The New York Times is using a nationwide reporting team to track election issues and tips, with journalists sharing updates through a Slack channel called #Votewatch. The operation is intended to identify potential problems at polling places and investigate them for readers.
Reports shared in the channel have included voting glitches in Westchester County, New York, a delayed start in Broward County, Florida, and difficult conditions for reaching polling places in the Navajo Nation. Journalists have also flagged broken ballot machines, long lines and conspiracy theories circulating about the election. The newspaper said the items are checked before being reported.
Editors Monica Davey and Amy Gardner said the team includes reporters assigned to monitor individual states for irregularities and other issues. Those reporters have built contacts with election officials in their states and major cities, as well as with state political parties and campaigns, to help them quickly investigate reports and share verified information.
Davey said the goal is to help readers distinguish what is happening at polling places from rumors, while Gardner described this as The Times’s most extensive Vote Watch operation to date.
Sources: The New York Times Politics.