National headlines remind us of the importance of elections; LSJ focuses on local races
Elections matter.
And what happens in the 2022 mid-term elections will influence the direction of local, state and national politics.
That fact was brought home this week when the Supreme Court issued rulings on two polarizing national topics: abortion rights and gun rights.
Beyond that, the state and nation are grappling with raging inflation, voting access, infrastructure needs, and more.
It’s important that informed voters exercise their right and responsibility in the democratic process. With the Michigan primary less than six weeks away and absentee ballots arriving in mailboxes this week, the LSJ has started publishing candidates’ responses to questionnaires we sent to them weeks ago.
We think it’s important to provide a platform for candidates to share their views, especially in local races for which there aren’t highly polished candidate websites and big-money advertising.
We’ve focused on the races in areas in which the LSJ has the most readership. And our early focus is on races in which there is a contested primary. In some of these instances, the winner of the primary is almost assured to win the general election. We'll add contested general election races after the primary.
Here are some of the early questionnaires. There will be more.
As fall approaches, Team LSJ will pursue election stories of local interest while relying on our colleagues at the Detroit Free Press and USA TODAY for broader state and national coverage.
(As a reminder, as a subscriber, you have access to the e-editions of the Detroit Free Press and more than 200 other Gannett newspapers across the country if you’re interested in races elsewhere. Go to LSJ.com, click on the e-edition tab and access the LSJ and others.)
We’ll be shaping our election coverage as we go and welcome your feedback. I’ve already heard from one reader this weekend who wanted us to ask different questions of our candidates. What’s important to you is important to us. Let me know your concerns.
Covering elections is a longstanding tradition at the LSJ and other newspapers. Your subscription allows us to continue that work. Thank you.
Stephanie Angel is the executive editor of the Lansing State Journal. Contact her at sangel@lsj.com or follow her on Twitter @stephanieangel.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: National headlines remind us the importance of elections; LSJ focuses on local races
