Author Archive

Derek Willis

Derek Willis is a news applications developer at ProPublica, focusing on politics and elections. He previously worked as a developer and reporter at The New York Times, a database editor at The Washington Post, and at the Center for Public Integrity and Congressional Quarterly. He began his journalism career at The Palm Beach Post. He is a co-founder of OpenElections, a project to collect and publish election results from all 50 states.
Finance

They Promised Quick and Easy PPP Loans. Often, They Only Delivered Hassle and Heartache

More than a million government-approved loans ended up being canceled, including some that would have gone to people who needed the loans and applied just as they were told.

  • By Derek Willis and Lydia DePillis, ProPublica
Management

Hundreds of PPP Loans Went to Fake Farms in Absurd Places

An online lending platform called Kabbage sent 378 pandemic loans worth $7 million to fake companies (mostly farms) with names like “Deely Nuts” and “Beefy King.”

  • By Lydia DePillis and Derek Willis, ProPublica
Management

Pennsylvania’s Rejection of 372,000 Ballot Applications Bewilders Voters and Strains Election Staff

Most rejected applications were deemed duplicates because voters had unwittingly checked a request box during the primary. The administrative nightmare highlights the difficulty of ramping up mail-in voting on the fly.

  • By Ryan McCarthy, Derek Willis and Jonathan Lai, ProPublica
Digital Government

Foreign Hackers Cripple Texas County’s Email System, Raising Election Security Concerns

The malware attack, which sent fake email replies to voters and businesses, spotlights an overlooked vulnerability in counties that don’t follow best practices for computer security.

  • By Derek Willis, Jeff Kao, Jessica Huseman and Jack Gillum, ProPublica