Battle for the Ballot: A Special Project of States Newsroom

This year’s election will be historic for many reasons. In addition to grappling with a global pandemic that has taken more than 220,000 lives in the United States alone and devastated our economy, we’ve seen thousands of Americans across the nation take to the streets calling for racial justice. All of this is impacting the upcoming election and our collective of independent news outlets has been at the forefront of coverage.

We’ve also centered our coverage on a set of issues that has slipped off the radar for many, despite posing a significant disruption to voting and election administration. The 2020 election will follow years of voting law changes and challenges across the country and an unprecedented effort to undermine confidence in our electoral process. And that is why our outlets have collaborated to present a comprehensive snapshot of barriers to the ballot.

We’ve included a preview of the pieces below and invite you to check out the full series here.

• Colorado Newsline — ‘I just don’t trust the system any more’: Voters on Edge as Election Nears.

Ahead of an historic election, an account of voters who are worried their vote won’t count while officials and experts urge calm and faith in the integrity of the electoral process.

• Kansas Reflector — Voter Fraud Myth Persists Despite Constant Failure to Prove Claims

An overview of how a false narrative around the threat of voter fraud has been used to enact laws and restrictions on voting and most recently to cast doubts on the integrity of voting by mail.

• Iowa Capital Dispatch — Voting Machine Hacks: How Secure Are Your Votes?

An analysis of the actions being taken by states across the country to keep elections secure under the increasing threat of cybersecurity attacks.

• Georgia Recorder — Supreme Court Ruling on Voting Rights Act Opened Way for New Restrictions

How a Supreme Court decision removing the preclearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been used to disenfranchise minority voters.

• Wisconsin Examiner — List Maintenance or Voter Suppression: How the Practice of Maintaining Voter Lists Became Polarized

How list maintenance has been used to remove millions of registered voters from voter rolls in a partisan way.

• Nevada Current — Trump’s Rhetoric on Election Integrity Unfolds in Courtrooms, Tweets

How President Trump is seeding doubt into the electoral process to lay the groundwork for a potentially contested election.