The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for July 24, 2026

The U.S. House passed the SAVE America Act again, this time with language to attach it to a normally bipartisan defense appropriations bill before it’s sent to the Senate. It’s a last-ditch effort to pass the bill.

July 5th, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would advance the suppressive Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, QUOTE, “One more time,” using an obscure House rule called “MIRVing”.  July 22nd the House passed the bill, which would end universal mail voting in eight states and DC, mandate voter ID narrow its options, and mandate documentary proof of citizenship at registration.  MIRVing inserts language which, in this case, packages the SAVE America Act with the ordinarily bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act to make it harder to vote down in the Senate.

Attempts by far-right legislators to attach the SAVE Act to housing and national security bills have already failed, in spite of President Trump’s haranguing.  Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has said repeatedly the SAVE Act doesn’t have the 60 votes to end the filibuster, told the New York Post that it could be included in the budget reconciliation process, which requires only a simple majority vote.  

We have  more analysis on this anti-voter bill and links to other reporting at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Washington Examiner – Johnson: House will pass SAVE America Act ‘one more time’ by attaching it to reconciliation bill
The Hill – House narrowly passes massive annual defense policy bill
FactCheck.org – Competing Claims on SAVE America Act Disenfranchising Voters
Campaign Legal Center – What You Need to Know About the SAVE America Act
National Conference of State Legislatures – States With Mostly Mail Elections
TIME – House Passes $1.15 Trillion Defense Spending Bill

Related ADM Reports:

American Democracy Minute – With the SAVE America Act Stalling in Congress, Look for Renewed Efforts to Pass Similar Restrictions in State Legislatures

American Democracy Minute – As Threatened, Trump Holds Up Passage of Long-Awaited Bipartisan Housing Bill, Demanding the Senate Pass the Restrictive SAVE America Act

Groups Taking Action:

Declaration for America Democracy, Bipartisan Policy Center, League of United Latin American Citizens

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #SAVEAmericaAct #VoterSuppression  #USSenate

The post U.S. House Passes the SAVE America Act and Will Combine It With a Defense Appropriations Bill to Make it Harder to Vote Down in the Senate appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for July 23, 2026

Yet another “election integrity” crusader, MyPillow CEO and candidate for Minnesota governor, Mike Lindell, is in hot water.  The 2020 election skeptic doesn’t appear to be a registered voter in Minnesota.

Lindell is an outspoken election conspiracy theorist who claimed that manipulation of Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic electronic ballot tabulators resulted in President Donald Trump’s loss in 2020.  Dominion, now Liberty Vote, settled a $1.3 Billion dollar defamation suit against Lindell June 25th for an undisclosed sum.  FOX News and others settled suits with Dominion, having aired Lindell’s claims. 

After a marriage in 2024, Lindell moved to, and registered to vote in, the state of Texas.  He moved back in 2025 to be eligible to run for Minnesota governor  in 2026, but the Minneapolis Star Tribune confirmed with the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office that Lindell didn’t have an active voter registration record.  

According to the secretary of state’s website, to run for governor one must be 25 years old, a resident for one year, and be ELIGIBLE to vote in Minnesota. It does not specify that you must be a registered voter.   Since the Star-Tribune story, Lindell confirmed to The Independent that he was not registered, and said, QUOTE “You can register the same day you vote in Minnesota.”

We’ve linked to our past reports on Lindell at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Minneapolis Star Tribune (Paywall) – Mike Lindell, Trump’s pick for governor, isn’t registered to vote in Minnesota
The Independent – MyPillow’s Mike Lindell is running for governor of Minnesota. He’s not even registered to vote for himself
Talking Points Memo – Mike Lindell Is Not Registered to Vote in Minnesota. He Claims His Temp ID Registers Him.
Minnesota Reformer – The MyPillow guy is running for Minnesota governor 

Minnesota Secretary of State – Filing for Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Related ADM Reports:

American Democracy Minute – (2025)  More Accountability for Trump ‘Big Lie’ Allies as Voting Tech Companies Prevail Over Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell 
American Democracy Minute – Civil Trial Against My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell Starts June 9 for Allegedly Defaming Former Dominion Voting Systems Exec

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Subscribe for FREE at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most podcasting platforms.

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX 

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #MikeLindell #2020Election #Minnesota #2026Midterms #VoterRegistration

The post Another Crusading ‘Election Integrity’ Politician is in Hot Water, This Time for Not Being a Registered Voter: MyPillow CEO & MN Gubernatorial Candidate, Mike Lindell appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for July 22, 2026

President Trump’s July 16th speech included elements of an activist-proposed  national security executive order which surfaced in March.   New reporting suggests representatives of election denier groups, including Election Integrity Network’s Cleta Mitchell, were briefed by the White House before the speech.

