local elections

While President Joe Biden outpaced former President Donald Trump by more than 7 million votes in 2020, another politician was busy winning her job in Washington by a much smaller margin: six votes. “I’m the poster child for why your vote matters,” Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks — an Iowa Republican whose single-digit margin of victory came in a district of 567,000…

We’ve all been tempted to sit out an election by convincing ourselves one vote doesn’t matter that much. But the truth is a single-digit number of votes can have a big impact on federal and local policies. NBCLX political editor Noah Pransky looks back at several elections where only a few votes made a big difference.

Roughly 160 million Americans cast a vote in the presidential election. And even with that massive turnout, 86% of votes were counted by local elected officials within 24 hours of poll closings. NBCLX storyteller Chase Cain explains why that’s something to celebrate.

When Regina King accepted her fourth Emmy Award last month, she made an urgent plea to the audience: Vote up the ballot. But what does that mean? Chase Cain explains why local elections are so important this year and why voting up the ballot is the best way to ensure your voice is heard at all levels of government.