From boltsmag.org
How Supreme Court Elections Set the Stage for Coming Battles, from Voting to Abortion - Bolts
5 11
More than before, progressives working to protect people’s rights will need state supreme courts to be hospitable to lawsuits that are increasingly dead on arrival at the federal level.
#gop #democrats #newstodon #government #uspolitics #uselections #followfriday #newstodonfriday
on Thu, 5PM
From boltsmag.org
Trump Allies Gain Power Over Elections in Arizona's Largest County - Bolts
2 12
Justin Heap, an Arizona lawmaker who has pushed for severe voting restrictions and whose campaign was led by an indicted 2020 “fake elector” for Donald Trump, has won control of... Read More
on Tue, 5PM
From boltsmag.org
A Scandal-Plagued Sheriff Wins Another Term in North Texas - Bolts
2 8
Fort Worth advocates who have spent years protesting and demanding outside intervention over rising jail deaths say they’ll keep pursuing other paths for accountability.
on Nov 7
From boltsmag.org
Voters Dismiss Two of California's Leading Progressive Prosecutors - Bolts
1 10
Los Angeles' George Gascón and Oakland's Pamela Price sought to use their offices to redress the harms and disparities of the criminal legal system. Both suffered large defeats this week.
on Nov 8
From boltsmag.org
Arizonans Defeat Three GOP Measures That Would Have Restricted Their Voting Power - Bolts
1 9
The measures would have largely ended judicial elections and squashed future citizen-led initiatives, which progressives have used to pursue priorities like abortion access.
on Nov 7
From boltsmag.org
Ohioans Reject Redistricting Reform, Protecting GOP Gerrymanders - Bolts
1 6
Ohioans on Tuesday rejected Issue 1, a ballot measure that would have created a new independent redistricting commission and stripped elected politicians of their power to draw congressional and legislative... Read More
on Nov 6
From boltsmag.org
To Tackle Housing Crisis, These Organizers Want to First Change How City Hall Works - Bolts
1 2
Advocates in Bozeman, Montana are using a once-in-a-decade chance to reshape local government structure to create more equitable representation and, eventually, more affordable housing policy.
on Oct 9
From boltsmag.org
Orlando Prosecutor Ousted by Governor Wins Her Job Back - Bolts
0 6
Monique Worrell defeated the prosecutor Ron DeSantis appointed to replace her last year. In Tampa, however, another prosecutor removed by the governor lost his attempt at a comeback.
on Nov 6
From boltsmag.org
Your State-by-State Guide to the 2024 Supreme Court Elections - Bolts
0 0
The article was updated in September 2024 to reflect summer primaries, filing deadlines, and new developments in Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma, and Washington, and reflect new rulings on abortion... Read More
on Nov 4
From boltsmag.org
D.C. Residents Are Voting from Prison This Week - Bolts
0 1
The article is published through a collaboration between Bolts and States Newsroom. Earlier this month, about ten men detained in the Young Men Emerging unit in the Washington, D.C., jail... Read More
on Nov 1
From boltsmag.org
Oregon Tries Again to Restore Voting Rights in Prisons - Bolts
0 1
Enrique Rivera turned eighteen inside Oregon’s MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility during the 2000 presidential election. Rivera had never been very interested in politics, but his father had taught him to... Read More
on Nov 1
From boltsmag.org
“A Sliver of Light”: Maine's Top Election Official on Voting From Prison - Bolts
0 1
Matthew Dunlap, the secretary of state of Maine, lays out how prison voting works there. While presidential candidates and some state legislatures debate whether people should vote from prison, that... Read More
on Oct 30
From boltsmag.org
“A Year of Frustration”: How New Mexico Kept Denying People Voting Rights Despite Reform - Bolts
0 0
New Mexico restored the voting rights of thousands last year. But in reaching out to voters, organizers discovered a trail of wrongful denials by the state, some dating back decades.
on Oct 30
From boltsmag.org
Voters Oust Florida Judge Who Denied Teenager’s Abortion Request Because of Bad Grades - Bolts
0 0
Judge Jared Smith denied a Florida teenager’s request to access an abortion without notifying her parents in January because, he said, her grades were too low. The decision against the... Read More
on Oct 29
From boltsmag.org
Anti-Gerrymandering Groups Warn That Ohio’s Ballot Language Is Misleading Voters - Bolts
0 0
If “yes” on Issue 1 wins, it'd create an independent redistricting process. But some voters are saying the GOP-crafted ballot summary tricked them into opposing a reform they support.
