Consensus USA

Working together to great consensus around core issues that all American support

2000

DemocraticRepublican

Who we are

A civic desk for the races that decide everything close to home.

Consensus USA is an independent, non-profit newsroom and civic advocacy desk. We report on the county commissions, school boards, and state house districts that shape daily life — the races national coverage skips.

We publish the documents, we show our math, and we point readers toward the candidates and measures on their own ballot.

Read the latest coverage Support the work →

Documents, not vibes

Every claim we publish traces back to a filing, a recording, or a record we can hand you.

Local first, always

We cover the precinct before the primary. The nearest race is usually the one with the widest reach.

Independent by design

Reader-funded and non-partisan on candidates. No advertiser or donor sees a story before you do.

Plainspoken and useful

Explainers you can finish in four minutes, so you can vote without a glossary.

Races tracked since 2019: 94Races tracked since 2019
Counties covered: 12Counties covered
Monthly readers: 38KMonthly readers
Reader-funded: 100%Reader-funded

Latest coverage

Race SpotlightTuesday, 12 Nov · 6 min read

The quiet race that could tip the state house by a single district

In a tight county where turnout decided 2020, two unheralded challengers are racing to the last precinct. We traced every filing, every ad, and every early-voter line.

Read the story Back the reporting →

The quiet race that could tip the state house by a single district

Featured

All articles →

Investigation

How a 14-page annex reshaped which houses count in the redraw

The boundary file was never docketed. We obtained it, and the map it produces doesn't match the one the public voted on.

By Dana Okafor · 8 min read

From the desk

Browse the archive →

Opinion

Turnout isn't a turnout problem. It's a trust problem.

We keep asking people to show up. We should be asking why they stopped believing it mattered.

By Marisol Vann · 5 min

Explainer

What a "provisional ballot" actually does — and does not.

A three-paragraph guide to the most mislabeled paper in American elections.

By Consensus USA · 4 min

Clips & interviews

Full podcast →

"I ran the numbers twice": a county clerk on the recount

12:04

Podcast · 12:04

"I ran the numbers twice": a county clerk on the recount

Nobody goes in without two witnesses from different parties.

The Consensus Podcast · Ep. 41

State House · District 12

One minute on why the last precinct closed late

0:48

Field note · 0:48

One minute on why the last precinct closed late

From our social desk

Races & updates

Race tracker →

State House · District 12

Recount petition filed · 2 days ago

Contested

City Council · Seat 4

Early votes lead by 3,410 · 5 days ago

Counting

School Board · Bond measure

Polls closed, results pending · 1 week ago

Awaiting call