The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Aug. 19, 2025

A federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling August 14th that Louisiana’s legislature violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 when it racially gerrymandered state legislative districts, diluting the voting power of Black Louisiana voters. 

We’ve also been covering the racial gerrymandering of Louisiana’s Congressional districts.  Louisiana’s population is over 31% African American, but previously had only one majority-minority district.  A group of White voters, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court this coming Oct. 15, claims THEIR rights have been violated under the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.

The Aug. 14th ruling on the state’s house & senate districts from a three-judge 5th Circuit panel made very clear that there was ample evidence of a racial gerrymander.  It rejected the State’s argument that majority-minority districts were no longer necessary, and that VRA rules needed to be “refreshed” by Congress.  In upholding the lower court, the panel cited 60 years of legal precedent that made the legislature’s dilution of Black voting power illegal under the Voting Rights Act Section 2.  

Within hours of the decision though, another 5th Circuit judge issued a stay for the state legislative maps, until the pending congressional map case is heard before a less VRA-friendly U.S. Supreme Court.

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

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Louisiana Illuminator – Louisiana’s legislative maps violate Voting Rights Act, 5th Circuit rules
American Democracy Minute – In Puzzling Move, U.S. Supreme Court Orders More Arguments in Louisiana Redistricting Case Pitting VRA Against Equal Protections Clause
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (via Democracy Docket – Opinion in Nairne v. Landry on State Legislative Maps
KLFY  – Fifth Circuit pauses Louisiana legislative maps case
SCOTUS Blog – Supreme Court punts decision on Louisiana’s congressional map to next term
SCOTUS Blog – Supreme Court announces when it will hear oral argument in several important cases

Groups Taking Action:

ACLU, Legal Defense Fund, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

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

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

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

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

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Louisiana #RacialGerrymandering #USSupremeCourt #5thCircuit

The post Federal Court Rules Against Louisiana for Racial Gerrymandering – Again – This Time for State Legislative Districts appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for July 31, 2025

The federal 8th Circuit Court appears intent to block redistricting and voting rights cases by individuals and advocacy groups.  July 29th, the 8th Circuit issued another finding that individuals and groups can’t sue using the Voting Rights Act.

This is the third such negative ruling on the “private right of action” in two years, but for the moment, it still only applies to the seven states in the 8th Circuit:   Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. 

In a 2023 Arkansas case, an 8th Circuit panel ignored decades of settled law and found that the Arkansas Conference of the NAACP and the voters it represented did not have standing to bring a complaint under VRA Section 2.  Instead, it gave the U.S. Justice Department the sole authority to bring Voting Rights Act complaints.   Legal scholars deemed it a fringe ruling because historically, 90% of voting rights cases are brought by individuals and advocacy groups. 

The July 29th decision involved a challenge by an Arkansas group which assists new citizens with voting.  An Arkansas voter suppression law barred the group from helping more than six citizens, though the Voting Rights Act Section 208 allows such assistance.

If appealed, it’s unclear whether the U.S. Supreme Court will stand on precedent, or back the 8th Circuit’s crusade against voting rights.

We’ve linked to the decision at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute – (2023) Radical Federal Court of Appeals Ruling Deals Another Blow to Voters, Democracy Groups and the Voting Rights Act
American Democracy Minute – Eighth Circuit ‘Private Right of Action’ Ruling Temporarily Halted by Justice Kavanaugh in Case by North Dakota Tribal Nations
Brennan Center for Justice – The Newest Attack on the Voting Rights Act
Arkansas Advocate – US appeals court overturns ruling that said Arkansas law violated voting rights
8th Circuit Court of Appeals (via Democracy Docket)  – Arkansas United; L. Mireya Reith v. Arkansas

Groups Taking Action:

Arkansas United, Legal Defense Fund, ACLU, Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP, Arkansas Public Policy Panel

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

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

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

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

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

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Arkansas #PrivateRightofAction #VotingRights #VRA

The post Can Individuals or Advocacy Groups Sue in Voting Rights Cases?  The Magic 8th Circuit Ball Says ‘No’. appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for July 30, 2025

Last year, we reported that the Georgia State Board of Elections passed new rules aimed at disrupting or overturning the 2024 Presidential election.  One of those rules, allowing members of county election boards to do their own investigation before certifying an election, was just unanimously struck down.

In July and August 2024, the Georgia State Board of Elections laid the groundwork for obstructing or overturning the Presidential election. One element included granting individual members of county election boards the power to do a “reasonable inquiry” of election results prior to certifying, potentially sowing chaos and delaying the outcome.  

The effort by three State Election Board members, all outspoken Trump loyalists, was part of an apparent scheme in swing states using the spectre voting by noncitizens as a pretext.  The Georgia Supreme Court refused to hear a GOP appeal of a stay of the rules before the election.  President Donald Trump won the election in Georgia, so unsurprisingly, no objections to certification materialized.   

June 11th, the Georgia Supreme Court struck down four of the rules.  Another case contesting the “reasonable inquiry” rule was decided by the Georgia Appeals Court July 2nd.  The court unanimously concluded that election officials could voice concerns about an election to state authorities, but QUOTE “Have a mandatory duty to certify all election results,” UNQUOTE.

