The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast
The American Democracy Minute covers timely democracy news, including redistricting and gerrymandering, voting rights, election law, election subversion, civic engagement, democracy basics, state legislature bills, democracy cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and state courts, and much more. Reports are syndicated nationally by the Pacifica Radio Network, and available in podcast on your favorite podcast platform, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Audible, Podomatic, or you can ask your smart speaker to “Play the American Democracy Minute Podcast.”
- Pro-Voter Groups Again Challenge ‘Least Change” Congressional Districts in Wisconsin Supreme Court, After Outcome of April’s $100M Court Race
- The Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause was Intended to Stop Bribery and Corruption. Recently, Not So Much.
- Governor Signs Colorado Voting Rights Act in Effort to Guarantee Access and Voting Power for Native, Hispanic, Black and LGBTQ Voters
- Cockpit Lights Flash Emoluments Clause Danger, as Qatar Government Apparently Gifts $400M 747 to Trump for Air Force One
- Fallout Continues from 2023 SCOTUS ‘Milligan’ Decision, as the Alabama Legislature Faces Possible Return of Preclearance Requirements
- CO Election Official Tina Peters Got 9 Years for Tampering with Election Machines to Prove the Big Lie. Trump is Trying to Set Her Free.
- Federal Court Settles North Carolina Supreme Court Race, Heading Off a Dangerous Precedent of Retroactively Questioning Election Rules
- Tennessee Enacts Voting Rights Restoration for Citizens Returning from Incarceration for Common Felonies
- President Trump’s Crypto Conflicts Compound as United Arab Emirates Investment Fund Uses $2B in Trump-Backed Cryptocurrency for Deal
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Warns Judges, ‘The threats and harassment are attacks on our democracy – on our system of government’
- Updates from North Carolina: Fed Court Stays Retroactive Registration Cures; State Court Upholds Shifting Control of Elections Board
- What is a ‘Baby FARA’ and Why are States Enacting It?
- US DOJ Removes Senior Managers from Voting Section, Abandons Current Cases, in Further Erosion of Voting Rights Protections
- The Federal Election Commission is Reportedly Now Out of Commission with the Departure of Another Member. It’s Unlikely to Get Fixed Soon.
- Federal Judge Blocks Proof of Citizenship Provisions in Trump Executive Order on Elections
- Trump ‘Meme Coin’ Cryptocurrency Scheme Selling Access to the President Raises Alarms for Emolument Clause Violations
- Michigan Considers Proof of Citizenship Requirements While Awaiting Outcome of the SAVE Act Vote and Challenge to Trump’s Exec. Order
- 61 Individual and Corporate Donors Gave $1M or More to Trump’s Inaugural. Where did the $239M Go? We’ll Likely Never Know.
- Chilling Trump Order Seeks Retribution Against Former CISA Head Who Pushed Back Against Trump’s Unfounded Claims of 2020 Fraud
- Former Congressman and Trump Nominee for IRS Commissioner Under Scrutiny for Campaign Finances and Ties to Alleged Tax Credit Scheme
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Democracy Headlines from Delaware, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire
- State of Ohio Embroiled in Another Fight Over Manipulating Citizen Ballot Initiatives It Doesn’t Like. Now the U.S. Supreme Court is Involved.
- Partisan Saga of North Carolina’s 2024 Supreme Court Race Now Returns to Federal Court. 5,000 Military & Overseas Ballots at Risk of Invalidation
- Citizen Ballot Initiatives Help Voters Bypass Extreme Legislatures. But Expect More Attempts to Block Those Initiatives in 2025
- Bill Which Could Disenfranchise Millions, the SAVE Act, Passes the U.S. House; Unlikely to Pass the Senate
- Pro-Voter Groups and 19 States Challenge Trump Executive Order on Voting Rules as Unconstitutional and Likely to Disenfranchise Millions
- Wisconsin Voters Enshrine Voter ID in Their Constitution. Voter ID is Popular with Voters, But Comes with Consequences
- Colorado Senate Advances State Voting Rights Act, As Federal VRA is Under Threat by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Conservative Majority
- ‘Millions’ of April 5th ‘Hands Off’ Protesters in 1,300 Locations and All 50 States Oppose Trump Policies & Cuts
- Good Democracy News for a Change: Federal Court Directs Pennsylvania to Count Undated Mail-in Ballots in Ongoing Partisan Dispute
- Secretaries of State, Pro-Voter Groups and Election Officials Submit Letters Opposing the SAVE Act, Likely to Disenfranchise Millions of Americans in Effort to Block Noncitizens
- $76 Million was Spent in the Wisconsin Supreme Court Race. Will All That Money Translate Into Fairer Congressional Voting Districts?
