American Democracy Minute

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 23, 2025 Can the Feds Require States to Turn Over Voter Data?  A New Paper Suggests Federal Law Doesn’t Explicitly Allow It, So Courts Will Decide. The Trump Department of Justice has tried for months to compel states to turn over voter registration data.  A new university research center analysis suggests existing federal law...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 22, 2025 Federal Judges Skeptical of GOP Claims of Racial Gerrymandering in California; Judge Orders New Judicial Districts in Mississippi A decision from a skeptical three-judge panel is expected December 22nd on Republican claims that California’s Proposition 50 racially gerrymandered Congressional districts.  In Mississippi,...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 19, 2025 Joining the Mid-Decade Gerrymandering Arms Race, Two NH GOP Legislators Propose Bill to Redraw the State’s Congressional Maps in 2026 In 2022, New Hampshire Republican Governor Chris Sununu vetoed radically gerrymandered congressional districts, saying the map QUOTE, “Didn’t pass the smell test.”  Current GOP Governor...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 18, 2025 U.S. DOJ Sues MA, CO, HI and NV to Turn Over Voter Registration Files, but Even Red States are Pushing Back The U.S. Justice Department filed suits December 12th to compel Massachusetts, Colorado, Hawaii and Nevada to turn over voter registration records, including citizenship records and personal data.  Delaware, Mary...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 17, 2025 Challenge to California Gerrymandering Reaches Federal Courtroom, but the SCOTUS Decision in Texas Could Undercut GOP Arguments Testimony began December 15th in a Republican challenge to California’s new gerrymandered congressional map.  Plaintiffs and the Trump Justice Department claim the legislature racially gerryma...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 16, 2025 Bullied Indiana Senators Not Only Defeat the State’s Trump-Demanded Congressional Gerrymandering Plan, The Vote Wasn’t Even Close After weeks of bomb threats and “swatting” calls, tenacious Republican Indiana senators bucked pressure from the governor and the White House and joined Democrats to defeat a gerrymandered c...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 15, 2025 Contributors Donate Over $350M to Fund Trump’s $300M White House Ballroom Project.  What Might Those Donors Get in Return? The Trump administration announced a list of 37 corporate and wealthy donors for the White House ballroom project October 22nd, just days after beginning the East Wing’s demolition.  Over $350 mill...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 12, 2025 Younger Voters Showed Up and Made a Difference in 2025’s High Profile Elections, Says Recent Tufts University Study Turnout of younger voters surged in the recent New York City mayoral race and the New Jersey and Virginia races for governor, according to a recent study by the Tufts University CIRCLE research center. So...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 11, 2025 U.S. Supreme Court Hears Challenge to Coordinated Campaign Finance Limits for Political Parties.  It Could Unleash a Torrent of Election Cash. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments December 9th on whether money contributed to a political party for certain campaign expenses can be restricted.  If the high court overtur...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 10, 2025 After the SCOTUS Texas Congressional Gerrymandering Decision, Battles Continue in Missouri, Indiana and Florida After the U.S. Supreme Court majority’s tacit approval of Texas congressional gerrymandering, efforts are ramping up in Indiana and Florida. In Missouri, though, a federal judge has stopped GOP efforts to der...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 9, 2025 How Much Power Does the President Have Over Independent Agencies?  Trump vs. Slaughter in the SCOTUS Tests the ‘Unitary Executive” Theory  A case before the U.S. Supreme Court December 8th tests the “unitary executive” theory – how much power the presidency has over agencies Congress designed to be “independent”.  The F...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 8, 2025 U.S. Supreme Court Majority Embraces Texas Redistricting, Ignores District Court Panel Racial Gerrymandering Findings The U.S. Supreme Court handed the State of Texas and the Trump administration a huge win December 4th, overruling a district court panel’s compelling racial gerrymandering findings.  The gerrymandered ma...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 5, 2025 Another Politician Accused of Public Corruption, Congressman Henry Cuellar, is Pardoned by President Donald Trump U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar faced years in prison, accused of taking $600,000 in bribes from two foreign companies.  President Donald Trump just pardoned the Democrat December 3rd, after which Cuellar fil...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 4, 2025 Part of Georgia’s Infamous SB 202 Voter Suppression Law Will Get Another Day in Court, Says Federal Court Panel Georgia was one of the first states to pass sweeping voter suppression laws after the 2020 election.  Among many major changes, Senate Bill 202 made it harder to vote by mail and banned giving food and water t...

