American Democracy Minute

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for May 5, 2026 Louisiana v. Callais Didn’t Just Affect VRA Section 2 Protections for Black Americans; Hispanic, Native, and Asian-American Districts are Impacted, Too. The U.S. Supreme Court’s seismic April 29th decision that the Equal Protection Clause prohibits using race in redistricting decisions didn’t just affect African American...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for May 4, 2026 The U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Louisiana Sends States Back to the Gerrymandering Drawing Board to Rig Districts Before the Midterms The April 29th U.S. Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais has unleashed a torrent of last minute gerrymandering, and escalated the redistricting arms race in both red and blue...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for May 1, 2026 U.S. Supreme Court Neutralizes Remaining VRA Section 2 Protections for Minority Voters and Imperils Majority-Minority Voting Districts Nationwide The U.S. Supreme Court all but eliminated remaining Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters in its Louisiana v. Callais decision April 29th. By striking down Louisian...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 30, 2026 In Pennsylvania, Man Sentenced in a Money-Motivated Voter Registration Fraud Case. Prosecutions for Six Alleged Accomplices are Pending.    An Arizona man organizing voter registration drives in Pennsylvania in 2024 was sentenced April 27th for his involvement in submitting fraudulent registrations, and will serve pri...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 29, 2026 Gerrymandering Arms Race Update:  FL Gov. Ron DeSantis Unveils Congressional Redistricting Plan, Gerrymandering 4 Additional GOP Seats Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finally unveiled his mid-decade congressional redistricting plan on April 27th, saying “this has been a long-standing issue that we’ve had.”  The map atte...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 28, 2026 California Voter ID Ballot Question Now Qualified for the Nov. 3 Ballot, Narrowing ID Options and Requiring Citizenship Verification A California ballot question requiring government-issued ID for voting, qualified for the November 3rd ballot April 24th.  It would narrow voter ID options, and require election official...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 27, 2026 The GOP’s Restrictive SAVE America Act is Stalled, and Slipping It into a Budget Reconciliation Bill was Blocked.  Is it Dead? For now, the GOP’s restrictive SAVE America Act has stalled in the U.S. Senate, blocked by the filibuster.  An attempt to attach it to a budget reconciliation bill, needing only 50 votes to pa...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 24, 2026 Virginia Becomes the Latest State to Sign on to the National Popular Vote Compact.  Committed States Now Represent 222 of the 270 Electoral Votes Needed. Virginia became the 18th state to join the National Popular Vote Compact April 13th, bringing the electoral votes of committed states and DC to 222 of the 270 needed...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 23, 2026 Gerrymandering Arms Race Update: VA Voters Narrowly Approve Mid-Decade Redistricting; FL’s Delayed Special Session Starts April 28th By a narrow 51.6 to 48.4 percent margin, Virginia voters authorized their General Assembly April 21st to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts.  Now it’s the Florida legislature’s tu...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 22, 2026 Federal Court Dismisses DOJ Suit Demanding Rhode Island’s Personal Voter Data. The Administration is 0-5 Against States Refusing to Comply. A federal judge dismissed a U.S. Department of Justice demand that Rhode Island turn over its voter data, including sensitive personal information.  April 17th’s decision is the f...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 21, 2026 The Trump DOJ Demands 2024 Voting Records from Detroit and Wayne County. Michigan’s AG Says the Justification is Baseless. In a letter April 14th, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon gave 14 days for Wayne County, MI’s county clerk to produce ballots, ballot receipts and ballot envelopes from the 2024 elec...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 20, 2026 Trump Campaign Lawyer John Eastman’s Disbarment Upheld in California Supreme Court, but an Appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is Likely  John Eastman, the alleged architect of the effort to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election in Congress, had his disbarment upheld by the California Supreme Court April 15th.  His a...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 17, 2026 Until Recently, Wisconsin was One of the Most Heavily Gerrymandered in the Country.  