- Georgia Prepares to Purge a Half Million Voters – 6% of Its Voter Rolls. Even if You Haven’t Moved, You Can Be Purged Just For Not Voting.
- Updates: Trump 3rd Term, Musk WI Lottery Not Blocked, NC Supreme Court Candidate Urged to Drop Challenge, UT Gov Signs End to Universal Mail Ballots
- Wisconsin AG Appeals to State Supreme Court to Block Elon Musk’s Million Dollar Lottery for WI GOP Voters – Oops – Make that ‘Spokesmen’
- New Trump Executive Order Attempts to Bypass Congress & States to Require Proof of Citizenship Documents & Mandate Election Deadlines
- Rebroadcast: ND Native American Nation Prevails in Protecting Majority-Minority Voting Districts. A Victory for Minority Voters, But GOP Efforts to Neutralize the VRA Continue
- Elon Musk Data Collection Scheme in Support of WI Supreme Court Candidate Offers $100 Bounty to Refer Petition Signers
- Iowa’s Secretary of State Challenged 2,176 Suspected Noncitizen Voters in 2024. Only 35 Noncitizens Actually Voted.
- US Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments March 24th in Louisiana v. Callais with Protections for Minority Voters Hanging in the Balance
- Washington State 2022 Audit of Rejected Mail Ballots Offers Valuable Insights for States Using Signature Verification
- Washington Supreme Court Rules Signature Matching Can Be Used to Disqualify Ballots But Acknowledges It Impacts Too Many Voters
- Utah Legislature Passes 2029 End to Its Popular Universal Mail-In Voting System, Replacing it With an Opt-In List & More ID
- If You Were an Irish Catholic Immigrant in the 1850s, the Xenophobic ‘Know Nothing’ Party Tried to Suppress Your Vote
- What Corruption? Trump Pardons Former KY State Senator for Campaign Finance Fraud, and May Be Preparing to Dismantle DOJ Public Integrity Section
- DOGE Cuts 300 Experts From CISA’s Election Security Team and U.S. Agency Cybersecurity; Funding for State Cybersecurity Also Suspended
- Wait, What? Nevada Law Protecting Election Workers Challenged in Federal Appeals Court
- Will Louisiana v. Callais Be the Latest Blow Against the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by SCOTUS?
- 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
- They Marched for Voting Rights and Were Beaten by Their Government. On the 60th Anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday’ the Struggle Continues
- North Carolina: Former Election Directors Weigh In On Unresolved Supreme Court Race; Former Justice Argues Partisan Gerrymandering Akin to ‘Stuffing the Ballot Box’
- Would the Founding Fathers Have Embraced Having Unfettered Power for the Presidency? Not Likely.
- The Deadline was Feb. 19 and the Trump Transition Team Still Hasn’t Disclosed Its Transition Donors
- Like the FEC, the FCC Could Get Taken Over by Partisan Actors Under Executive Order 14215, Potentially Tilting the Election Playing Field
- Executive Order Asserting Presidential Authority Over Independent Agencies Could Put Federal Election Oversight Under Partisan Control
- NH’s Voter Registration Proof-of-Citizenship Law Began January 1st; Similar Citizenship Bills are Pending in 20 Other States
- Town Officials in Tiny PA Town Arraigned After Investigators Unravel Rare Case of Alleged Voter Fraud
- VA Legislature Sends Several Pro-Voter Bills to Gov. Youngkin, and a Constitutional Amendment Restoring Returning Citizen Rights to Voters
- Appeals Continue in 2024 NC Supreme Court Race Challenge; Elon Musk PAC Dumping Millions Into 2025 WI Supreme Court Race
- How Could a Trump Takeover of the U.S. Postal Service Affect Mail-In Voting?
- A Glimmer of Hope in Mississippi: State Senate Advances Early Voting Bill; House Moves Forward Signature Mismatch Curing & Other Bills
- Arizona Governor Vetoes Bill Restricting Mail-In Voting, But House Republicans Attempt to Bypass It With Constitutional Amendment
- Just 2 Weeks Before Bribery and Corruption Charges are Dropped Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams, Former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez Gets 11 Years for Similar Charges
- Arizona’s DMV Error May Force Nearly 200,000 Already Registered Voters to Bring In Citizenship Documents – or Be Dropped
- CISA Pauses All Election Security Programs for Full Review. Hint: It’s Not About Election Integrity, It’s Reprisal for Telling the Truth.