ProPublica reported in March about a DC meeting which convened 2020 activists to strategize about actions in the 2026 midterms.  Allegedly discussed was a 17-page activist-proposed executive order, suggesting that evidence of foreign interference could be a pretext to declare a national emergency and federalize U.S. election administration. 

The proposed order states, “There is now clear and compelling evidence from court cases and forensic analysis that these threats have not been mitigated but instead have intensified,” UNQUOTE. It goes on to cite debunked 2020 conspiracy theories involving ballot tabulators compromised by foreign actors and fraudulent voting by domestic accomplices –  a striking similarity to elements of the President’s speech. 

MSNow reported July 16th that activist Cleta Mitchell facilitated a White House briefing for election integrity groups prior to Trump’s speech, including True the Vote and PA Fair Elections. Contents of the briefing were not disclosed.   

Election law scholars say such an order federalizing elections under the National Emergencies Act would be unconstitutional under the Elections Clause, even in an emergency.  We’ve linked the activists’ proposal  at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Roll Call –Transcript of President Donald Trump’s July 16, 2026 Speech on Election Security
The White House – Declassified documents on which President Trump based his accusations.
FactCheck.org – FactChecking Trump’s Election Security Speech
ProPublica – Trump Officials Attended a Summit of Election Deniers Who Want the President to Take Over the Midterms

Democracy Docket – Read a draft of the emergency executive order for Trump to take control of elections   (bottom of the page)
Washington Post – Trump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergency
Center for American Progress – The Trump Administration Has No Legal Authority To Invoke National Security and Take Over Elections

Related ADM Reports:

American Democracy Minute – Citing Select Declassified Documents President Trump Blames 2020 Loss on China,  Says ‘Deep State’ Withheld Intelligence from Him

American Democracy Minute – Meeting of 2020 Trump Election Operatives Considers 2026 Litigation Strategies and Declaring a National Emergency to Interfere with the Midterms

Groups Taking Action:

Campaign Legal Center, League of Women Voters, FairVote

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Subscribe for FREE at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most podcasting platforms.

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #DonaldTrump #2020Election #TrumpJuly16Speech #CletaMichell
#StoptheSteal #ElectionInterference #2026Midterms  

The post Trump’s July 16th Election Security Speech Appears to Have Elements of Activist-Proposed National Emergency Order Which Surfaced in March appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for July 21, 2026

A U.S. district court of appeals has allowed President Donald Trump’s executive order, directing the U.S. Postal Service to verify the citizenship of mail-in voters, to move forward.  But other active cases argue it violates the Constitution.

The NAACP filed the challenge as a violation of a 2020 decision against the USPS for ballot-delivery slowdowns during the pandemic. The DC appeals panel granted a stay of the lower court’s decision which halted the president’s directive to have the USPS create “state citizenship lists,” then verify the eligibility of voters receiving and sending mail-in ballots.   

The court said the NAACP’s complaint was QUOTE, “neither constitutionally nor prudentially ripe for review.” In other words, no harm had yet occurred, and the appeals panel allowed the Postal Service’s preparations to continue for the November election.

More challenges are coming.   A Massachusetts federal district court ruled in June that “no law enacted by Congress delegates authority to control mail-in voting to USPS,” UNQUOTE.   Under the Elections Clause, administration of elections is granted to the states and Congress, not the executive branch.  Another case by the League of Women Voters argued, and the district court agreed, that the data to be used for the state citizenship lists violates federal privacy statutes.  

We have more on the cases at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

The White House – ENSURING CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION AND INTEGRITY IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS
U.S. Postal Service via The Federal Register – Proposal to Comply President Trump’s Executive Order: POSTAL SERVICE 39 CFR Part 111 Ballot Mail for Federal Elections
U.S. District Court of Appeals for DC (via Democracy Docket) – Stay in NAACP v. DeJoy
The Hill – Appeals court narrows setback for Trump USPS mail-in ballot policy
Brennan Center for Justice – Analyzing the President’s Executive Order on Mail Voting

Related ADM Reports:

American Democracy Minute – Federal Court Blocks Trump Administration from Implementing Key Parts of Executive Order on Elections as Unconstitutional Overreach

American Democracy Minute – Federal District Court Rules Use of Social Security and Other Federal Data for SAVE Database Violates Multiple Federal Privacy Statutes

Groups Taking Action:

Legal Defense Fund, League of Women Voters

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Subscribe for FREE at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most podcasting platforms.

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

 #Democracy #DemocracyNews #TrumpExecutiveOrders #VoterSuppression #MailInVoting #USPS #MailBallots 

The post U.S. Appeals Court Allows the USPS Mail-In Voter Verification Plan to Proceed, But Other Challenges to Trump’s Executive Order are Still Active appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The post Citing Select Declassified Documents President Trump Blames 2020 Loss on China,  Says ‘Deep State’ Withheld Intelligence from Him appeared first on American Democracy Minute.