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

Does the Missouri Constitution Allow Ballot Initiatives to Change Voting Districts? Updates on Epic Battle Over Racially Gerrymandered KC Map

August 23, 2026August 23, 2026

We’re back in Missouri, where a Cole county circuit judge ruled August 19th that a proposed November citizen ballot initiative, stonewalled by the secretary of state, could not constitutionally change voting districts. The Missouri Supreme Court will hear an appeal September 2nd.

Election Officials are Worried About Midterm Election Interference, Replacing Lost Federal Funding, and Their Safety & Security, Says Brennan Center Poll

August 20, 2026August 20, 2026

An annual poll of election officials updated by the Brennan Center for Justice April 13th shows half of those surveyed worry about election interference by political leaders, and 75% say cuts in federal election funding have not been replaced by local or state governments.

‘Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating,’ He Says, But President Trump Voted Again by Mail, This Time in the 2026 Florida Primary Election

August 19, 2026August 19, 2026

President Trump again recently condemned mail-in voting, used by an estimated 30% of Americans in the 2024 election, as “inherently corrupt.” Yet the president voted by mail August 13th in Florida’s state primary, the fifth time since 2017 he’s used mail-in voting.

Kansas Voters Reject Constitutional Amendment to Elect the State Supreme Court; North Carolina Governor Vetoes Anti-Voter Bill

August 18, 2026August 18, 2026

We have updates from Kansas and North Carolina today. August 4th, Kansas voters rejected a measure to elect state supreme court justices, and August 17th, North Carolina’s governor vetoed an anti-voter bill which would have shortened early primary voting among other restrictions.

Updates on Challenge to Missouri SOS Invalidation of Redistricting Ballot Measure, and DOJ Loses Two More State Voter Data Cases

August 17, 2026August 17, 2026

A Missouri district court will hear a case September 8th challenging the state’s invalidation of a citizen ballot initiative rolling back a racially gerrymandered Kansas City congressional district. And the U.S. Justice Department lost two more cases demanding state voter data in Nevada and Michigan.