- State Updates on Bills Shortening Early Voting and Changing Mail-in Ballot Requirements, and the Contested NC Supreme Court Race Lawsuit
- Voter Suppression Bills Aimed at College Students Pushed (Again) by the NH Legislature
- Trump Fires Office of Government Ethics Chief Monday; Hours Later, DOJ Drops Campaign Corruption Charges Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams
- Trump Attempts to Fire Federal Election Commission Chair ‘Effective Immediately.’ It’s Not Legal.
- In WI, State Supreme Court Candidate’s Image Altered by AI in Opponent’s Attack Ad; Election Commission Administrator Targeted by Conspiracy Theorists Allowed to Stay
- Nebraska & New Hampshire Wrestle with “Winner Take All” and “Winner by District” Presidential Electoral Vote Systems
- Will Utah’s Voter-Approved Independent Redistricting Commission and Fair Maps Prevail Over the Legislature’s Attempt to Rig Them?
- Could Trump Run for a Third Term? The 22nd Amendment Prohibits it, But a TN Congressman Wants to Repeal It. And There are Loopholes.
- Elon Musk Spent Over a Quarter Billion Dollars in the 2024 Election – More Than Expected. Millions More Came After the Election
- The SAVE Act Could Disenfranchise Millions of Voters. It’s Been Fast Tracked in Congress.
- Federal Agency CISA Helps States Harden Election Systems. It’s Now Under Attack by Its Own Administration
- ‘Let America Vote Act’ in Congress Would Encourage States to Allow Unaffiliated Voters to Vote in Primaries
- 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
- What is the Equal Protections Clause and How Have Interpretations of It Changed?
- Trump’s DOJ Reverses Position on Pending Voting Rights Act Case, Signaling Further Attacks on Fair Voting Districts for Minority Voters
- Updates on Two Consequential State Supreme Court Cases in North Carolina and Pennsylvania
- While We Were Distracted with DC Discord, States Advance New Voting Regulations
- Executive Orders Can Also Terminate Previous Orders; One of Trump’s Day-1 Orders Ended a Federal Policy to Promote Voting
- What is an Executive Order? What are the Limits of Its Power? Why Do Presidents Use Them?
- For MLK Day: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “March on Ballot Boxes” Speech in South Carolina, May 9, 1966
- ND Native American Nation Prevails in Protecting Majority-Minority Voting Districts. A Victory for Minority Voters, But GOP Efforts to Neutralize the VRA Continue
- What are the Rules as to How Contributions to Inaugural Committee Funds Are Spent? There Aren’t Any.
- Donations to Trump’s Inauguration May Reach $200M, Funding the Parade, Inaugural Balls . . . and Pay-to-Play Influence
- An Estimated $15.9 Billion was Spent in the 2024 Election Cycle, and 50% of It Came from the Top 1% of Special Interest Donors
- SAVE Act Reintroduced in U.S. House and Senate, Requiring IDs and Proof of Citizenship for In-Person and Mail-In Voting. Millions of Eligible Voters Could Be Disenfranchised.
- After 2 Years of Delays, Automatic Voter Registration is Finally Coming to New York
- GOP-Controlled NH Legislature Proposes Proportional Presidential Electoral Votes. Will Gerrymandered Congressional Districts Follow?
- Unlike the 2020 Election, 2024’s Election Was Certified without Violence, Sham Audits or Criminal Conspiracies. How Come?
- For the First Time in American History, Alabama Has 2 Black Members Congress, Thanks to the Protections of the VRA. It Wasn’t Easy.
- Assault on America’s Democratic Process: The January 6th, 2021 Insurrection by the Numbers
- Federal Court of Appeals Throws Out GOP Legislator Challenge to Michigan’s Prop 2 Pro-Voter Reforms. But Sleep with the Light On.
- Another Tactic to Undermine Citizen Ballot Initiatives in Arizona: Slap Signature Collectors with a Subpoena
- 83-Year-Old Rick Hubbard Finishes a 3,100-Mile Walk to Washington, DC on January 3rd to Deliver This Message to the New Congress: “Do Your Job”
- The ‘A Crisis of Confidence’ Speech by President Jimmy Carter, July 15, 1979
- What’s Ahead for 2025: VRA Majority Minority Voting Districts at Risk in Louisiana Redistricting Case at the U.S. Supreme Court
