Democracy is complicated, but we’ve got you covered. Use the drop-down menu to sort our Explainers by topic.
Five states hold statewide off-year elections. In today’s Explainer, we walk through which states have off-year elections in 2021, why they have them and how the delayed redistricting process could upend expectations.
The census is important for a number of reasons, but today we’re going to talk about one of its biggest uses: redistricting, or the redrawing of district lines to fairly distribute representation in government to voters.
Voting rights activists have brought Section 2 claims under the Voting Rights Act against a variety of election laws including voter ID rules, registration restrictions, early vote requirements, and redistricting legislation.
Statehood for D.C. is a pressing voting and civil rights issue. D.C. statehood would return self-governance to more than 700,000 Americans and give them proportional representation in Congress.
Section 5 of the VRA was a powerful and effective tool to protect the voting rights of Black Americans, and it is vital that Congress strengthen and expand it in the face of unprecedented attacks on our democracy.
The state of voting rights in this country is concerning—but there are signs of hope. The VRA established a vital foundation and gives us a guide for what lasting and equitable voting rights reform can look like at the federal level.
There are many factors dictating what a recount will look like—vote margin, hand or machine count, and other state laws guiding the process. Every state has different rules and timelines for their recounts.
As we enter the post-election period, you may hear certain terms being referenced that relate to the processing and counting of ballots. Check out our list of post-election terms and definitions in the context of the 2020 election.
Between a record number of mail ballots and staggered dates of when states can even begin counting ballots, newsrooms are unable to rely on the same types of outcome modeling they’ve used in previous elections.
Whether you’re voting for the first time or have been voting for decades, it’s important to know what is and isn’t allowed at your polling place. Learn about some of the key dos and don’ts before you head out to vote.