{
  "id": 10251526,
  "title": "The right messages can help restore trust in elections",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/the-right-messages-can-help-restore-trust-in-elections",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-27T16:32:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Futurity",
    "slug": "futurity",
    "url": "https://www.futurity.org/trust-elections-3346712/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "University of California, Riverside scholar Jennifer Gaudette coauthored studies indicating that election officials can rebuild public confidence in elections by using straightforward videos to explain security measures. These videos can alter partisan views, with Republicans gaining trust in Democratic states and Democrats growing confidence in Republican states, according to findings published in the Election Law Journal, British Journal of Political Science, and PNAS Nexus.\n\nThe research involved survey experiments with nearly 15,000 participants across Texas, Georgia, Colorado, and Los Angeles County. Some participants watched videos created by election officials detailing safeguards protecting votes in California, while others viewed messages about election procedures in Texas. The national sample watched videos about elections in the opposing state. These videos led to an average increase in trust in elections by 10 to 12.5 percentage points.\n\nThe researchers also found that simple, factual videos without professional production values can effectively change minds. In a follow-up study, Gaudette recorded a short cellphone video explaining that voting machines are not connected to the internet and that ballot counting has bipartisan oversight. Over 8,000 Americans viewed either her informal video, professionally produced videos from election officials in Wisconsin and Arizona, or no video at all. The homemade video produced similar increases in trust and was better remembered than the professional videos, particularly among younger adults. Gaudette emphasized that election officials should communicate through various platforms, especially social media, to counteract partisan distrust and explain the security measures in place.",
  "summary": "A new study finds factual messages can overcome partisan distrust of elections across state lines.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}