Gov. Tony Evers Hopes to Permanently Change That. Under former GOP Governor Scott Walker, Wisconsin became one of the most partisan gerrymandered states in the country for almost 15 years.  His successor, Democratic Governor Tony Ever...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 16, 2026 Half of Americans are Concerned President Trump May Use the Military to Seize Ballots or Election Machines A head-turning new poll released April 6th found 49% of Americans are concerned that President Donald Trump will order the military to seize ballots and voting machines during the 2026 midterms.   Some podcasting...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 15, 2026 New Survey Finds Election Officials are Worried About Midterm Election Interference, Replacing Lost Federal Funding, and Their Safety & Security An annual poll of election officials just updated by the Brennan Center for Justice April 13th shows half of those surveyed worry about election interference by political...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 14, 2026 Virginia’s Special Election is April 21, a Limited Constitutional Amendment Allowing Mid-Decade Congressional Redistricting; Polling Shows It’s Close Virginia voters head to the polls April 21st to weigh in on a constitutional amendment authorizing mid-decade redistricting – a response to additional red-state congress...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 13, 2026 CA Supreme Court Halts Sheriff’s Prop. 50 Ballot Investigation; Unsealed Warrant Affidavits Show Election Denier Group Provided the ‘Evidence’  The California Supreme Court temporarily halted a Riverside County sheriff’s investigation into the 650,000 Proposition 50 redistricting referendum ballots he seized last mont...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 10, 2026 New Expert Analysis Finds Fringe Report Apparently Used to Justify the Fulton County, GA 2020 Ballot Seizure is Not Credible A fringe report apparently used by the FBI as the basis for the January 28th seizure of Fulton County, Georgia’s 2020 ballots is not credible, according to new independent expert analysis releas...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 9, 2026 NH’s GOP Governor Signs Bill Eliminating Student IDs as Voter ID, a Long Sought-After Tool to Make It Harder for Students to Vote With Governor Kelly Ayotte’s signature, New Hampshire became the latest GOP-led state to ban use of student IDs for voting purposes. It’s a long sought-after tool to make voting harder for h...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 8, 2026 State Democracy Briefs on CA Sheriff’s Illegal Seizure of Ballots and a Court-Ordered Resentencing of CO County Election Official Tina Peters We’re bringing you some state democracy news briefs today, including on the California county sheriff who seized over 600,000 ballots based on conspiracy theories, and a court-or...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 7, 2026 Georgia House & Senate Sessions Expire Without a Fix for Ballot QR Codes.  A Special Session May Be Needed to Meet a July Deadline. The Georgia legislature’s term ran out before passing an election bill removing QR codes from ballots.  It may require a special session to fix before the midterms. Some podcasting pla...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 6, 2026 Trump Executive Order on Mail-In Voting Spurs Five Lawsuits from States, Pro-Democracy Groups, Civil Rights Groups and the Democratic Party President Donald Trump’s March 31st executive order obstructing mail-in voting spurred five lawsuits from 23 states, 2 coalitions of pro-democracy groups, 2 coalitions of civil rig...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 3, 2026 Florida Governor Signs State Version of the Restrictive SAVE America Act.  Pro-Voter and Civil Rights Groups Sued Within Minutes. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 991 April 1st, a state version of the still pending SAVE America Act.  Within minutes of the signing, multiple pro-voter groups sued, arguing it viola...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 2, 2026 Trump Issues Executive Order Attempting to Federalize Mail-In Voting Rules and Establish ‘State Citizenship List’.  It’s Beyond His Authority. President Trump issued an executive order March 31st attempting to impose strict federal mail-in voting rules.  The order ignores multiple recent court rulings making clear he d...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for April 1, 2026 New Jersey Assembly Advances ‘John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act.’ If Passed by the Senate and Signed, It Becomes the 10th State VRA The New Jersey Assembly advanced the “John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act” March 23rd on a 53 to 20 vote.  If passed by the senate and signed as expected, New Jersey would become the 10t...