The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 16, 2025

North Carolina already has an “F” grade from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project for having extremely uncompetitive voting districts.  Nonetheless, its state house speaker announced Oct. 13th the legislature would gerrymander another GOP congressional seat before the 2026 midterms. It’s the latest GOP attempt to cling to power in the U.S. House.

In a social media post, North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall said,  “We will stand with the President, defend the GOP majority, and secure an additional Republican congressional seat,” UNQUOTE after an agreement was reached between House & Senate leadership, according to North Carolina Newsline.

The state has a Democratic governor, and Trump won North Carolina over Harris by a narrow margin, 50.9% to 47.6%, but Speaker Hall noted in his post that QUOTE “@POTUS ’s victory sent a clear message: the voters are with him.”   Currently, the GOP holds 10 of 14 of North Carolina’s U.S. House seats. 

GOP efforts in Texas, Missouri, and Utah have been challenged in the courts. But the GOP holds a 5-2 majority in the North Carolina Supreme Court, and its decisions have favored the legislature in recent years.   The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal courts have no role in partisan gerrymandering disputes.

Action on a new congressional district map will begin the week of October 20th.

We have local reporting linked at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Princeton Gerrymandering Project – North Carolina Scored Maps from the Redistricting Report Card
WUNC – NC Republicans plan to redraw map to pick up an additional Congressional seat
NC Newsline – North Carolina Republicans plan to redraw state’s congressional districts
The Hill – North Carolina GOP launches redistricting effort
North Carolina Legislature – Legislative and Congressional Redistricting
Ballotpedia – North Carolina Supreme Court
Common Cause NC – Politicians in NC legislature announce shameful scheme to further rig North Carolina’s voting maps

Groups Taking Action:

Common Cause North Carolina,  North Carolina For the People, Democracy North Carolina

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

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

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Gerrymandering #FairMaps #NorthCarolina #DonaldTrump #2026Midterms

The post North Carolina Plans to Gerrymander a GOP Seat to Help Retain Control of the U.S. House in 2026 appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 8, 2025

Breaking: The AP reported after we had posted our story that Judge Griffin conceded May 7th, ending any prospect of appeal.

The November 2024 North Carolina Supreme Court race contested by the Republican candidate Judge Jefferson Griffin has finally been settled in federal district court.  Associate Justice Allison Riggs was declared the winner on May 5th.

It took 180 days, likely hundreds of thousands in legal fees, and multiple state and federal courtrooms to adjudicate Riggs’ 734-vote win, the last unsettled major 2024 race in the country.  Jefferson initially argued that 65,000 voters were ineligible due to voter ID and other registration issues, some of them for years before the election.  Lower courts ordered an examination of 5,000 military and overseas voters, of which a thousand were deficient of ID information, and a handful identified as never having domiciled in North Carolina.  Pro-voter groups argued that those voters followed state rules at the time they registered, and shouldn’t be penalized. 

Trump-appointed U.S. District Court Chief Judge Richard Meyers II said in his finding, “ . . . effectuation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court’s orders would violate the equal protection and substantive due process rights of overseas military and civilian voters. The court further finds that discarding the votes of Never Residents without any process for those who may have been misclassified as ineligible violates procedural due process and represents an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote.”   

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

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute – Partisan Saga of North Carolina’s 2024 Supreme Court Race Now Returns to Federal Court.  5,000 Military & Overseas Ballots at Risk of Invalidation
Courthouse News Service – Judge loses bid for seat on North Carolina Supreme Court bench
U.S. District Court for Eastern NC (via Courthouse News) – Opinion in Griffin v. North Carolina Board of Elections
NC Newsline – Federal judge rules for Riggs in Supreme Court voter case 

Groups Taking Action:

League of Women Voters, Protect Democracy, VoteVets , Democracy North Carolina

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

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

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #NorthCarolina #NCSupremeCourt #VoterSuppression #FederalCourt

The post Federal Court Settles North Carolina Supreme Court Race, Heading Off a Dangerous Precedent of Retroactively Questioning Election Rules appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 7, 2025

In a brief to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, a bipartisan group of former county election directors urged the court to reject a claim that as many as 65,000 voters were ineligible last November.  And a former state supreme court justice is arguing in another appeals case that gerrymandering by the state legislature is akin to ‘stuffing the ballot box.” 

We’ve followed the claims from state supreme court candidate Jefferson Griffin that as many as 65,000 registered, eligible voters had incomplete registrations in a race he lost by 734 votes to incumbent justice Allison Riggs.  The race is the only unresolved election in the country.   

In late February, a bipartisan group of 42 former county election directors filed a brief outlining why the voters should be considered valid, and concluding:  “The citizens of North Carolina who obeyed the laws and the direction of the elections administrators should not have their votes discarded.” 

In another North Carolina case, former state supreme court justice Bob Orr is arguing in state appeals court that the legislature’s gerrymandered voting districts manipulate election outcomes.  By ‘packing’ voters by party into a district, he argues, it violates the state constitution’s guarantee of free elections with a fair count.  Orr told the Charlotte News & Observer, “If they can’t stuff the ballot box, how can they stuff the voter pool?”

