What are the best free public affairs news sites for following local government and election coverage?

Here are some of the best free public-affairs news sites for staying on top of local government, city politics, state politics, and election coverage:

Strong national/public-affairs options

• The Associated Press (AP) — Excellent for objective election results, ballot issues, and state/local political coverage.
  https://apnews.com
• Reuters — Strong for election nights, government coverage, and factual reporting.
  https://www.reuters.com
• NPR — Good for explainers on policy, elections, and local-state political issues.
  https://www.npr.org
• Governing — Very good for state and local government policy and administration.
  https://www.governing.com
• The 19th — Excellent for election and civic coverage, especially around voting rights and representation.
  https://19thnews.org
• Ballotpedia — One of the best free resources for election info, candidates, ballot measures, and local offices.
  https://ballotpedia.org

Great for local and state reporting

• State-affairs / statewide public affairs outlets
  Many states have dedicated nonprofit outlets covering legislatures, governors, courts, and elections. Examples:

  • Texas Tribune — https://www.texastribune.org
  • CalMatters — https://calmatters.org
  • Florida Phoenix — https://floridaphoenix.com
  • MinnPost — https://www.minnpost.com
  • Wisconsin Watch — https://wisconsinwatch.org
  • Arizona Agenda — https://arizonaagenda.com

• Local public-radio newsrooms
  Often the best free source for city councils, school boards, county boards, and local elections.

  • Search for your local NPR member station or public radio newsroom.

• Local newspapers with public-affairs sections
  Many have free articles or free election pages even if some content is paywalled.

  • Examples: The Seattle Times, Chicago Sun-Times, The Kansas City Star, etc., depending on your region.

Tools that help track elections and officials

• Vote.org — voter registration, election dates, absentee info
  https://vote.org
• Can I Vote — official voter info portal in many states
  https://www.canivote.org
• OpenSecrets — campaign finance and lobbying data
  https://www.opensecrets.org
• FollowTheMoney — state-level campaign finance
  https://www.followthemoney.org

Best approach

If you want a simple free setup, I’d suggest:

1. AP or Reuters for dependable national/state election coverage
2. Ballotpedia for candidates and ballot measures
3. A state nonprofit newsroom for deep local politics
4. Your local public radio station for city/county coverage

If you tell me your state or city, I can recommend the best local free sites for your area specifically.