The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 24, 2025

US Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments March 24th in Louisiana v. Callais with Protections for Minority Voters Hanging in the Balance

The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments March 24th in Louisiana v. Callais, in one of the most important voting rights cases of the year.   Voting Rights Act rules allowing minority Americans to elect the candidate of their choice hang in the balance.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute - Majority-Minority Voting Districts Give Minority Voters a Fair Chance to Elect Proper Representation. The Equal Protection Clause is Now Being Used to Try to End Them
SCOTUS Blog - Effort to block second majority-Black district in Louisiana comes to Supreme Court
Brennan Center for Justice – Black Louisianians Fight in Court to Preserve Fair Voting Map
U.S. Supreme Court – BRIEF OF ALABAMA AND 12 OTHER STATES 
American University Law Review  – (2024) The Twists and Turns of A Map that Captured National Attention – Robinson v. Callais
American Redistricting Project - Louisiana v. Callais
U.S. Supreme Court - Live Stream for Oral Arguments March 24, 10 AM

Groups Taking Action:

Power Coalition for Equity and Justice,  ACLU of Louisiana

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Louisiana #VoterSuppression #RacialGerrymandering #VotingRightsAct #SCOTUS #USSupremeCourt

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 21, 2025

Washington State 2022 Audit of Rejected Mail Ballots Offers Valuable Insights for States Using Signature Verification
A Washington State audit of rejected 2020 mail-in ballots offers insight on whose ballots are more likely to be rejected, and recommends actions to reduce that number - over 37,000 in 2024.   

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Washington Secretary of State - 2024 Annual Report of Washington State Elections
Office of the Washington State Auditor - (2022)  Summary - Evaluating Washington's Ballot Rejection Rates
Office of the Washington State Auditor - (2022)   Audit -  Evaluating Washington’s Ballot Rejection Rates 
Brennan Center for Justice - (2020) Mail Ballot Security Features: A Primer
Civic Design - Voting by Mail: The Impact of Signature Identity Verification for Voters with Disabilities
National Conference of State Legislatures - How States Verify Voted Absentee/Mail Ballots

Groups Taking Action:

ACLU, LULAC, Vet Voice Foundation, The Washington Bus, El Centro de la Raza

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #SignatureVerification #Disenfranchisement #WashingtonState #BallotRejection

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 20, 2025

Washington Supreme Court Rules Signature Matching Can Be Used to Disqualify Ballots But Acknowledges It Impacts Too Many Voters
Washington State implemented their universal vote-by-mail system in 2013, and built in signature-matching for identity verification.  A March ruling by the state supreme court upholds that rule as constitutional because voters can cure discrepancies. 

Some podcasting platforms strip out our links.  To read our resources and see the whole script of today’s report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Office of the Washington State Auditor - (2022) Evaluating Washington's Ballot Rejection Rates
Democracy Docket - (2021)  Washington Signature Matching Challenge (LULAC)
Democracy Docket - Washington Supreme Court Upholds State’s Ballot Signature Verification System
Washington Supreme Court - Opinion in Vet Voice Foundation v. Hobbs
Washington State Standard - Washington Supreme Court upholds ballot signature verification system
Washington Secretary of State - Signature Verification & Compliance Tool Training Manual

Groups Taking Action:

LULAC, Vet Voice Foundation, The Washington Bus, El Centro de la Raza

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #StateofWashington #VotingRights #VotebyMail #SignatureVerification

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 19, 2025

Utah Legislature Passes 2029 End to Its Popular Universal Mail-In Voting System,  Replacing it With an Opt-In List & More ID
Utah adopted universal mail-in voting in 2013, with no widespread misuse in its 12 years.  March 6th, the GOP-dominated Utah legislature approved an amended bill to end it in 2029, despite 76% of state voters supporting it. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Utah News Dispatch - (2024) Deep red Utah wants to keep voting by mail
Utah News Dispatch - Utah Legislature approves bill to require voter ID, phase out automatic voting by mail by 2029
Salt Lake Tribune - Universal vote by mail is popular in Utah. GOP lawmakers continue to move away from it in a revised bill.
Associated Press - Deep-red Utah embraced voting by mail. Then came 2020.
Deseret News - (2024) New poll: Three-quarters of Utah voters confident in vote by mail system
Utah House of Representatives - Fiscal Note - HB 300 

Groups Taking Action:

Rural Utah Project, League of Women Votes UT

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Utah #VotebyMail  #HB300

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 18, 2025

How Quickly We Forget; If You Were an Irish Catholic Immigrant in the 1850s, the Xenophobic ‘Know Nothing’ Party Tried to Suppress Your Vote
How quickly we forget.  If you were an Irish Catholic immigrant in the1840s through the 1920s, many of your Protestant fellow Americans, some of whom joined the xenophobic Know Nothing Party, tried to suppress your vote.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Smithsonian Magazine - How the 19th-Century Know Nothing Party Reshaped American Politics
Villanova University - The Know Nothing Party
History Channel - When America Despised the Irish: The 19th Century’s Refugee Crisis
Historic Ipswich - 1854: Anti-immigrant Know Nothing Party Sweeps Massachusetts Elections
NPR - (2019) With Latest Nativist Rhetoric, Trump Takes America Back To Where It Came From
UC Berkeley News - How Trump’s immigration policies compare to those of America’s past

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #StPatricksDay #IrishAmericans #VoterSuppression

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 17, 2025

What Corruption? Trump Pardons Former KY State Senator for Campaign Finance Fraud, and May Be Preparing to Dismantle DOJ Public Integrity Section
On the heels of dropped charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams under suspicious circumstances, President Donald Trump has pardoned a former Kentucky state senator serving time for federal campaign finance fraud. Trump is also reportedly preparing to restructure and downsize DOJ’s public integrity units.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

