American Democracy Minute

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...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 18, 2025 Though the President Pardoned Loyalists for 2020 Election Subversion, State Cases Against Fake Electors Revived in Georgia and Nevada We recently reported that President Donald Trump pardoned many of the fake electors in the scheme to overturn the 2020 Presidential election.  But state cases in Georgia and Nevada have...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 17, 2025 Congressional Gerrymandering Arms Race Updates:  Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, California and Florida We have updates on the congressional midterm gerrymandering arms race from Indiana, Missouri, Kansas,and California.  Florida, which has been on the sidelines so far, may enter the fray soon. Some podcasting platforms str...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 14, 2025 Can Mail-In Ballots, Eligible in Every Other Way, Be Counted if They Arrive After Election Day?  The Question will be Heard in the U.S. Supreme Court Mail-in ballots are increasingly popular with voters.  But when the U.S. Postal Service doesn’t deliver an otherwise eligible mail-in ballot in time by no fault of the vo...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 13, 2025 Utah Judge Rejects Legislature’s Gerrymandered Congressional Map, Choosing a Map Which Follows the State Constitution Instead In October, the Utah legislature proposed yet another gerrymandered Congressional map which violated state constitutional rules for redistricting.   Nov. 10th, the judge overseeing the case reje...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 12, 2025 Court Case Defending Maine’s Limit on Contributions to Super PACs Gets Unlikely Allies:  Billionaires Maine voters approved a ballot question limiting contributions to a Super PAC to $5,000 dollars in 2024. It was overturned by a federal district court, but it’s now headed to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals with some...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 11, 2025 President Donald Trump Pardons Many of His Accomplices Accused of Trying to Overturn the 2020 Election November 7th, President Donald Trump pardoned 77 of his alleged accomplices in the attempt to overturn the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election.  They include his chief of staff Mark Meadows, John Eastman and oth...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 10, 2025 CA Sees No Voter Intimidation – or Fraud – Despite President’s Claims; Bomb Threats in NJ, SWATing in NY Only days before the November 4th elections in California and New Jersey, the U.S. Justice Department announced DOJ personnel would be sent to select counties to monitor for “transparency, ballot security, and compl...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 7, 2025 Maine Voters Defeat Initiative to Further Limit Voter ID Options and Restrict Voting by Mail Maine voters soundly defeated Question 1 November 4th, which would have made the state’s voter ID rules the most restrictive in the country, and tightened rules for voting by mail. It was pitched as an “election integrity” measu...