The Clarion has joined forces with Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) to provide election coverage and engage with first-time voters in the fall.
Election coverage often resembles horse race coverage because it focuses on polling data and public perception. While valuable, this type of reporting doesn’t always focus on candidate policy and usually reports on candidate differences rather than similarities.
WPR Special Projects Reporter Bridgit Bowden said, “We hear what the candidates are saying and hear what the polls are saying, but a lot of times, we don’t necessarily hear what really is on people’s minds.”
WPR and The Clarion will try to connect with first-time voters from Madison College. First-time voters could be citizens who just turned 18, new citizens or those who have never voted or have never voted in the state of Wisconsin.
“We’re really defining first-time voters pretty broadly, and so throughout the year, we’re going to be connecting with first-time voters in various ways,” Bowden said.
Some of that connection will come through web surveys, social media, partnerships and learning as much as they can from them. WPR will use that to inform their reporting and get story ideas, telling the stories of what is on the minds of Wisconsin first-time voters.
The Clarion’s collaboration with WPR will be part of a project called America Amplified.
America Amplified is a nationwide partnership of public media organizations that will engage with voters this election season to learn what issues are important to them and what issues are driving them to the polls.
There will be more than 8 million new potential voters this fall, according to the Tufts University Center of Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Approximately 45% of the Gen Z electorate in 2024, including 47% of newly eligible voters who have aged in, are youth of color.

For more information visit:
WPR Voter Guide – https://www.wpr.org/politics/got-questions-about-how-to-vote-in-wisconsin-weve-got-answers.
What questions do you have about the 2024 elections? – https://www.wpr.org/news/questions-2024-elections-wisconsin-american-amplified-hearken.
America Amplified – https://www.americaamplified.org/amplified-team