This question is posted by ACE on behalf of Andrew Kaspar, The Irrawady, Myanmar.

Question

My name is Andrew Kaspar and I'm a reporter and editor at The Irrawaddy news organization in Myanmar.

I am reaching out to ACE practitioners, because I will be partially responsible for coordinating The Irrawaddy's coverage of nationwide elections due in November of this year. I wanted to ask if any members could direct me to some examples of election coverage (specifically, websites created specially for the purpose of elections coverage) that your network considers to be good examples of how to lay out a website, and the content to include in an online elections coverage plan. 

An NGO worker here referred me to this website (http://election.ujyaaloonline.com/) as one example that he thought was good, but I'm hoping to find a wider array of examples that The Irrawaddy can use to implement a best practices approach as we start to put together our own elections page. Any assistance that ACE might provide would be greatly appreciated. 

Summary of Responses

Practitioners provided a range of websites which they felt would be helpful exemplars vis-à-vis the format and content of electoral coverage. One practitioner also noted that the proposed coverage should state how the data is compiled and how frequently it would be updated, particularly in potentially controversial electoral contexts. 

The suggested sites are as follows:

• Afghanistan – 2014 Elections
• Pajhwok Afghan News:  This media site provides excellent information on voter education elements (e.g. candidate biographies and polling centers). 
• Link: http://elections.pajhwok.com/en  
• Afghanistan Election Data:   This site provides useful information for further analysis, though it is quite data heavy. 
• Link: http://2014.afghanistanelectiondata.org/#runoff/results_runoff  
•  Argentina – 2015 Elections 
• Noticias electorales. 
• Link: http://noticiaselectorales.com/   
• Argentina Elections. 
• Link:  http://www.argentinaelections.com
• Australia
• ABC site: This site is updated whenever there is a state or federal election, and currently contains material on the recent New South Wales state election. 
• Link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/nsw-election-2015/
• Bangladesh – 2015 City Corporation Elections
• City Corporation Elections site: Provides a good example of storing and presenting electoral data using the latest web platforms.  
• Link: www.CityCorpElections.org 
• Mexico
• Strategiaelectoral:   This site includes current information on Mexican elections.  
• Link: http://strategiaelectoral.mx/index.php  
• United Kingdom – 2015 General Elections
• BBC Election 2015:  
• Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/election/2015 
• United States
• The Monkey Cage: Initially set up to cover the 2008 presidential elections, this political science blog is now featured on the website of the Washington Post.
• Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/ 

Contributing Members

• Jena Karim
• Arturo Espinosa
• Ronan McDermott
• Jenni Newton-Farrelly
• David Le Blanc
• Peter Yates

Hi Andrew, 

The Irrawaddy is a fantastic publication! Please see some suggestions below from the 2014 elections in Afghanistan. The first is taken from an Afghan media outlet, and they do a fantastic job with the voter education elements (e.g. candidate bios and polling centers).  The second one is quite data heavy, but the types of information are useful for further analysis.  I would just humbly recommend that you state how the data is collected and the frequency with which it will be updated, especially in potentially contentious elections.  

1. Pajhwok Afghan News: http://elections.pajhwok.com/en

2.  Afghanistan Election Data:  http://2014.afghanistanelectiondata.org/#runoff/results_runoff

One issue with this site is difficulty in using it with low bandwith. You can capture much of this information in straight text format without so many dynamic maps. 

I hope this helps!

Hi Andrew,

My sugestions are:

The Monkey Cage a web site started in 2008 to cover the presidential election, now is also a blog in the Washington post http://themonkeycage.org/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/

Noticias electorales and Argentina Elections two web sites designed for covering the 2015 elections in Argentina http://www.argentinaelections.com/ http://www.noticiaselectorales.com/

And Strategiaelectoral a Mexican web site, designed by my self, to inform about elections in Mexico http://www.strategiaelectoral.mx/index.php

Hope any of these sites work for you. 

AN obvious choice, perhaps, but I believe BBC's Election2015 site is an excellent piece of design - clarity, simple but effective graphics and animations.

http://www.bbc.com/news/election/2015

Hi Andrew, the Australian Broadcasting Commission has a useful site. It is updated whenever there is a state or federal election, and the current face shows material for the recent New South Wales state election:

 http://www.abc.net.au/news/nsw-election-2015/.

All the best!

Hi Andrew,

http://www.threehundredeight.com/ is a popular electoral blog here in Canada.  It's primary focus is on the federal election, constantly being updated with new polling information, however it does dabble in provincial elections as well.  Best of luck!

Hi Andrew,

www.CityCorpElections.org

Here is an example from Bangladesh done by a domestic election observation group. It was put together for the recent City Corporation Elections. It's a great example of using the latest web platforms to house easily accessible and aesthetically pleasing election data.

I'd be keen to discuss support for the Irradwaddy's site if you are interested. If so, email me at p.yates06 @ gmail.com

cheers

Peter