Votebeat Launches Expert Desk with Support from More Perfect

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, More Perfect partners with Votebeat—the nation's only nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated exclusively to covering how elections are run—to announce the launch of the Expert Desk.

As we head into the midterms, this free platform connects journalists nationwide with bipartisan  election experts, including former election officials, election attorneys, and technologists, who provide real-time, on-the-record guidance. Journalists will use the Desk to check claims, understand lawsuits, find credible sources, pressure-test tips, and get on-the-record quotes without waiting on callbacks or relying on loud voices with thin expertise.

With support from More Perfect and its partners, the Desk multiplies Votebeat's impact far beyond its own coverage, equipping local and national outlets with resources to cover elections accurately. The Desk is expected to serve 600 journalists across 150 newsrooms nationwide. More than 100 experts will be available to answer questions and offer proactive tips. 

"Journalists across the U.S. will be equipped to cover elections and provide communities with credible, trusted information to make informed decisions about key issues, thanks to More Perfect's generous support of our national coverage and the Expert Desk," said  Elizabeth Green, Founder and CEO of Civic News Company. Journalists across the country can now turn to Votebeat for a free resource to help them through this demanding election cycle.

"A functioning democracy depends on voters having accurate information about how their elections are run," said John Bridgeland, Founder and CEO of More Perfect. "More Perfect is proud to support Votebeat and the Expert Desk, which puts trusted, on-the-record expertise directly in the hands of journalists in communities. This is the kind of work our alliance came together to advance."

"The Expert Desk is the backbone for better election coverage," said Jessica Huseman, editorial director for Votebeat. "It gives journalists immediate access to trusted experts who can help them make sense of complicated election laws, procedures, and technology — whether they need a source, a gut check, or an answer to a technical question on deadline."

Votebeat's National bureau ensures that trustworthy information is available to communities through its coverage of federal voting policy, legal battles, and cross-state trends that connect local reporting to broader national developments. Votebeat's work has prompted policy changes, influenced public debate, and shaped how elections are understood and administered. That same expertise also informs Votebeat's Expert Desk, which extends beyond its own newsroom.

Interested reporters are invited to complete the application form. Journalists will be accepted if they are actively reporting on the 2026 elections, are not funded by or working for political candidates, campaigns or parties, and abide by the Expert Desk's participation guidelines. Experts with relevant election experience can express interest in participating by completing this form. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Journalists will be able to participate until December 15, when the Desk closes.

About More Perfect
More Perfect is a bipartisan alliance of 44 Presidential Centers, National Archives Foundation, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia, and more than 100 organizations working together to advance five Democracy Goals: 1) Universal Civic Learning; 2) Expanding National Service and Volunteering; 3) Bridging Divides; 4) Trusted Elections and More Representative and Responsive Governance; and 5) Access to Trusted News and Information.

About Civic News Company and Votebeat
Civic News Company publishes Votebeat (Election Administration), Healthbeat (Public Health and Healthcare), and Chalkbeat (Education). Our publisher is one of the nation's largest networks of nonprofit local newsrooms with 15 bureaus across 12 states. Votebeat is the only nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom in America focused exclusively on how elections are run. With embedded reporters in five states that will decide the balance of power in Washington (Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin), plus a National Desk and the Election Expert Desk, Votebeat watches the machinery of democracy year-round: voter rolls, mail ballots, county certification, election-office funding, and the laws that quietly determine who can vote and how easily.

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SOURCE More Perfect