Facts on the Ground

If you want to understand what’s actually happening in America right now on any number of thorny topics, a presidential debate — and most moments of a presidential campaign — might be just about the worst place to start.

Debates are notorious as a place for candidates to misrepresent, spin, and flat-out lie to cast their record and their plans in the best light. And fact-checking, while valuable, doesn’t always give a complete picture either.

As the presidential election gets underway in earnest, Vox’s Facts on the Ground project is here to help you understand the state of the country on some of the most contested policy areas, including the economy, crime, abortion, and immigration. Amid the noise, our reporters are here to ground you with expertise and perspective.

—Libby Nelson, editorial director for policy, politics, and ideas

Americans are confronting a whole new reality of patchwork abortion access after the Dobbs decision.

by Nicole Narea

Crime is actually falling. Here are three theories on why that doesn’t seem to reassure voters.

by Abdallah Fayyad

Younger workers have done well under Biden. Fast food fanatics have not.

by Eric Levitz

The border trends during Biden’s presidency, and how his policies played into them, explained.

by Andrew Prokop