American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 3, 2025 Proposed Congressional Map from Indiana House Erases Both Democratic-Leaning Seats; Support May Not Be Solid in the State Senate Equitable representation for Indiana’s largest urban centers was eliminated from congressional district maps proposed by the Indiana House on Monday.  It’s unclear whether the state senate, which...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 2, 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court Tasks Judicial Panels with Hearing Challenges to the State’s Congressional Districts We’re in Wisconsin today, where the state supreme court, after unwinding gerrymandering in state house and senate districts, has appointed lower court judicial panels to hear challenges to Wisconsin’s congression...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 1, 2025 Developments in North Carolina and Indiana Congressional Map Gerrymandering, as Trump Quest for More GOP Seats Continues North Carolina’s mid-decade gerrymandering appears to have prevailed against pro-voter court challenges, and party allegiance has apparently prevailed in the Indiana Senate, which may gerrymander its...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 28, 2025 Recently-Appointed Replacement Prosecutor in Georgia Asks Court to Dismiss State Case Against Trump and All Alleged Accomplices The new Georgia prosecutor in the election interference racketeering case against President Donald Trump and 17 alleged accomplices has asked the court to dismiss all charges against the defen...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 27, 2025 For Thanksgiving, we're rebroadcasting a story from 2024.  Sadly, nothing has changed in this story, and the proposed solutions remain in limbo. The Supreme Court’s Attack on the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Affects Native American Voters, Too.  Proposed Legislation Could Fix It. The ink wasn’t yet dry on the Indian Citiz...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 26, 2025 The Purcell Principle, Often Used in the SCOTUS Shadow Docket, Will Be Argued in the Texas Gerrymandering Decision.  What is it? The Purcell Principle is supposed to keep last minute changes in election law from creating chaos before and during elections.  It’s also been unevenly applied in lower courts and the U.S. Su...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 25, 2025 Hawaii Commission Proposes End to Universal Mail Ballots, Ohio May End Mail Ballot Grace Period; New Montana Law Increased Ballot Rejections We have state updates on mail-in voting rules today. Hawaii’s election commission recommended ending the state’s mail-in voting system; Ohio’s governor is expected to sign a bill...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 24, 2025 With Candidates Ready to File, SCOTUS Temporarily Blocks Ruling on TX Racial Gerrymandering, LA Gerrymandering Decision Still Pending As congressional candidates get ready for the 2026 midterms, the districts in which they run are still in limbo, waiting for the outcomes of two important racial gerrymandering cases in...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 21, 2025 Kansas AG Kobach Announces Noncitizen Voting Charges Against Local Mayor, and Promises “Hundreds More” Prosecutions. It’s Highly Unlikely. Charges of illegal noncitizen voting have been filed by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach against a respected local mayor, who just won reelection with 83% of the vote.  The polit...

American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 20, 2025 Trump-Requested Texas Congressional District Gerrymandering Blocked by Federal Court Panel In June, President Donald Trump asked Texas to redistrict and deliver five additional congressional seats before the 2026 midterm, igniting a multi-state gerrymandering arms race.  Nov. 18th, a federal court ruling halted the new dis...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 19, 2025 Utah Judge Who Struck Down ‘Extreme Gerrymander’ Threatened with Impeachment and Violence; Florida Redistricting Starts December 4 The Utah judge who struck down the state legislature’s proposed congressional map as “an extreme gerrymander” has faced threats of impeachment - and violence.  Florida’s legislature schedul...