AP probe of vote-fraud claims wins Public Service prize in Sigma Delta Chi Awards; weekly papers can publish it

Screenshot of interactive graphic by The Associated Press showing analysis of votes in six states

The Associated Press's comprehensive investigation of vote-fraud claims in the six battleground states that decided the 2020 presidential election won the top award for Public Service Journalism in the 2021 Sigma Delta Chi Awards of the Society of Professional Journalists.

At the request of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, publisher of The Rural Blog, AP is allowing non-member weekly newspapers to publish the mainbar and other stories, which are still timely, given the congressional hearings into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Other SDX Public Service awards went to Maine Public Radio for its reports on health-care mistreatment in the state prison and to KETK of Tyler, Texas, for "A Parent's Guide to Mental Health."