Votebeat is an online media platform under the Civic News Company that reports on local elections across the United States from a left-of-center perspective. The platform publishes content by corporate sponsors and prominent donors in addition to its routine reporting. Votebeat also states that it times its reporting to match what it calls “moments of greatest consequence” to mobilize its reader base. The platform lists left-of-center racial ideology as one of its core values, and claims that an “ongoing legacy of racism” exists in American elections and in the media. ¹

Though initially launched as a pop-up outlet in 2020 by Chalkbeat, a similar online media platform that provides left-of-center coverage of the American education system, Votebeat was relaunched as a permanent news outlet in 2022. ²

Votebeat’s journalistic “code of ethics” is inspired by the Marshall Project, ProPublica, the Texas Tribune, the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Education Writers Association, and the Society for Professional Journalists. ³

Background

Votebeat is a spin-off of Chalkbeat, a similar online media platform that provides left-of-center coverage of the American education system both nationally and in select states. Votebeat’s founding was inspired by a desire to challenge alleged threats to election integrity from supporters of then-President Donald Trump (R). ⁴

Both platforms have a track record of making controversial claims in their reporting. Chalkbeat has alleged that “white Americans are treated differently in courtrooms,” and Votebeat has referred to Conservative Partnership Institute fellow Cleta Mitchell, a prominent advocate of election integrity measures, as a “voter fraud conspiracy theorist.” ^{5 6} Most of the Votebeat leadership have track records of working for left-of-center corporations and media outlets, including Facebook and the New York Times. ⁷

Votebeat launched in late 2020. At the time, the platform had almost $1 million in funding for four employees as well as 15 reporters stationed at ten partner organizations. At its launch, it was not clear whether Votebeat would remain active until the conclusion of the 2020 election cycle or continue operations after the elections. Votebeat continued to publish content after the election. ⁸ In January 2021, the news outlet Axios reported that Votebeat would continue its operations until at least the conclusion of the 2022 midterm elections. ^{9 10}

During the 2020 election cycle, Votebeat claimed credit for getting Texas to repeal a law requiring its election officials to replace their vote counting machines by 2026, stopping a Republican official in Arizona from getting more power, raising awareness of alleged unequal voting structures across Pennsylvania, and highlighting the efforts of an electoral official in Texas to fight Republican “extremists” searching for voter fraud. ¹¹

In May 2022, Votebeat announced that it would become a permanent year-round news outlet with a team of eight journalists, and that its coverage was extending to Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The effort was funded by $3.1 million in fundraising from the Loud Hound Foundation, the William Penn Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation, with the goal of spending $1.6 million annually. Votebeat pledged to make its stories available for free to local news outlets, and that it had formed partnerships with Bridge Michigan, Spotlight PA, and the Texas Tribune. ^{12 13}

In February 2023, Votebeat and Chalkbeat were reorganized as separate groups under the umbrella of the nonprofit Civic News Company (CNC). ¹⁴ CNC states that its journalism is “grounded in the values of equality and antiracism.” ¹⁵

Coverage Analysis

Votebeat reports on political matters from a left-of-center perspective. Votebeat receives funding from numerous left-of-center institutions ¹⁶ and its coverage tends to describe organizations that oppose laws and rulings supporting voting security as “voting rights groups.” ¹⁷ Votebeat described the aftermath of the 2020 election with: “Voter fraud activists were still demanding recounts of 2020 and abolishment of voting machines, and some local election systems had been breached by insiders. New voting restrictions were going into effect after 2021’s contentious legislative sessions.” ¹⁸

Votebeat has also reported on numerous alleged instances of Republican-backed organizations attempting to manipulate the electoral process. ^{19 20} However, Votebeat also criticizes Democrats for not providing more funding to election administrators. ²¹

AllSides has given Votebeat an ideological bias rating of “center,” between “left” and “right.” However, an “independent review” of Votebeat by an AllSides member in February 2023 noted that Votebeat “strongly criticized efforts to overturn 2020 and 2022 election results,” which created “the impression of an anti-right bias.” Despite this, the reviewer believed that Votebeat still deserved a “center” rating. ²²

