As part of our continuing effort to help the public understand why we do things the way we do, East Cobb News is running a short feature on an occasional basis that will give you a better understanding of what goes behind some of our news coverage.
It’s called East Cobb News Explainer, and we started off a couple weeks ago with a look at how we cover reports of crime and publishing mug shots.
With the 2026 election season underway, we thought we’d share our approach to covering politics and elections.
We’re doing it the same way we have from the beginning, giving our readers nuts-and-bolts information on how to vote, what candidates are on the ballot and what the issues are in a particular race.
(Here’s our early voting guide to the primaries that’s a handy-dandy, all-in-one resource.)
What we will never do is tell you whom to vote for—or against.
In the coming weeks, East Cobb News will be publishing candidate profiles in contested races for Cobb commissioner and Cobb school board that voters in East Cobb will be choosing from.
There’s a lot on the line, and some contentious issues that are at the heart of those election battles. We don’t flinch from presenting them to you, and that’s been a hallmark of our political coverage all along.
But at East Cobb News we don’t dwell on the he-said, she-said dynamic that passes for so much media coverage of politics. In the current environment, that’s not very conducive to helping voters understand what’s behind what’s on their ballot.
We have some readers who love the combat-style approach to political coverage—as long as it confirms their priors.
We’re accused all the time of being in one camp or another, because some people just need an enemy to excoriate, and they love to shout from the rooftops that you’ve got to pick a side.
No you don’t. In fact, most people don’t. This is political coverage for normies, not social media-obsessed partisans.
The only “side” we pick at East Cobb News is the civics side. If there’s a need for anything in terms of media coverage of politics, that’s definitely it.
There are times in which we have to shut off social media comments for some our stories because a handful of readers decide to act like children and drive others away.
But for the most part, our readers are pretty grown-up about all this, and we do appreciate that.
We don’t endorse candidates or ballot issues (we even took a pass on the East Cobb cityhood referendum in 2022, although we had some choice commentary after the decisive votes were cast).
We focus on the mechanics of voting—where and how, etc. Especially since the COVID-19 election in 2020, when confusion reigned everywhere, we’ve found that voters just want us to help them figure out how to cast their ballots.
And especially with three weeks of early voting, including weekend voting. You don’t go to your normal polling station then. And the machines have changed. And the electoral maps change.
And of course, the candidates, races and issues are in a constant state of flux. Helping citizens keep up with a dizzying Cobb political scene requires a good bit of purely informative reporting, and that’s how we cover politics and elections at East Cobb News.
So stay tuned for candidate interviews, early voting updates and finally, on May 19, primary election day, with real-time results at your finger tips.
And then for the general election, we’ll rinse and repeat.
Please reach out to us to explain how we give you East Cobb News. E-mail us at editor@eastcobbnews.com.
Related:
- East Cobb early voting guide to the 2026 primary elections
- 5 East Cobb voting locations could change for 2026 elections
- Ga. bill making most Cobb elections non-partisan passes
- Primaries loom in East Cobb commission school board races
- MORE: Visit the East Cobb News Politics & Elections Page
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