Disaster on the ballot

Hello, and welcome to the first issue of State of Emergency, a limited-run newsletter from Grist. My name is Zoya Teirstein, and I’ll be co-reporting this project with my colleague Jake Bittle. We’re glad you’re here.

Data shows that while some voters rank climate change among their top political priorities, it rarely factors into their decisions on Election Day. More than anything else, the health of the economy — and, perhaps more importantly, voters’ perceptions of it — typically dictates which candidates garner the most votes.