Ground News has also given Votebeat a “center” ideological rating. ²³

Leadership

Elizabeth Green is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Chalkbeat, the original parent project of Votebeat, and of the Civic News Company. She is also a co-founder of the American Journalism Project, a venture philanthropic firm that funds local-level media projects. Green has written about education policy for publications such as the New York Times  and US News and World Report. ²⁴

Alison Go is the co-founder and was the general manager of Votebeat until January 2023. Go left to run Breakaway Effect, a start-up consulting firm she founded, teach at Columbia University, and work as a fellow at Terra.do, an app that posts jobs related to climate change activism. She was previously a product manager at corporations including Amazon and Facebook. She also previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for publications such as US News and World Report and the Boston Globe. Go received her master’s degree in business administration from the University of Pennsylvania and completed her undergraduate education at the University of Michigan. ^{25 26}

Bene Cipolla worked as executive editor, editor-in-chief, and publisher of Votebeat at various times until 2022. She previously worked for the lifestyle magazine Cosmopolitan and has written for publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, Time, and Sports Illustrated. Cipolla attended Princeton University. ^{27 28}

Chad Lorenz is the editor-in-chief of Votebeat. He previously worked as an editor for the left-of-center online publication Slate and the Washington Post. He has also worked for the News Revenue Hub (NRH), a nonprofit consulting firm which helps left-of-center media develop new ways to generate income. Lorenz attended the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska. ²⁹

Jessica Huseman is the editorial director of Votebeat. She was previously the lead elections reporter for the left-of-center investigative journalism organization ProPublica. She also taught at New York University and the Columbia University School of Journalism, which she attended herself. ³⁰

Carrie Levine is the story editor of Votebeat. She previously worked at the Center for Public Integrity as a senior reporter, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) as a senior director. Earlier, Levine was a reporter for Legal Times, the National Law Journal, and the Charlotte Observer. ³¹

Funding

Votebeat pledges to disclose all financial supporters who contribute $1,000 or more. ³² These donors include the Battery Foundation, the Caswell-Jin Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the Democracy Fund, the Emerson Collective, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Good Words Foundation, the Independence Media Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the Meeker Charitable Fund, the New Venture Fund, the Walker Family Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the William Penn Foundation, and the Yellow Chair Foundation. ³³

Donor organizations can “sponsor” Votebeat’s coverage of specific localities or issues for between $1,000 and $30,000 per month. ³⁴

