So where’s the comprehensive reporting on the voter-fraud controversies? On any day, but specifically today? Senate Rules and Administration Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein decried the SSA shutdown, which earned a mention in Roll Call. CBS Evening News, last week, offered a brief segment on the Brennan report. The American Prospect ran a Web-only Q&A with that report’s author, Myrna Perez. Good stuff, all of it.

But, with the exception of CBS, those are niche outlets. (How often do you hear average voters discussing the latest Roll Call article?) Will their stories reach the older and lower-income voters—the citizens whose votes are most in jeopardy when it comes to attempts at voter fraud? Likely not. Which makes it all the more important for mainstream, high-readership outlets—say, The Washington Post, USA Today, and NPR, just to name a random sampling—to inform their audiences about how to ensure that their votes will count. That would be service journalism, sure. But in the best sense—since it would have the rare attribute of providing a service that voters actually—urgently—need.

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