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

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute – Appeals Continue in 2024 NC Supreme Court Race Challenge
NC Newsline – NC Supreme Court rejects requests to have GOP Judge Griffin’s case skip appeals court
NC Newsline – (Commentary) Documenting the damage of Judge Jefferson Griffin’s Supreme Court election challenge
North Carolina Court of Appeals – Brief by Bipartisan Group of 42 Former County Election Directors

News & Observer – Bob Orr pushes NC courts to answer an essential question: Do we have a right to fair elections? | Opinion

Groups Taking Action:

Democracy North Carolina, ACLU NC, League of Women Voters NC

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

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

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #NorthCarolina #FairMaps #EndGerrymandering

The post North Carolina: Former Election Directors Weigh In On Unresolved Supreme Court Race; Former Justice Argues Partisan Gerrymandering Akin to ‘Stuffing the Ballot Box’ appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Feb. 25, 2025

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

The North Carolina Supreme Court declined to fast-track a challenge by a GOP Supreme Court candidate who lost in November by 734 votes after two recounts and two court losses.  And Super PACs backed by Elon Musk are pouring millions into Wisconsin’s 2025 supreme court race.

After two recounts, incumbent North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs led by 734 votes, with 5.5 million ballots cast.  Her GOP challenger, Judge Jefferson Griffin claims as many as 65,000 of those voters were ineligible. February 17th, Griffin filed in appeals court, but the state elections board requested a fast track to the state supreme court. February 20th, that request was denied, and the case is likely to be heard later this year. 

The New York Times reported Elon Musk’s America PAC is spending $1 million on GOP voter turnout for an April 1st Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Musk’s Building America’s Future Pack has also booked another $1.5 million dollars supporting former GOP state attorney general Brad Schimel. His opponent, Judge Susan Crawford, raised over $7.7 million dollars so far, with outside spending coming via donations to the Wisconsin Democratic Party.  

The 2023 election of Justice Janet Protasiewicz resulted in fairer state redistricting maps for the first time in over a decade.  In-person voter registration ends March 28th.  

Find more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute –  After losing two recounts in State Supreme Court Race, North Carolina GOP Candidate Is Still Challenging the Eligibility of 60,000 Voters
North Carolina Newsline – NC Supreme Court rejects requests to have GOP Judge Griffin’s case skip appeals court
WRAL – NC Supreme Court won’t fast-track lawsuit challenging 60K ballots in race for one of its own seats
American Democracy Minute – In WI, State Supreme Court Candidate’s Image Altered by AI in Opponent’s Attack Ad

Associated Press – Group backed by Musk pours money into ads on behalf of GOP candidate in Wisconsin Supreme Court race
WISN – Elon Musk-backed group pumps millions into Wisconsin Supreme Court ads

Groups Taking Action:

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

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 #WisconsinNews #NCNews #SupremeCourt #MoneyinPolitics

The post Appeals Continue in 2024 NC Supreme Court Race Challenge; Elon Musk PAC Dumping Millions Into 2025 WI Supreme Court Race appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Feb. 14, 2025

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

While attacks on democracy norms ensue in Washington, state legislatures have also been busy.  We have updates from Utah, Kansas, Indiana, and an update on the contested North Carolina Supreme Court race. 

Voting Rights Lab reports that the Utah House is considering HB 300, which forces mail-in ballot users to deliver their ballot not by mail, but by hand to an official polling place where ID can be presented.  The elderly, disabled, and other voters for whom returning by mail is their only option, would need to seek special permission.  HB 332 would withdraw Utah from the cooperative Electronic Registration Data Center, the subject of far right conspiracy theories.  

The Kansas Senate passed SB 4, which requires receipt of mail-in ballots by 7 pm election day to count, rather than the current three days after.  An Indiana Senate committee advanced SB 284,  shortening early in-person voting from 28 days to 14 days, ending at noon the day before election day. The full Senate passed SB 10, ending use of school-issued student identification as ID for voting. 

In North Carolina, a district court judge dismissed a claim by a state supreme court candidate that in a race he lost by 734 votes, as many as 65,000 voters were ineligible.  A federal appeals court may revisit it.

We’ve linked the Voting Rights Lab’s state tracker at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.   I’m Brian Beihl

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Voting Rights Lab – The Markup
Voting Rights Lab – Bill Search

Utah State Legislature – HB 300 –  provides that, after a ballot is mailed to a voter, the voter is, subject to certain exceptions, required to return the ballot in person to a polling place where the voter must provide valid voter identification;
Utah State Legislature – HB 289 – authorizes the lieutenant governor to contract with a third-party to maintain voter rolls;
Kansas House (via VRL) – SB 4 – Requiring all advance voting ballots be returned by 7:00 p.m. on election day.

Indiana Senate – SB 284 – Reduces the period during which in person absentee voting may occur to a 14 day period ending at noon on the day before election day.
The Carolina Journal – Trial judge rejects Griffin’s NC Supreme Court ballot challenges

Groups Taking Action:

ACLU of Utah,  Democracy NC, Common Cause Indiana, Loud Light Kansas

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

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

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #KansasNews #IndianaNews #NCNews, #UtahNews

The post State Updates on Bills Shortening Early Voting and Changing Mail-in Ballot Requirements, and the Contested NC Supreme Court Race Lawsuit appeared first on American Democracy Minute.