What ProPublica Reporters Will Be Watching on Election Day

by ProPublica

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Reporters at ProPublica live and work in 26 states across the country, from California to Minnesota, Texas to New York. Many have covered key election issues and how they are resonating at national, state and local levels. On Election Day, our reporters will be on the ground in many of these locations, on the lookout for what’s going right and what isn’t. The topics we’re watching include how extremist groups react to the election, the actions of newly recruited poll workers who were mobilized on the basis of their distrust of election administration, and how well embattled election boards and commissions handle potential challenges to voting processes.

Some are paying attention to the defining cultural debates of today. In Missouri, a reliably red state, we’ll be watching whether a voter-initiated constitutional amendment aimed at restoring abortion rights passes. We’re also looking at whether voters in states opt to expand school voucher programs or elect legislators who will do so.

You can reach our whole team at propublica.org/tips if you have a tip for us to investigate. You can also text or call 917-512-0201, or send us a message at that number on Signal, a secure messaging app. Below you’ll find a list of some of our reporters, what they’re covering and individual contact information.

Voting Issues

Andy Kroll, reporter, will be watching for disruptions and disputes at the polls and among political organizations.

I have extensive experience covering dark money in politics, legal battles over voting and election-related disinformation. On Election Day, I’ll be watching swing states for any disruptions or attempts to suppress the vote. I’ll also be monitoring last-minute lawsuits related to the election and viral rumors or misleading information about voting and the integrity of the elections. If you believe you witnessed possible voter suppression, attempts to knowingly mislead voters or other efforts to subvert the election, please get in touch.

Email: andy.kroll@propublica.org; call or text: 202-215-6203

The Role of Extremist Groups

Joshua Kaplan, A.C. Thompson and James Bandler, reporters, will be looking at how extremist groups are reacting to election results.

We are reporting on extremism tied to the election. For years, we’ve covered violence and intimidation in American politics — we’ve explored how social media companies helped extremists organize, dug into botched responses by law enforcement, and exposed the people and groups committing harm. Do you know a voter or election official who has been threatened? Do you have information about efforts to incite violence? Are you seeing this kind of conduct on specific social media or messaging platforms? Please contact us.

Email: joshua.kaplan@propublica.org, ac.thompson@propublica.org, james.bandler@propublica.org

School Vouchers

Jeremy Schwartz, reporter for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, will be monitoring state races to see if school voucher supporters are elected.

Following primary runoff elections in May, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared he finally would have enough votes in the Legislature to pass his top priority: a private-school voucher system. But Democrats in the state are holding out hope they can flip a handful of Republican-held seats on Tuesday and keep Abbott from his goal. I have been covering the voucher debate in Texas for the past two years, reporting on the decadeslong effort to build political support behind the scenes and efforts by pro-voucher billionaires to influence school board races and bond elections. On Election Day, I’ll be looking at how issues of vouchers and public education play out up and down the ballot in Texas, from school board races to key Texas legislative battles.

Email: jeremy.schwartz@propublica.org; call or text: 708-967-5730

Texas Voter Roll Removals

Vianna Davila and Lexi Churchill, reporters for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, will be watching to see whether people who were removed from the voter rolls because they were incorrectly flagged as noncitizens show up to vote.

In late August, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that 1.1 million voters across the state were removed from the rolls since 2021, including 6,500 potential noncitizens. Our reporting has found that the claims of noncitizens on the voter rolls are likely inflated and, in some cases, wrong. So far, we have found at least 10 U.S. citizens in three Texas counties who were likely included in that total, and our research shows there are almost certainly others. The voters we have pinned down come from a range of political and racial backgrounds, including a lifelong Republican and Donald Trump supporter who never thought her citizenship or right to vote would be in question. We want to hear from voters who discover their registration has been canceled and face hurdles to vote at the polls, as well as county officials who witness these issues. Even if your registration has been canceled, voting rights experts say you should almost always be able to cast a ballot, even if it’s a provisional one. Check out our guide on the steps U.S. citizens can take to vote if you’ve been removed after your citizenship was questioned.

Email: vianna.davila@propublica.org, lexi.churchill@propublica.org; text or Signal: 512-596-0148, 816-898-5462

Georgia’s New Election Rules

Doug Bock Clark, reporter, will be looking at how new election rules approved in Georgia affect voting and tabulating results.

For months, national right-wing groups have been working behind the scenes to change Georgia’s election rules to benefit Trump. And although courts have blocked those rule changes for the moment, those groups are still active. They have been recruiting and training poll watchers and preparing to push for a Trump victory. On Election Day, I’ll be on the ground in Atlanta, Georgia, to monitor some of the most electorally important counties in the swing state and the nation. I’m interested in hearing from readers who encounter unusual poll watcher activity. I have also reported extensively on challenges to voter registrations, and I’m looking to hear from anyone who finds themselves dealing with such a challenge. Fulton County, Georgia, was the epicenter of numerous conspiracy theories about election malfeasance in 2020, and I’ll be closely examining any such claims this time. And as ProPublica’s democracy reporter for the South, I’ll also be keeping an eye on other states, such as North Carolina.

