Election Coverage: What AllSides Will and Will Not Do

Updated 1/23/2024

It's obvious the media has had a close eye on the 2024 elections, and the vast effect election results will have on all Americans means journalists should cover results with the utmost care and responsibility. AllSides is no different.

Here’s our news team’s game plan for covering the election leading up to, on, and after November 8.

AllSides WILL point our audience to the best sources of election information on all sides of the political spectrum. Using our media bias ratings, we’ll link you to the most up-to-date and reliable election knowledge from throughout the media sphere.

AllSides WILL NOT cover exit polling from any state until all polling stations nationwide have closed. 

AllSides WILL NOT cover election results from any state until all polling stations nationwide have closed. It’s become common for media outlets to cover East Coast results while other states are still voting. However, some research (but not all) has concluded that the reporting of voting results affects people who haven’t voted yet (either how they vote or, more often, whether they vote), and can put media outlets in a bad spot if data turns out to be wrong. 

Therefore, we at AllSides believe prematurely covering these reports can be harmful to democracy and should be discouraged throughout the news media. Although some of the election news we share may come from sources that also prematurely cover election exit polls and results, we will avoid pointing directly to those reports.

AllSides also encourages our audience not to share apparent election results or exit polls prematurely.

AllSides WILL be patient. Votes may take several days, and in some cases weeks, to be tallied in certain states. We’ll keep you informed and updated on these processes as best we can.

To see election news, state-by-state voting information, and everything you need to know about what's on your ballot, visit our Election Coverage and Resources page.