Election Law Archives | American Democracy Minute

DOJ Civil Filing Suggests a DOGE Employee May Have Created External Social Security Data Files and Had Contact with Election Denier Group

January 21, 2026January 21, 2026

New lawsuit filings allege a member of Elon Musk’s DOGE team may have created an external file containing personal Social Security information. That month, that employee and another were allegedly contacted by a “political advocacy group” attempting to find evidence of voter fraud.

Federal Panel Allows California’s Gerrymandered Counterpunch to Five More GOP Congressional Seats in Texas. Will a Politicized SCOTUS Block It?

January 15, 2026January 15, 2026

January 14th, a 9th Circuit federal court panel rejected a GOP claim that California’s new congressional districts were racially gerrymandered. The court said the Proposition 50 maps, created as a counterpunch to gerrymandering in Texas, were manipulated for partisan, not racial reasons.

Trump’s Executive Order on Elections Handed Another Defeat, as Federal Court Upholds a State’s Right to Set Ballot Deadlines, Choose Methods

January 12, 2026January 12, 2026

President Donald Trump’s executive order on elections took yet another hit January 9th, as a federal judge blocked portions of the order trying to dictate election and ballot deadlines, what voting systems can be used, and blocking federal funding for non-compliant states.

Motor-Voter Laws Have Helped Register Millions to Vote, But Accidentally Signed Up a Relative Small Number of Noncitizens. It’s Still a Big Success.

January 7, 2026January 7, 2026

As a solution to declining voter registration rates, 24 states and the District of Columbia implemented automatic voter registration, also known as AVR or “motor-voter.” Mistakes including the registration of noncitizens have occurred, but it’s also resulted in helping millions more Americans register to vote.

The Transcript of Former Jan. 6th Prosecutor Jack Smith’s Deposition to the House Judiciary Committee is Released. It’s an Interesting Read.

January 6, 2026January 6, 2026

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee released the transcript of former Special Prosecutor Jack Smith’s December 17th deposition defending his January 6th insurrection and Mar-a-Lago classified documents cases. The 255-page transcript released New Year’s eve shows Smith was convinced that President Donald Trump was responsible for the insurrection.