Email: doug.clark@propublica.org; text or Signal: 678-243-0784

The Outcome in Minnesota

Jessica Lussenhop, reporter, will be monitoring results from Minnesota, Tim Walz’s home state.

I’m a native Minnesotan who has been reporting on how Tim Walz, our governor and the Democratic vice presidential candidate, has handled crucial matters in the state, including health care and police reform. If Kamala Harris wins the election and takes Walz to the White House with her, that will cause a huge political shake-up here, so I’ll be paying close attention to that. In the near term, though, I’ll have my attention focused on Michigan and any fallout in such an important swing state during and following the election.

Email: Jessica.Lussenhop@propublica.org; Signal: 612-460-1202

Poll Workers

Phoebe Petrovic, a Local Reporting Network partner at Wisconsin Watch, will be watching the conduct of poll workers recruited by Christian nationalist groups.

I’ve been reporting about Christian nationalist efforts to recruit poll workers and undermine certification ahead of the election. And on Election Day I’ll be looking to see if those efforts will be successful. Specifically, I’ll be watching for misinformation or misconduct from both poll workers and poll watchers, especially in Wisconsin. I’ll also be looking for activity from extremist groups and conspiracy theorists online and on the ground, as well as their influence on the certification of results and lawsuits in the days after. Together, all these reflect attempts to erode the public’s trust in elections. I’m eager to hear from voters who got turned away due to misinformation from poll workers, elections officials facing threats or anyone with knowledge of attempts to block certification.

Email: ppetrovic@wisconsinwatch.org; call, text or Signal: 608-571-3748

Missouri’s Abortion Rights Amendment

Jeremy Kohler, reporter, will be reporting on the fate of a constitutional amendment in Missouri to restore abortion rights.

Although Missouri is a reliably red state where the outcome of the presidential election isn’t in doubt, it is at the center of a pivotal election issue: a voter-initiated constitutional amendment aimed at restoring abortion rights. This initiative follows years of the state legislature tightening abortion restrictions, culminating in the trigger ban that nearly eliminated access to the procedure upon the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Missouri is among 10 states with an amendment to restore access to abortion on the ballot. In my earlier reporting, I showed how anti-abortion activists have employed disinformation tactics, attempting to sway public opinion against abortion rights by linking the amendment to unrelated issues like gender-affirming care for transgender people. While polling showed the amendment leading by a wide margin, I’ll be watching to see whether late campaign efforts sway public opinion and how abortion foes try to regroup to repeal the amendment if it passes. And I’ll be watching developments in other states where abortion is on the ballot.

Email: jeremy.kohler@propublica.org; call, text or Signal: 314-486-7204

Nevada’s New Voter System

Anjeanette Damon, reporter, will be watching how Nevada’s new centralized voter registration system holds up.

Eight weeks before the general election, 16 of Nevada’s 17 counties switched to a new centralized voter registration system that promises to vastly improve election security and efficiency in the state. But the rollout, which consisted of transferring massive voter datasets from antiquated county systems, was difficult for understaffed and overtaxed county clerk offices. As with any system upgrade, problems with the data were discovered that had to be corrected before early voting began on Oct. 16. (In Nevada, nearly 90% of people vote before Election Day.) I am based in Washoe County, Nevada’s key swing county, which is home to Reno. Washoe County’s clerk, who is on administrative leave from her job, said she didn’t think her office would have time to fix all of the problems. County and state officials said all identified issues were corrected. Please reach out to me if you encounter difficulty checking in at the polls, if you received an incorrect ballot or if you were mistakenly marked inactive. I’ll also be watching the ballot cure process, in which clerks take additional steps to verify ballot signatures that had issues on initial review.

Email: anjeanette.damon@propublica.org; call, text or Signal: 775-303-8857

Wisconsin Elections Commission

Megan O’Matz, reporter, will be watching out for how the embattled Wisconsin Elections Commission handles voting and the results.

Wisconsin has a highly decentralized system of administering elections. More than 1,800 clerks in cities, towns and villages oversee the balloting. After Trump lost Wisconsin in 2020, voters and officials upset with the outcome focused their ire on the state agency that issues guidance to the clerks and considers complaints. I reported on the effort — ultimately unsuccessful — to oust the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s neutral administrator, as well as the bullying of a Republican member who rejected the stolen election myth. On Election Day I’ll be watching the mechanics of voting and pressures on election officials. Are controversial drop boxes inflaming tensions? Are there threats, signs of voter intimidation or suppression? What events could become fodder for lawsuits? How is law enforcement responding? I’m eager to hear from voters, public officials, poll workers or observers.

Email: megan.omatz@propublica.org

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