American Democracy Minute A 90 second radio news report & podcast on U.S. democracy issues %

A DC Federal Court Says DOJ’s Quixotic Quest for Private Voter Data was Illegal, Blocks Further Data Collection Nationwide. An Appeal is Likely.

October 12, 2026October 12, 2026

The Trump Department of Justice is now zero for 26 in lawsuits attempting to compel states to turn over voter data for the SAVE system database. But 18 states complied, and a DC federal court ruled October 9th that how DOJ used that data was illegal. For the moment, DOJ’s data collection is blocked nationwide.

With Less Than a Month Before the Election, NH Students Still Don’t Know Whether They Can Use Their Student Photo IDs to Register and Vote

October 11, 2026October 11, 2026

Since 2012, voting-eligible New Hampshire students have been able to use an official high school or college photo ID to vote, with few issues. In June, the legislature eliminated school-issued photo IDs to obtain a ballot, but that law has been partially blocked in federal court. The state has appealed.

Chilling New FOIA-Obtained Documents Show Multi-State Investigation of Voter Registration Organizations by ICE and Other Agencies

October 8, 2026October 8, 2026

Documents released Oct. 7th by election law group Democracy Forward show a chilling campaign by ICE and other federal agencies to investigate voter registration organizations, seeking evidence of noncitizen voting.

President Trump Now Says the Government Won’t Pay for His Vanity Ads, His SuperPAC Will. Coordinating Spending with His PAC is Illegal, Too.

October 7, 2026October 7, 2026

After defending the multi-million dollar vanity television advertising touting his conservative accomplishments, President Donald Trump now says his super PAC, not the U.S. Government, will pay for the ads. That’s illegal, too, because coordinating with a super PAC violates campaign finance rules.

Election Day Voter Registration is Good and Helps People Vote. But for Most Voters, Registering Before the Election is Better.

October 6, 2026October 6, 2026

Procrastinators, take note. If you haven’t yet registered to vote, registering earlier, rather than later, has advantages. Election day registration is a critical last resort, but also makes registration problems harder to fix.