SciLine launches support for journalists on midterm election issues
SciLine has launched a special project ahead of the 2026 midterm elections to help journalists step back from the political back-and-forth and help the public understand what evidence-based research and scientific expertise tells us about major issues.
A variety of free resources will be available both on issues that are top of mind for voters—such as data centers, housing affordability, inflation—and the nuts and bolts of the elections themselves: what independent, nonpartisan research tells us about different aspects of how elections are run and their vulnerability to manipulation, fraud, and voter suppression.
Carmen Nobel
Carmen Nobel, longtime former director and editor-in-chief of The Journalist’s Resource program at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center, is helping lead the effort with SciLine’s journalism projects editor, Elena Renken, and the organization’s unique team of both scientists and veteran journalists.
“There’s a bit of a perfect storm of challenges out there for journalists with this election,” said SciLine Director Matt DeRienzo. “Resources are a challenge as always, issues that didn’t used to be controversial are now politicized, and disinformation is moving at the speed and sophistication of AI.”
Turning to what nonpartisan, scientific research shows about contentious issues can be a lifeline for newsrooms attempting to build trust with a polarized audience, he said, and independent subject matter experts in the physical and social sciences can be a powerful resource in prebunking and debunking misinformation.
“I joined this project because I believe a healthy democracy depends on good journalism grounded in solid evidence,” Nobel said. “In the lead-up to the 2026 midterms, when voters are navigating a sea of false claims about election fraud, arming the electorate with well-vetted information has never mattered more.”
She said that SciLine’s new series of reporting guides “will help local journalists evaluate these claims, understand election processes, and explain the research behind the policy issues candidates are debating.”
Among the first elements of the project were two in-depth reporting guides on what independent research has shown about voting machine technology and voting by mail. In addition to being a one-stop resource on evidence-based context on an issue, they include numerous local story and sourcing ideas.
Sciline is creating additional guides on voter fraud and election security, redistricting, and other election process topics, along with campaign topics such as data centers, housing affordability, healthcare costs, fuel prices, property taxes, and access to abortion pills.
In addition to written reporting guides, SciLine’s midterm elections project will include training opportunities, live briefings with scientists on timely issues related to the election, and access to the organization’s free, on-deadline Expert Matching service.
In keeping with its primary focus on serving local news organizations, SciLine’s midterm elections project will use its relationships with journalists across the country to make sure that the organization is effectively helping with the topics and needs of greatest relevance to each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Journalists are encouraged to reach out to Journalism Projects Editor Elena Renken at erenken@aaas.org if there’s a particular issue or challenge they’d like to see SciLine tackle.
Founded in 2017 and based at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, SciLine is philanthropically funded. Its work is made possible through support from the Quadrivium Foundation, The Eucalyptus Foundation, MAC3 Impact Philanthropies, the Walton Family Foundation, the Simons Foundation, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Daniel Pinkel, the Leo Model Foundation, and individual donations.
