The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for April 30, 2025
The Trump administration’s U.S. Department of Justice reportedly reassigned top managers of the Voting Section, and instructed remaining attorneys to drop pending cases. This includes voting rights and redistricting cases under the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
April 28th, the Guardian reported that the U.S. Department of Justice has stopped working on voting rights cases, and has transferred Tamar Hagler, the head of the DOJ’s Voting section, five other managers and one staff attorney to another department.
In March, Attorney General Pam Bondi withdrew a Biden DOJ brief supporting a second majority minority Congressional district in Louisiana. It asked for a dismissal of a Texas redistricting case where the votes of Black and Hispanic voters were gerrymandered to dilute their power. Then March 31st, Bondi directed DOJ to drop its voting rights case against Georgia’s restrictive SB 202, targeting Black voter turnout. As of April 28th, all remaining DOJ voting rights cases have been dropped or suspended.
With a conservative Supreme Court skeptical of protections for minority voters, recent erosion of the Voting Rights Act, diminishing checks on partisan and racial gerrymandering, no campaign finance enforcement by the FEC, and now no enforcement by DOJ, Americans’ right to vote in a free and fair election may be in jeopardy.
We’ve linked to more reporting at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice – Voting Section
Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice – Voting Section Litigation
NBC News – Pam Bondi reshapes the DOJ around Trump’s priorities
The Guardian – Trump’s justice department appointees remove leadership of voting unit
NPR – Under Trump, the Justice Department is stepping away from some voting rights cases
Democracy Docket – Trump’s DOJ Drops Lawsuit Against Georgia’s Voter Suppression Bill
Groups Taking Action:
Legal Defense Fund, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, ACLU
Register or Check Your Voter Registration:
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
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