on Oct 28
From boltsmag.org
The Next Front in the Fight Over Homelessness Is on the Arizona Ballot - Bolts
0 0
Conservatives want to force cities to either use police to force unhoused people into treatment, or pay up.
on Oct 25
From boltsmag.org
Downballot Stakes: Your Questions Answered - Bolts
0 0
Which chambers may flip? What if no one is running for an office? We respond to six more questions from Bolts readers about the 2024 elections.
on Oct 23
From boltsmag.org
Your Cheat Sheet to the 2024 General Elections - Bolts
0 1
Bolts guides you through more than 500 elections up and down the ballot, and why they matter.
on Oct 19
From boltsmag.org
The 33 Prosecutor and Sheriff Elections that Matter to Criminal Justice in November - Bolts
0 0
These offices have wide powers over the scope of incarceration and the conditions of detention, issues that are on the ballot from Tampa and Savannah to Phoenix.
on Oct 18
From boltsmag.org
Nebraskans Rush to Undo Harm, After Court Rebuffs GOP Bid to Block Thousands of Voters - Bolts
0 0
Tens of thousands of Nebraskans who’d been blocked for months from registering to vote regained ballot access on Wednesday, though with little time to act before the November election. The... Read More
on Oct 18
From boltsmag.org
North Texas Sheriff Running for Reelection Faces Grief and Anger Over Rising Jail Deaths - Bolts
0 0
Advocates and families of people who died in the Tarrant County jail have called for outside intervention and the resignation of Sheriff Bill Waybourn. He's on the ballot next month.
on Oct 18
From boltsmag.org
What’s on Your Local Ballots: Your Questions Answered - Bolts
0 0
Bolts responds to six reader questions about what’s happening downballot.
on Oct 17
From boltsmag.org
“Agony” and “Suffering” as Alabama Experiments with Nitrogen Executions - Bolts
0 0
Alabama said Alan Miller’s execution by lethal gas would be “more humane.” He writhed and gasped for air in his final moments.
on Oct 8
From boltsmag.org
In Illinois, a Private Prison Company's Long Trail of Deaths and High-Dollar Contracts - Bolts
0 0
This year, Illinois again picked Wexford Health Services for prison health care despite longstanding claims of neglect. A judge has since extended court monitoring of prisons.
on Oct 3
From boltsmag.org
0 0
Being on probation and parole is becoming a uniquely challenging situation for pregnant people in Georgia following the Supreme Court’s recent Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Last week, a... Read More
on Sep 30
From boltsmag.org
Arizona GOP Asks Voters to Nullify the Judicial Elections They’ll Be Voting On - Bolts
0 0
As civil rights groups zero in on Arizona courts as a key battleground, Republicans have placed a measure on the November ballot that would eliminate retention elections for judges, shielding... Read More
on Sep 27
From boltsmag.org
The California Ballot Measure That Could End Forced Prison Labor - Bolts
0 2
Prop 6 would amend California's constitution to ban “involuntary servitude” and prohibit state prisons from punishing incarcerated people for refusing a work assignment.
on Sep 26
From boltsmag.org
In Alabama, Prison Guards Accused of Violence and Misconduct Carry Out Secretive Executions - Bolts
0 2
As Alabama keeps details around the death penalty hidden, an investigation into its execution team raises questions about how incarcerated people are treated in their final moments.
on Sep 24
From boltsmag.org
Florida Law Strikes “Deathblow” to Outside Groups Trying to Register New Voters - Bolts
0 0
The GOP imposed new restrictions on voter registration organizations, and threatened them with steep fines for violations. Now these groups are scrambling to adapt.
on Sep 20
From boltsmag.org
“It’s Our Last Backstop”: How Voting Access in Montana Rides on Supreme Court Races - Bolts
0 0
Montana’s high court has unwound GOP priorities, including striking down voting restrictions this spring, but conservatives hope the November elections land them a friendlier court.
on Sep 19
From boltsmag.org
Your Guide to All 12 States Choosing Their Next Elections Chief in November - Bolts
0 1
Candidates are debating how easy to make mail voting and direct democracy. And in some states, election deniers are still bidding to take over the system.
on Sep 16
From boltsmag.org
Connecticut Ballot Measure Could Make Voting More Inclusive - Bolts
0 1
Voters will decide on a ballot initiative that would set the stage to let everyone vote by mail without an excuse—an option that could expand access for voters with disabilities.
on Sep 14
From boltsmag.org
Native Leaders Organize to Defend Alaska's Ranked Choice Voting System - Bolts
0 0
The Alaska Federation of Natives is hoping to defeat a November ballot measure that would repeal the state’s new election rules, adopted just four years ago.
