A few weeks before the 2020 election I wrote an open letter urging reporters covering that contest to focus on one essential question: will the public trust the process, and will the losing side accept the outcome as legitimate? I argued then that the answer could determine the future of American democracy. Nothing since has made that warning less urgent; if anything, the danger is clearer now as we approach another election cycle.
Journalists in 2026 need to treat the ongoing assertions that the 2020 result was stolen as an active, newsworthy story — not an item relegated to ‘‘old news.’’ When a public figure keeps repeating demonstrably false claims about the last presidential election, reporters should do more than tag the claim as false and move on. They should explain, with concrete context and evidence, why the allegation is false and why it matters now: remind audiences that those claims were litigated and investigated repeatedly and that none of the more than 60 court challenges, recounts or official probes produced proof of fraud sufficient to change any outcome.
A useful, authoritative summary is the 2022 report commonly called Lost Not Stolen, assembled by conservative and Republican figures who reviewed the major post‑2020 legal and administrative inquiries. Their assessment: the challenges were given full airing and failed to produce substantive evidence that would overturn results. That verdict is a powerful fact reporters can — and should — bring forward when readers hear the same unfounded phrases repeated.
Reporters can also call attention to testimony from figures who were part of the previous administration yet rejected those conspiracy claims. When a former vice president or an attorney general publicly declared the 2020 result legitimate, that is a newsworthy correction to the persistent narrative of widespread theft. Repeating those moments, with context, helps audiences judge competing claims.
Beyond fact‑checking and citation of conclusive reports, journalists should use their leverage to put candidates on the record. Ask every candidate on the ballot, especially Republicans running for state or federal office: do you believe the 2020 election was stolen? If so, what evidence supports that position? If you do not, will you commit, on the record, to accept the voters’ decision in this election? Press until you get a clear yes or no. If a candidate affirms the stolen‑election claim or dodges, follow up: how do you reconcile that view with the lack of substantiated findings in dozens of courtrooms and official reviews? What standards would you require to contest an election? These are not mere gotchas; they are accountability measures voters deserve.
But there is a broader responsibility for newsrooms: cover the nuts and bolts of election administration as a distinct, continuing beat. Too often campaign coverage concentrates on rallies, speeches, ads and polls while leaving the actual mechanics of registration, ballot delivery, counting and certification to occasional explainers. Those mechanics are where public confidence is built or eroded.
Make local election officials and clerks regular sources. Report how voters are registered in your state, where and how ballots may be cast, which safeguards protect ballots in transit and storage, and precisely when and how ballots are opened and counted. For mail voting, for example, explain who is eligible in your state, how absentee ballots are tracked, how signature and chain‑of‑custody procedures work, how many mail ballots are issued and returned, and what security measures exist from distribution to tabulation. If the Supreme Court or other high courts are considering litigation that affects voting rules, outline the practical consequences for voters in plain language.
Treat process stories as proactive rather than reactive. Instead of waiting for a partisan complaint, show what is happening on the ground: how many provisional ballots are being issued, whether equipment upgrades have been completed, whether staffing and training are adequate, and where audits and post‑election reviews will occur. If problems are identified, report them promptly along with whether and how officials are addressing them.
Use available expertise. Organizations such as Votebeat specialize in election administration reporting and can be a model for local newsrooms. Nonpartisan and bipartisan groups across the field — voting‑rights trackers, election‑security centers, civil‑democracy organizations and civic conservative groups devoted to defending democratic norms — can help reporters separate technical process from partisan spin. Names worth following include the Voting Rights Lab, Protect Democracy, the Center for Election Innovation & Research, Defending Democracy Together and Republicans for Voting Rights. They provide data, legal analysis, and contact points for administrators and technical experts.
Practical reporting steps
– Make election administration a standing beat in your newsroom. Assign reporters to follow registration, polling place preparedness, mail‑ballot procedures, equipment readiness, and post‑election audits.
– Keep a living explainer of your state’s rules: who can vote by mail, deadlines, how to track a ballot, and the chain of custody. Update it as rules and court decisions change.
– Demand on‑the‑record answers from candidates about whether they will accept the results and what evidence would justify contesting them.
– When false claims resurface, contextualize them with the record of litigation, audits and official findings; cite authoritative cross‑partisan reports and prominent officials who repudiated the allegations.
– Track and publish the numbers that matter: ballots issued, ballots returned, provisional ballots counted, recounts requested and the results of routine post‑election audits.
Journalists alone cannot secure the legitimacy of an election. But a well‑resourced, disciplined press corps can make an important contribution by informing the public, exposing falsehoods, and holding candidates and officials to account. Reporters covering the civil‑rights movement decades ago helped force national reckoning by documenting realities that were otherwise ignored. In the weeks ahead, the press must recognize the current peril and intensify efforts to explain, investigate and monitor the election process. The stakes are as high as they have been in recent memory.
TomDispatch first published this piece; it was edited by Lee Thompson‑Kolar. The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the publication’s editorial policy.