American Democracy Minute

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 6, 2025 What’s the Impact of Ending the Filibuster in the U.S. Senate?   It’s Not Likely, But if it Happens, We’re in for a Wild Ride. The U.S. Senate’s filibuster rule requires 60 votes to end debate, and just the threat of a filibuster can block popular legislation.  What are the consequences of removing the filibuster rule,...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 5, 2025 President Trump Called for a Senate Rules Change to End the Filibuster.  What is a Filibuster, and How Does it Work? To help end the U.S. Government shutdown, President Donald Trump called for an end to the filibuster.  Just what is the filibuster, and how does it work? Some podcasting platforms strip out our links.  To...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 4, 2025 Federal Court in DC Issues Permanent Injunction on Part of Trump Executive Order on Elections; No to Changing Federal Registration Form A federal court in DC issued a permanent injunction Oct. 31st, barring a portion of President Trump’s executive order on elections.  The injunction underscores that states and Congress,...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 3, 2025 Ohio General Assembly to Vote on a Further Gerrymandered Congressional Map Put Forward by Politician-Led Redistrict Commission Ohio voters, who voted down a citizen-led independent redistricting commission in 2024, are seeing the consequences, as Ohio’s politician-led commission gerrymanders two more GOP congressional s...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 31, 2025 Ohio Secretary of State Refers 1,200 Alleged Illegal Voting Cases to U.S. DOJ.  His Track Record is Less Than Stellar. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced October 28th that his office had referred 1,200 illegal voting cases to the U.S. Justice Department for prosecution.  But his track record of convictions...

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Oct. 30, 2025 Brian is gone today.  This is a rebroadcast from February. Could Trump Run for a Third Term? The 22nd Amendment Prohibits it, But a TN Congressman Wants to Repeal It.  And There are Loopholes. In 1944, when Franklin Roosevelt said he would run for a fourth term, discussions began on a Constitutional amendment to limit a U.S...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 29, 2025 Indiana is the Latest State to Consider Trump’s GOP Gerrymandering Scheme, Kansas Edges Closer October 27th Indiana Governor Mike Braun signed a proclamation calling the state’s legislature into special session on November 3rd to consider congressional redistricting and a tax code issue.   This follows weeks of lobbyin...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 28, 2025 Trump DOJ Says It Will Monitor Elections Nov. 4th in Five California Counties. Many Fear It’s a Voter Intimidation Tactic. The Trump Department of Justice announced October 24th it would deploy election monitors at five California counties on November 4th. DOJ says it is to ensure transparency & ballot security, bu...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 27, 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 Oct. 24, 2025 NC Legislature Approves Gerrymander to Add Another GOP Congressional Seat, But Dilutes Black Voting Power in the Process The North Carolina legislature passed a new gerrymandered congressional map October 22nd, likely adding a GOP congressional seat to offset expected 2026 midterm losses in the U.S. House.  Legislators...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 23, 2025 Lawyer Advising Trump During January 6th Appointed to Rehash the President’s 2020 Election Fraud Claims A lawyer who had multiple phone calls with President Donald Trump during the January 6th insurrection has been appointed by the President to investigate debunked allegations that widespread fraud changed the outcome...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 22, 2025 Election Officials Urge Immediate Fixes to New Texas Voter Registration System, Part of the State’s Effort to Replace ERIC In 2023, under pressure from election conspiracy activists, Texas and nine other red states left the multi-state cooperative called ERIC. which helped keep state voter rolls clean.  Two years later...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 21, 2025 Former Congressman George Santos, Who Defrauded Voters and Donors,  Has 7 Year Sentence Commuted by President Trump  After serving less than 4 months of a 7 year sentence, disgraced New York Congressman George Santos had his sentence commuted by President Donald Trump on October 17th.  Santos had pleaded guilty to wire...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 20, 2025 Wisconsin Voters Face Another Bonkers State Supreme Court Election in April 2026, and More Campaign Spending Records Wisconsin voters need to brace themselves for another bonkers state supreme election. April 7, 2026 voters will replace Justice Rebecca Bradley, who didn’t seek reelection.  Campaign spending for another...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 17, 2025 Outlook for the Voting Rights Act Dims, as Court’s Conservatives Appear to Turn Away From Their Own Precedent The conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared to agree Oct. 15th with arguments that the Voting Rights Act Section 2’s majority-minority voting districts conflicted with the 14th Amendment’s Equa...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 16, 2025 North Carolina Becomes the Next State to Gerrymander a GOP Seat to Retain the U.S. House in 2026 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 gerryman...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 15, 2025 The Oct. 15 Louisiana v. Callais Voting Rights Case Depends on the Interpretation of the 14th & 15th Amendments. What Do They Say? Oral arguments in Louisiana v. Callais are scheduled for October 15th in the U.S. Supreme Court, with interpretation of the 14th and 15th amendments under debate, and the Voting Rights...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 14, 2025 In a Big Week for Voting Rights, the Supreme Court Hears More Arguments in Louisiana vs. Callais.  VRA Protections for Minority Voters are at Stake. Oct. 15th, a pivotal case in the future of the Voting Rights Act will be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court.  It pits the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause against 60...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 13, 2025 Dominion Voting Systems, Object of Debunked Right Wing Conspiracies, Sold to Missouri Election Technology Company and Renamed Dominion Voting Systems, used by an estimated 40% of American voters and the subject of debunked right wing conspiracy theories, has been acquired by a Missouri marketer of electronic poll books...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 10, 2025 Class Action Suit Filed by Voters Whose Personal Data was Shared in the Trump Administration’s SAVE Database in Violation of 1974 Privacy Act The Trump administration confirmed in September it is sharing drivers license and Social Security information among federal agencies from a massive database of personal and voter...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 9, 2025 The Plot Thickens in Maine After 250 Missing Unmarked Mail Ballots Show Up on a Doorstep We reported recently on a Maine ballot initiative pushing restrictions on voter ID and mail-in voting.  Then mysteriously on September 30th, 250 unmarked absentee ballots from Elsworth, Maine showed up in an Amazon package 40 miles...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 8, 2025 Utah Legislature Passes a Gerrymandered Congressional Map - Again.  But a Judge Will Have the Final Say Nov. 10 August 25th, a Utah judge ordered a new Congressional redistricting map drawn after finding the legislature had violated the state constitution.  October 6th, the legislature defiantly passed a new gerrymander...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 7, 2025 U.S. Supreme Court Weighs Equal Protection Clause vs. the Voting Rights Act, and Revisits Big Money Campaign Funding Limits for Political Parties Two U.S. Supreme Court cases this term may allow the conservative majority to strike down Voting Rights Act protections of minority voters, and one of the few remaining limits...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 6, 2025 First Challenge to Trump-Requested Gerrymandering of Texas Congressional Maps Reaches a Federal Courtroom  The first challenge to gerrymandered Texas congressional maps reached a federal courtroom October 1st, as a three-judge panel heard testimony about the 2025 maps in a previously filed 2021 racial gerrymandering cas...

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 3, 2025 Six More States Sued by Trump DOJ for Not Turning Over Voter’s Personal Information Last month, Maine and Oregon were the first to be sued by the Trump Department of Justice for refusing to provide voter data and election process information to be shared within federal agencies.  Six more states have been sued, and it c...