We’ve linked to more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute – (2024) Ninety Days Before the Election Georgia Launches ‘Voter Registration Cancellation Portal’ and Changes Rules on Certifying Elections
American Democracy Minute – (2024) Republicans Appeal to Georgia Supreme Court to Restore Fringe Georgia Election Board Rulings Struck Down by Lower Courts
State Court Report – (2024) Georgia Supreme Court Declines to Reinstate Controversial Election Rules
Georgia Court of Appeals –  Opinion in A25A0685. ADAMS v. FULTON COUNTY et al.
Georgia Pulic Radio – Georgia appeals court agrees: Local election officials must certify results

Groups Taking Action:
Protect Elections, ACLU GA,  Common Cause GA

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

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

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

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

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

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ElectionCertification #Georgia #ElectionSabotage #2024Election

The post Must County Boards Certify an Election?  Yes, Says Unanimous Georgia Appeals Court. appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for May 28, 2025

Georgia law allows unlimited challenges by voters to the eligibility of other citizens registering or voting. Before a hotly-contested U.S. Senate runoff elections in 2021, an activist group challenged over 364,000 voters.  The case is now before an appeals court. 

Remember the Georgia legislature’s notorious SB 202, prohibiting “line warming”, the giving out of food and water for voters forced to wait in long lines to vote?  That is only one of many barriers in the law targeting voters of color.   Another allows citizen activists unlimited challenges to the eligibility of other citizens to register and vote, often using inaccurate, unreliable or hearsay information.  

At issue are mass challenges to over 364,000 mostly Black and Hispanic voters by True the Vote, the Texas group which brought you the discredited “2000 Mules” conspiracy theory documentary.  Georgia’s Fair Fight Action sued, but a federal district court said voters testifying didn’t provide enough evidence to rise to a Voting Rights Act violation.  

In Fair Fight’s 11th Circuit appeal on May 13th, two judges in the three judge panel voiced concern over the legal foundation of the lower court’s decision.  One judge suggested that the intent of voter suppression was enough to be a violation of the VRA, even if citizens voted successfully, according to reporting by the Georgia Recorder.  Expect a decision in the coming weeks.
We have more on the case at  AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Legal Defense Fund – LDF’s Lawsuit Challenging Georgia’s Voter Suppression Law
Brennan Center for Justice – (2024) New Georgia Law Spurs Bogus Challenges to Voter Eligibility
U.S. District Court via Democracy Docket – 2020 Complaint by Fair Fight Action

Texas Tribune – (2022) She helped create the Big Lie. Records suggest she turned it into a big grift.
NBC News – Conservative activists find errors in software they hoped would root out voter fraud
Georgia Recorder – Federal court might revive Georgia lawsuit claiming mass challenges violate Voting Rights Act
Court House News – 11th Circuit looks for voter intimidation in 2020 election challenges by conservatives

Groups Taking Action:

Fair Fight Action, Legal Defense Fund, ACLU GA

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

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

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

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

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

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Georgia #VoterSuppression #SB202 #VoterChallenges

The post 2020 Mass Challenges of 364,000 Georgia Voters Under Scrutiny by Federal Appeals Court appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 12, 2025

Special Note from the Host:   You may notice some slurring of my speech during this and upcoming reports. May 9th, I suffered an attack of Bell’s Palsy which has affected the right side of my face and impacts my speech.  This is being treated, and recovery is expected with 2-3 weeks of steroid treatments.  Thanks for your patience and understanding.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision in Allen vs. Milligan in 2023, finding Alabama must provide an additional majority-Black Congressional District.  Defiant, the legislature created new maps – again with only one real majority-minority district. That action could return Alabama to “preclearance” status by the federal government. 

A federal appeals court promptly threw out the revised maps, and used maps from a special master instead.  Alabama challenged the court’s maps, which resulted in May 8th’s 531-page opinion.  

A three-judge U.S. District Court panel found that the legislature’s failure to follow the court’s directive was an intentional effort to discriminate against Black Alabamians.  It rejected the State’s assertions that a new district created with only 40% Black representation was done to avoid a conflict with communities of interest, when evidence suggested otherwise.

The court’s opinion noted, QUOTE, “Remedial proceedings lie ahead, both as to the map(s) Alabama will use for the rest of this census cycle and the Milligan Plaintiffs’ request for bail-in through 2032.” UNQUOTE.  ‘Bail-in” refers to a preclearance of Alabama’s voting districts by the U.S. Justice Department – rules which have not been enforced since the 2013 Shelby vs. Holder decision. 

Whether the Trump DOJ would actually enforce a future VRA Section 2 order it is yet to be seen.   

We’ve linked to more at  AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

History of Allen v. Milligan:
American Democracy Minute – (2023)  Bombshell SCOTUS Decision in Alabama Case Reaffirms VRA Section 2 and May Impact 2024 Elections
American Democracy Minute – (2023)  Federal Appeals Court Slams Alabama Legislature for Defying U.S. Supreme Court’s Milligan Ruling and Strikes Down Revised Maps
American Redistricting Project – Allen v. Milligan

Current Decision in Alabama’s Appeal in Allen v. Milligan
U.S. District Court – INJUNCTION AND ORDER FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

Alabama Reflector – Federal court: Alabama Legislature intentionally discriminated against Black voters in redistricting

Groups Taking Action:

NAACP Legal Defense Fund, ACLU

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

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

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

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

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

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Alabama #AllenvMilligan #RacialDiscrimination #VotingRightsAct #FairMaps

The post Fallout Continues from 2023 SCOTUS ‘Milligan’ Decision, as the Alabama Legislature Faces Possible Return of Preclearance Requirements appeared first on American Democracy Minute.