Votebeat is an online media platform which 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” in order to mobilize its reader base. The platform lists left-progressive 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

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 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 a prominent advocate of election integrity measures as a “voter fraud conspiracy theorist.” ^{2 3} 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. ⁴

Votebeat launched in late 2020. At the time, the Poynter Institute for Media Studies reported that the platform had almost $1 million in funding and would remain active until the conclusion of the 2020 election cycle – specifically, until Election Day – but Votebeat continued to publish content after the election. ⁵ In January 2021, the news outlet Axios reported that Votebeat would continue its operations until at least the conclusion of the 2022 midterm election cycle. ⁶

Leadership

Elizabeth Green is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Chalkbeat, the parent project of Votebeat. She is also a co-founder of the American Journalism Project, a venture philanthropic firm which funds local-level media projects. Green has written about education policy for publications such as the New York Times Magazine and US News & World Report. ⁷

Alison Go is the co-founder and general manager of Votebeat. 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 & 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. ⁸

Bene Cipolla is the publisher of Votebeat. 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. ⁹

Chad Lorenz is the director of Votebeat. He previously worked as an editor for the left-progressive online publication Slate and the Washington Post. He has also worked for the News Revenue Hub, 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. ¹⁰

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 journalism school, which she attended herself. ¹¹

1. “About Votebeat.” Votebeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.votebeat.org/pages/about-votebeat
2. “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
3. 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
4. “Our Staff.” Votebeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.votebeat.org/pages/our-staff
5. Rick Edmonds. “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/
6. 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
7. “Our Staff.” Chalkbeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.chalkbeat.org/pages/our-staff
8. “Our Staff.” Votebeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.votebeat.org/pages/our-staff
9. “Our Staff.” Votebeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.votebeat.org/pages/our-staff
10. “Our Staff.” Votebeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.votebeat.org/pages/our-staff
11. “Our Staff.” Votebeat. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://www.votebeat.org/pages/our-staff