on Sep 11
From boltsmag.org
The Public Defender Who Just Won Power Over Confirming Massachusetts Judges - Bolts
0 0
Mara Dolan ousted a 25-year incumbent to become the first public defender to join the Massachusetts governor’s council, which she calls the “gateway to the entire judicial branch.”
on Sep 9
From boltsmag.org
Rhode Island Pair, Once Dogged by Criminal Legal System, Elected to Statehouse - Bolts
0 0
About 15 years ago, as a young adult, Leonela Felix would apply for jobs from which she knew she’d get fired. Felix would lie by omission on applications, declining to... Read More
on Sep 7
From boltsmag.org
The Final Primaries of 2024 - Bolts
0 0
Democrats are settling major ideological battles in two states they control, Delaware and Rhode Island. And both parties will set up hotly contested general elections in New Hampshire.
on Sep 5
From boltsmag.org
Arizona Republicans Set Up a Ballot Measure to Squash Future Ballot Measures - Bolts
0 0
An initiative to protect abortion access in Arizona has gathered more signatures than it needs to make the November ballot. If it passes, it wouldn’t be the first time Arizonans... Read More
on Sep 5
From boltsmag.org
Minnesota's Voting Rights Act Preserves This Key Protection A Federal Court Has Erased - Bolts
0 0
Minnesota ensured that voters and private groups can sue over VRA violations, restoring a longstanding right that federal judges had gutted last fall.
on Sep 4
From boltsmag.org
0 0
Pamela Price entered the Alameda County DA’s office just last year bent on offering young people rehabilitation, not criminalization. But opponents immediately organized to stop her.
on Aug 30
From boltsmag.org
Nebraska Reverts to 19th-Century Voting Restrictions, Clouding Rights for Thousands - Bolts
0 0
Confusion and fear over voting rights intensifies in Nebraska after top GOP officials shutter registration for people with past felony convictions and attempt to reimpose lifetime disenfranchisement.
on Aug 29
From boltsmag.org
On Native Land, a New Push to Expand Voting Meets the Long Tail of State Violence - Bolts
0 0
Ongoing negotiations between tribal leaders and Colorado officials may chart a new path for registering Native voters automatically and for growing voter rolls nationwide. But the state is having to confront a legacy of mistrust to get there.
on Aug 28
From boltsmag.org
0 0
If you have a story pitch that would fit Bolts, we would love to hear from you.
on Aug 25
From boltsmag.org
What All State Constitutions Say About Abortion, and Why It Matters - Bolts
0 0
Editor’s note (Nov. 9, 2022): Referendums in California, Michigan, and Vermont changed the constitutional landscape in those states. See Bolts’s update. Just days before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade,... Read More
on Aug 24
From boltsmag.org
A Future for Susanville - Bolts
0 1
This article was produced as a collaboration between Bolts and Inquest. If you drive into Susanville, California from the southwest, one of the first things you will see coming... Read More
on Aug 23
From boltsmag.org
Six “America First” Candidates, Vying to Take Over Florida Elections, Advance to November - Bolts
0 0
Followers of Donald Trump are pursuing an unusually coordinated effort to capture local election offices in his home state of Florida. Still motivated by his false claims of widespread voter... Read More
on Aug 23
From boltsmag.org
Chicago Police Made Nearly 200,000 Secret Traffic Stops Last Year
0 0
Chicago police are required by law to report every traffic stop. But a new investigation found one-third of traffic stops went unreported.
on Aug 23
From boltsmag.org
Your Guide to the August 20 Primaries - Bolts
0 0
GOP factions wage war in Florida, Alaska, and Wyoming. And Ron DeSantis’ decision to remove multiple Democrats from local office plays out at the polls.
on Aug 23
From boltsmag.org
How Pregnancy is Policed: Your Questions Answered - Bolts
0 2
An expert on the criminalization of pregnancy responds to questions from Bolts readers on its long history, landmark cases, and new surveillance realities since Dobbs.
on Aug 15
From boltsmag.org
Tampa Voters Get Their Say Two Years After DeSantis Axed Their Democratic Prosecutor - Bolts
0 0
Andrew Warren is running to win back his old job as Tampa’s top prosecutor. Since the Democrat joined the race in April, he has released campaign videos, basked in endorsements,... Read More
on Aug 14
From boltsmag.org
“There's No Dignity in Giving Birth in Prison”: New Bills Would Improve Care Behind Bars - Bolts
0 0
California advocates are pushing legislation that would give pregnant people in prison access to social workers and more bonding time with newborns after giving birth.
on Aug 13