Guardian US announces new year-long project on voter suppression in America

The initiative has been made possible due to philanthropic funding from Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Schumann Media Center and Park Foundation

November 7, 2019 – The Fight to Vote series will investigate systemic voter suppression and how it undermines democracy in the United States. It will shine a light on the frontline states where voter suppression is most common and focus on the role that social media and disinformation campaigns play in discouraging many Americans from voting.

The year-long series will include investigations, features, data projects, videos, op-eds and breaking news to cover the ongoing disenfranchisement of voters.

As part of the project, Ankita Rao has been appointed as voting rights editor for Guardian US. Ankita was previously a senior editor at VICE, where she oversaw health, tech, and infrastructure. She is an adjunct professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York and has written for titles including The New York Times, NPR and The Atlantic.

Sam Levine, most recently a voting rights reporter at HuffPost, has been appointed as a full-time voting rights reporter and brings several years of experience in covering this beat.

The series will be overseen by Guardian US special series editor, Alastair Gee, and Guardian US editor, John Mulholland.

John Mulholland, editor, Guardian US, said:

“America is often cited as the world’s leading democracy. Few people outside America are aware of how and why many US states explicitly suppress the votes of people of color, students and poorer communities. The sad reality for many communities is that they are forced to engage in a fight simply to have their democratic rights respected – a fight to vote.

“I’m delighted that Ankita and Sam are joining us to work on The Fight to Vote. The project aims to draw national and international attention to why America is the only advanced democracy in which politicians deliberately discourages people from voting and highlight solutions to the crisis.”

Guardian US has partnered with a number of organizations to widen the depth and breadth Guardian US will collaborate with a number of organizations, including The New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, to widen the depth and breadth of reporting across some of the most affected states.

Carol Anderson, author of the acclaimed book, One Person, No Vote, and professor of African American Studies at Emory University will join the project as an editorial advisor and will write regularly for the Guardian US throughout the year-long effort.

The series is supported by the Schumann Media Center, Craig Newmark Philanthropies and Park Foundation via philanthropic funding to theguardian.org. All reporting published for Guardian US will be editorially independent and clearly identify the support provided by the foundations.