U.S. Department of Justice - Former Tennessee State Senator and Co-Conspirator Sentenced for Campaign Finance Scheme
Tennessee Bar Association - U.S. Supreme Court Denies Kelsey’s Appeal of Campaign Fraud Conviction
New York Times - (Paywall) - Trump Pardons Ex-Tennessee State Senator Imprisoned for Campaign Fraud
New York Times - (Paywall) - Justice Dept. Moving to Downsize Units Investigating Fraud and Corruption
CNN - Donald Trump's criminal cases, in one place
Roll Call - Speech: Donald Trump Addresses the Staff at the Department of Justice - March 14, 2025
U.S. Department of Justice - Public Integrity Section

Groups Taking Action:

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington,  Public Citizen

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #PoliticalCorruption #USDOJ #DonaldTrump #PublicIntegrity

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 14, 2025

DOGE Cuts 300 Experts From CISA’s Election Security Team and U.S. Government Cybersecurity Support; Funding for State Cybersecurity Also Suspended
More Trump administration mass layoffs at CISA have experts raising concerns over U.S. readiness for cyber attacks on election infrastructure and federal agency networks.  An additional 100 inhouse and contracted cyber specialists were terminated in early March.

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute -  CISA Pauses All Election Security Programs for Full Review

The Register - CISA pen-tester says 100-strong red team binned after DOGE canceled contract
CISA - Statement on CISA's Red Team
Infosecurity Magazine - Trump Administration Shakes Up CISA with Staff and Funding Cuts
TechCrunch - DOGE axes CISA ‘red team’ staffers amid ongoing federal cuts

CBS News - Cybersecurity agency's top recruits decimated by DOGE cuts
Votebeat - U.S. agency has stopped supporting states on election security, official confirms
Center for Internet Security - "Due to the termination of funding by the Department of Homeland Security, the Center for Internet Security no longer supports the EI-ISAC."

Groups Taking Action:

Common Cause Election Disinformation, Protect Democracy, Election Worker Legal Defense Network,  Center for Internet Security/ISA, IssueOne/Don’t Mess With US.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #CISA #DOGE #ElectionIntegrity

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 13, 2025

Wait, What?  Nevada Law Protecting Election Workers Challenged in Federal Appeals Court
Nevada Senate Bill 403, made it a felony to harass or intimidate election workers.  In a federal appeals court March 7th, four right wing activists claimed that the law is too vague, and could allow THEM to be unfairly intimidated against participating in the election process.

Some podcasting platforms strip out our links.  To read our resources and see the whole script of today’s report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Gov. Joe Lombardo - (2023) Governor Joe Lombardo, Secretary of State Francisco V. Aguilar sign Election Worker Protection Bill into law
Nevada Legislature - Text & Docket of SB 406
States News - (2023) In face of threats, election workers vow: ‘You are not disrupting the democratic process’
U.S. Dept. of Justice - Man Charged for Threatening Nevada State Election Worker
Brennan Center for Justice - (2023) Poll of Election Officials Shows High Turnover Amid Safety Threats and Political Interference
Nevada Current - (2022) Threats of voter intimidation, extremist violence cloud midterms
U.S. District Court -  Decision in Challenge to SB 406
Reno Gazette Journal - 9th Circuit hears appeal over Nevada law to protect election workers from harassment

Groups Taking Action:

Issue One, Protect Democracy, Common Cause, Election Official Legal Defense Fund, Public Citizen

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ProtectPollWorkers #Nevada 

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 12, 2025

Will Louisiana v. Callais Be the Latest Blow Against the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by SCOTUS?
On the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, we’re examining how the landmark protections it moved forward in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are now being dismantled by the U.S. Supreme Court’s far right majority.  Louisiana v. Callais may be the next blow.  

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Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

U.S. Supreme Court - Docket for Louisiana v. Callais
All About Redistricting - Louisiana v. Callais
Brennan Center for Justice - Black Louisianians Fight in Court to Preserve Fair Voting Map
SCOTUSBlog - Milligan Decision:  Supreme Court upholds Section 2 of Voting Rights Act
Campaign Legal Center - Supreme Court’s Impact on Voting Rights Is a Threat to Democracy
Legal Defense Fund - Louisiana v. Callais FAQ

National Constitution Center - Supreme Court rules against universities in affirmative action decision

Groups Taking Action:

Legal Defense Fund, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice,  ACLU of Louisiana

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Louisiana #VotingRights #FairMaps #VRA

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 11, 2025

The Voting Rights Act of 1965, Born Out of ‘Bloody Sunday,’ Fights for Its Life in the Face of an Activist U.S. Supreme Court Majority
Five months after peaceful voting rights marchers were viciously attacked by their own government in Selma, Alabama, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed by President Lyndon Johnson.  Anti-voter legislatures are now challenging the VRA’s protections, even though that discrimination continues.

Some podcasting platforms strip out our links.  To read our resources and see the whole script of today’s report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Florida Phoenix - Tens of thousands commemorate 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma
Brennan Center for Justice - The Voting Rights Act Explained
NAACP - Voting Rights Act of 1965
Southern Poverty Law Center - 60 years after Bloody Sunday, foot soldiers address current threats to democracy
Brennan Center for Justice - (2023) Effects of Shelby County v. Holder on the Voting Rights Act
Campaign Legal Center - (2021) Supreme Court’s Decision Further Damages Voting Rights Act
League of Women Voters U.S. - (2024) Court Made Racial Gerrymandering Easier in Alexander v. South Carolina NAACP

Groups Taking Action:

ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VotingRightsAct #VRA #BloodySunday #Selma #VoterSuppression