Past Issues
Injustice in Texas, a 243% turnout, and “A TSUNAMI OF VOTER FRAUD”
1. Crystal Mason, sentenced to five years in jail for "voter fraud," loses appeal for a new trial In April, the state of Texas sentenced Crystal Mason five years in prison for attempting to vote in the 2016 presidential election. She was ineligible to vote due to...
Why Michigan is a mess, NC hates clear language, and Trump hopes you laugh at this week’s distraction
1. Michigan is a gerrymandered mess. But maybe not for long. When it comes to discussing heavily gerrymandered states, I've often pointed to Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or North Carolina. But Michigan sucks, too. Until I dug into the numbers this week, I didn't...
Voter purges expand, young Floridians register, and Congress fails (again) to protect elections
Quick editor's note: I'm on the road this week, so apologies for the late delivery of this edition. Given limited availability, there will be no roundup in this issue — just the usual breakdown of top headlines. More in-depth coverage will return next week. — Matt...
Nine scary things more likely than a noncitizen voting in a U.S. Election
Donald Trump claimed, without evidence, that more than three million noncitizens voted against him in 2016. Likewise, Republicans across the country use fears of "voter fraud" — especially the alleged threat of noncitizens voting — to justify a wide range of voter...
Justice Kennedy was a disaster to fair and open elections. Good riddance.
When Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement on June 27th, many of us looked at it as a big blow for hopes for the Supreme Court to help reign in partisan gerrymandering. Over the last few years, there had been much speculation about how Justice Kennedy might...
The Supreme Court is not coming to the rescue on voting rights
It's been three bad weeks in a row if you care about protecting the right to vote. In three straight weeks, the Supreme Court has ruled against efforts to defend the vote against efforts to suppress or dilute it across America. This week, the Supreme Court ruled that...
The Supreme Court Punts; North Carolina GOP goes for it on 4th down
Supreme Court punts on Wisconsin, Maryland gerrymandering cases In two rulings today, Gill v. Whitford and Benisek v. Lamone, the Supreme Court effectively hit the snooze button on making a meaningful decision on partisan gerrymandering....
The Supreme Court sides with Ohio and its aggressive voter purge
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the state of Ohio in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute. The decision focused on Ohio’s practice of purging voters from the eligible voter list if they didn’t vote for two years and if they didn’t respond to a...
The quiet before the storm at the Supreme Court
Within the next few weeks, possibly days, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on two cases that will have a major impact on the fairness of elections and voting. It's not hyperbole to say that these decisions could shape the nature of American elections...
How young voters, the U.S. Postal Service, and the state of Maine might save democracy
Blue wave, schmoo wave: Will young voters show up this fall? When it comes to elections, there's a reliable trend: old people vote; young people, not so much. Young people have lowest voter participation rate of any age group. In 2016, only 46% of Americans between...