1. “About Votebeat.” Votebeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.votebeat.org/pages/about-votebeat/.
2. “Introducing Votebeat in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas.” Chalkbeat. May 24, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/24/23140011/introducing-votebeat-in-arizona-michigan-pennsylvania-and-texas/.
3. “Code of Ethics.” Votebeat. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.votebeat.org/pages/code-of-ethics/.
4. Edmonds, Rick. “Elizabeth Green clones her Chalkbeat model with Votebeat, a three-month pop-up newsroom covering the 2020 elections.” Poynter. December 17, 2020. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2020/elizabeth-green-clones-her-chalkbeat-model-with-votebeat-a-three-month-pop-up-newsroom-covering-the-2020-elections/.
5. “Teachers: How will you talk to your students about the Rittenhouse verdict? We’re listening.” Chalkbeat. November 19, 2021. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/11/19/22792208/teacher-callout-rittenhouse-verdict-in-the-classroom/.
6. Jessica Huseman. “How Trump ally Cleta Mitchell won a seat on the EAC advisory board.” Votebeat. November 19, 2021. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.votebeat.org/2021/11/19/22792170/cleta-mitchell-eac-advisory-board-j-christian-adams-commission-civil-rights/.
7. “Our Staff.” Votebeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.votebeat.org/pages/our-staff/.
8. Edmonds, Rick. “Elizabeth Green clones her Chalkbeat model with Votebeat, a three-month pop-up newsroom covering the 2020 elections.” Poynter. December 17, 2020. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2020/elizabeth-green-clones-her-chalkbeat-model-with-votebeat-a-three-month-pop-up-newsroom-covering-the-2020-elections/.
9. Sara Fischer. “Chalkbeat expands its coverage to include voting at the local level.” Axios. January 12, 2021. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.axios.com/chalkbeat-votebeat-expansion-local-news-e3c4a390-8041-4f5c-9c36-43d4c3421cba.html.
10. Edmonds, Rick. “Elizabeth Green clones her Chalkbeat model with Votebeat, a three-month pop-up newsroom covering the 2020 elections.” Poynter. December 17, 2020. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2020/elizabeth-green-clones-her-chalkbeat-model-with-votebeat-a-three-month-pop-up-newsroom-covering-the-2020-elections/.
11. Lorenz, Chad. “How Votebeat’s reporting impacted elections in our first year.” Votebeat. May 26, 2023. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.votebeat.org/2023/5/26/23738019/votebeat-anniversary-election-news-voting-impact/.
12. “Introducing Votebeat in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas.” Chalkbeat. May 24, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/24/23140011/introducing-votebeat-in-arizona-michigan-pennsylvania-and-texas/.
13. Fischer, Sam. “Votebeat launches as a permanent newsroom.” Axios. May 24, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.axios.com/2022/05/24/votebeat-permanent-newsroom.
14. Green, Elizabeth. “Introducing Civic News Company.” February 7, 2023. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/2/7/23587855/civic-news-company-chalkbeat-votebeat/.
15. “Homepage.” Civic News Company. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://civicnews.org/.
16. “Supporters.” Votebeat. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.votebeat.org/pages/supporters/.
17. Fifield, Jen. “Two new Arizona laws would create regular checks on voter citizenship. Will a judge let them stand?” Votebeat. November 8, 2023. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.votebeat.org/arizona/2023/11/08/federal-judge-arizona-voter-citizenship-laws/.
18. Lorenz, Chad. “How Votebeat’s reporting impacted elections in our first year.” Votebeat. May 26, 2023. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.votebeat.org/2023/5/26/23738019/votebeat-anniversary-election-news-voting-impact/.
19. Fifield, Jen. “Media network paid by GOP groups is behind deluge of elections records requests.” September 26, 2023. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.votebeat.org/2023/9/26/23886141/local-labs-election-public-records-requests/.
20. Fifield, Jen. “”Where’s Celia?”” Votebeat. September 15, 2023. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.votebeat.org/arizona/2023/9/15/23874134/celia-nabor-maricopa-county-arizona-election-fraud-signature-verification-public-records/.
21. Huseman, Jessica. “Politicians know elections require steady cash, but they still aren’t providing it.” Votebeat. May 22, 2023. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.votebeat.org/2023/5/22/23729845/adrian-fontes-election-funding-lawmakers-cash/.
22. “Votebeat.” AllSides. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.allsides.com/news-source/votebeat-media-bias.
23. “News from Votebeat.” Ground News. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://ground.news/interest/votebeat.
24. “Our Staff.” Chalkbeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.chalkbeat.org/pages/our-staff/.
25. “Our Staff.” Chalkbeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.chalkbeat.org/pages/our-staff/.
26. “Alison Go.” LinkedIn. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisongo.
27. “Our Staff.” Chalkbeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.chalkbeat.org/pages/our-staff/.
28. “Bio.” Bene Cipolla. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.benecipolla.com/bio.
29. “Our Staff.” Chalkbeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.chalkbeat.org/pages/our-staff/.
30. “Our Staff.” Chalkbeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.chalkbeat.org/pages/our-staff/.
31. “Our Staff.” Chalkbeat. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.chalkbeat.org/pages/our-staff/.
32. “Code of Ethics.” Votebeat. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.votebeat.org/pages/code-of-ethics/.
33. “Supporters.” Votebeat. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.votebeat.org/pages/supporters/.
34. “Votebeat’s Media Kit for Sponsors.” VoteBeat. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://www.votebeat.org/pages/votebeat-media-kit/.