From town halls to calling gas stations — What it takes to cover local elections

On this episode: What does it really take to track down local election information? On this episode of On the Ballot, Ballotpedia’s Thomas Grobben joins host Doug Kronaizl for a behind-the-scenes look at the quirky, persistent, and sometimes unexpected lengths our team goes to in order to gather candidate data from all corners of the country. From calling local newspapers and county treasurers to enlisting the help of a gas station clerk—and even a squirrel-rescuing election commissioner—this episode highlights the human side of covering decentralized elections and the value of our expanding local election coverage.

Learn more about our local election coverage: https://ballotpedia.org/Local_election_coverage,_2025

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*On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.