The Shorenstein Center

Research Initiatives

2026 Voting Information Trends

Mapping how and where people get information about voting, and their perceptions of voting in the lead up to the 2026 midterm elections.

The Shorenstein Center’s 2026 Voting Information Trends project tracks how the U.S. population gets voting information and understand key topics about voting ahead of the 2026 U.S. elections — including voter registration, polling locations, and other voting mechanics.

Powered by the National Internet Observatory and the CHIP50 survey project, the research combines self-reported survey data with observed online behavior to produce quick-turn reports on the voting information landscape. Methodology for the series can be found by clicking here

Browse our latest reports, and explore the interactive data visualization showing where and how people are finding voting information in the 2026 elections.

Subscribe to Voting Information Trends Report Alerts

Interactive Dashboard

Use the dashboard below to explore where people are finding information about voting in the 2026 midterm elections. Data for the dashboard comes from the National Internet Observatory.

2026 Voting Information Trends Reports

Research Collaborators

The Research Team below includes members of the Shorenstein Center and Harvard Kennedy School faculty and staff, as well as collaborators at Northeastern University, Rutgers University, and the University of Rochester. This work is also done in collaboration with the teams at the Ash Center’s Democracy and the Informed Public program, the National Internet Observatory, and the Civic Health and Institutions Project.

Research Team

Matthew Baum
Professor Matthew Baum, a light skinned man wearing glasses and a collared shirt with sweater.

Matthew Baum

Kalb Professor of Global Communication

David Choffnes

David Choffnes

Professor in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University

Faculty Affiliate

James Druckman
James Druckman, a man with curly brown hair and light colored skin, wearing glasses, standing outside in front of a blurred green background.

James Druckman

Martin Anderson Brewer Professor of Political Science, University of Rochester

Research Collaborator

Nancy Gibbs
Nancy Gibbs, a light skinned woman with chin-length blond hair, smiles into the camera wearing a black sweater, white shirt, and gold necklace.

Nancy Gibbs

Lombard Director of the Shorenstein Center and Edward R. Murrow Professor of the Practice of Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School

David Lazer
David Lazer, a man in glasses and a suit jacket is giving a presentation, gesturing toward a projected image behind him. He is standing at a podium and speaking to an audience.

David Lazer

University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Computer Sciences, Northeastern University

Faculty Affiliate

Laura Manley
Laura Manley, a woman with long wavy dark hair, sits on a gray couch while wearing a teal blazer and white shirt.

Laura Manley

Shorenstein Center Executive Director

Katherine Ognyanova

Katherine Ognyanova

Professor, School of Comunication and Information, Rutgers University

Faculty Affiliate

Ata Uslu
Ata Uslu, a man with short dark hair and light skin smiles while wearing a dark colored shirt, standing inside a large indoor space with light falling across the floor from large windows.

Ata Uslu

Senior Researcher, 2026 Voting Information Trends

Doctoral Student, Northeastern University

Stefan Wojcik
Smiling bearded man wearing a gray sweater and baseball cap, seated at an outdoor restaurant surrounded by greenery.

Stefan Wojcik

Senior Researcher, 2026 Voting Information Trends

Methods

The Voting Information Trends project uses two data sources to show how Americans encounter voting information about the midterm elections.
  • The Civic Health and Institutions Project (CHIP50) survey asks Americans what they know and believe about voting through self-reports.
  • The National Internet Observatory (NIO) draws on volunteers who share their web browsing and mobile phone data to show where people see voting information online.
Combined, these two sources tell us what people say they know and believe and we can observe how people actually encounter and use information.
Both data streams let us compare these patterns across age, gender, education and other groups. Read more about the series methodology here.

More Information

Unless otherwise noted, all information contained in the Shorenstein Center’s 2026 Voting Information Trends reports, as well as the interactive dashboard, is free to share and republish, and is licensed under a Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license.

For press inquiries contact Lindsay Underwood

For general inquiries about this research, contact Laura Manley

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