires, and, in some cases, hold events to spotlight the election.
In these and other ways, local journalism connects citizens with important information about contests that impact their lives. Financial and technological upheavals may confront local news organizations, as the latest Northwestern/Medill State of Local News Report details. Still, they keep supplying citizens knowledge to use in making decisions about their communities, states, and nation.
