• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Rachel Kleinfeld",
    "Amanda Ripley"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "democracy",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "DCG",
  "programs": [
    "Democracy, Conflict, and Governance"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North America",
    "United States"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Democracy",
    "Civil Society"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

How to Cover Electoral Conflict

The United States is different from other countries in many ways. But polarized people tend to be have similarly, all over the world. And in this context, the usual traditions of journalism will not work—and can do enormous harm

Link Copied
By Rachel Kleinfeld and Amanda Ripley
Published on Oct 8, 2020
Program mobile hero image

Program

Democracy, Conflict, and Governance

The Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program is a leading source of independent policy research, writing, and outreach on global democracy, conflict, and governance. It analyzes and seeks to improve international efforts to reduce democratic backsliding, mitigate conflict and violence, overcome political polarization, promote gender equality, and advance pro-democratic uses of new technologies.

Learn More

Source: Election SOS

The 2020 election feels unprecedented in the United States. Nearly three out of four Americans are worried there will be widespread violence in response to the results, according to More in Common. Protests, racial discord and the pandemic have aggravated anxiety and suspicion in a nation already under strain

But journalists have covered elections similar to this, all over the world, for many years. They’ve agonized over their mistakes and learned from their best coverage. They’ve created playbooks for covering contested elections in frayed societies.

Read the Full Text

This article was originally published by Election SOS.

About the Authors

Rachel Kleinfeld

Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program

Rachel Kleinfeld is a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, where she focuses on issues of rule of law, security, and governance in democracies experiencing polarization, violence, and other governance problems.

Amanda Ripley

Authors

Rachel Kleinfeld
Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Rachel Kleinfeld
Amanda Ripley
Political ReformDemocracyCivil SocietyNorth AmericaUnited States

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Carney Canada EU Trump
    Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Taking the Pulse: Is Canada Leading a Third Way?

    Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has twice inspired praise for standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump: at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos and on Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. Is Carney showing a third way better than the EU has in dealing with the Trump administration?

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz, ed.

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Less of America is More

    Middle Eastern states should welcome an accelerated U.S. disengagement from their region. 

      Michael Young

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    In Russia, Pacifism Is as Bad as Supporting the Enemy

    A regime founded on force, coercion, and repression does not want its propaganda, with all its flaws of logic, omissions, and outright lies, to be competing with the most simple of all messages: Thou shalt not kill.

      Leonid Bershidsky

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    A Strategic Disaster that Devalues U.S. Military Prowess

    In an interview, former ambassador Charles Freeman assesses the Trump administration’s war against Iran.

      Michael Young

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    As a Former Defense Minister Revolts in Ukraine, Is Zelensky’s System Fracturing?

    The greater threat to Zelensky comes not from Fedorov alone, but from the convergence between the former defense minister’s political campaign and the anti-corruption investigations moving ever closer to the presidential administration.

      Balázs Jarábik

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.