The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 22, 2025

NH Senate Kills Bill Requiring Proof of Citizenship with Absentee Ballot; Challenge to 2024 NH Proof of Citizenship Law Heard in Federal Court
The New Hampshire Senate killed a bill requiring absentee voters to include copies of citizenship documents when requesting and returning absentee ballots. In a separate court case in April, voters challenged the state’s proof of citizenship law for in-person registration.

Some podcasting platforms strip out our links. To read our resources and see the whole script of today’s report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

NH Secretary of State - REGISTERING TO VOTE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
NHPR - Federal judge hears arguments over NH's proof of citizenship voting law
Associated Press - New Hampshire town elections offer a preview of citizenship voting rules being considered nationwide
NH Legislature via LegiScan - Text of HB 217, killed by the NH Senate
New Hampshire Bulletin - Senate advances anti-sanctuary city bills, but stops short on other House priorities

Groups Taking Action:

Coalition for Open Democracy, League of Women Voters NH, ACLU NH

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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#News #Democracy #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ProtectPollWorkers

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 21, 2025

Indiana Bans Student IDs as Voter ID; Challenger File Suit Contending Law is a ‘Surgical Strike on Young Voters’
Since 2005, the State of Indiana allowed voting-eligible students to use their student IDs to vote. April 16th, Governor Mike Braun signed SB 10, which included banning use of student photo IDs for voting without evidence of misuse. That law is headed to court.

Some podcasting platforms strip out our links. To read our resources and see the whole script of today’s report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Indianapolis Capital Star - Indiana elections chief defends voting ban on ‘unsecured’ student IDs after legal challenge
Indiana General Assembly - SB 10
The Indiana Citizen - ELECTION SECURITY OR DISENFRANCHISEMENT?
Indiana Senate Republicans - Doriot: Bill to strengthen Indiana's elections passes committee
Indianapolis Star - 'Attack on young voters': Indiana faces lawsuit over new law banning student IDs for voting

Groups Taking Action:

Count Us IN, Women4Change Indiana, Campus Vote Project

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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#Democracy #DemocracyNews #Indiana #StudentID #VoterSupression #SB10

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 20, 2025

Brennan Center Report Shows Gerrymandering’s Impact on Control of Congress
Gerrymandering, the manipulation of voting district boundaries to engineer an election outcome which benefits a particular party, had a significant impact on control of the new Congress, according to a Brennan Center Report.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Brennan Center for Justice – How Gerrymandering and Fair Maps Affected the Battle for the House
FactCheck.org – Speaker Johnson’s Partisan Spin on Gerrymandering in the 2024 Election
National Conference of State Legislatures – Redistricting Commissions: State Legislative Plans
Campaign Legal Center – Independent Redistricting Commissions

Campaign Legal Center – Movement to Establish Citizen-Led Redistricting Commissions in the States
California Citizens Redistricting Commission – What is the Commission?

Groups Taking Action:
Common Cause, Represent.Us, League of Women Voters US

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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#Democracy #DemocracyNews #EndGerrymandering #FairMaps #RiggedDistricts

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 16, 2025

Pro-Voter Groups Again Challenge ‘Least Change” Congressional Districts in Wisconsin Supreme Court, After Outcome of April’s $100M Court Race
After the election of liberal-leaning Justice Janet Protasiewicz in 2023, Wisconsin state assembly and senate maps were challenged in the Wisconsin Supreme Court and subsequently thrown out as unconstitutional. But justices passed on a challenge to the Congressional districts.

Some podcasting platforms strip out our links. To read our resources and see the whole script of today’s report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute - (2023) Oral Arguments Heard by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Constitutionality of the the State’s Extreme Gerrymandered Maps
American Democracy Minute - (2024) After Cleaning Up Gerrymandered State Senate & Assembly Districts, the Wisconsin Supreme Court Passes on Congressional Districts
American Democracy Minute - (2024) In a Game of Chicken with the Wisconsin Supreme Court, GOP Legislators Pass Somewhat Competitive Redistricting Maps in Effort to Avoid Truly Fair Maps

Wisconsin Public Radio - 2 lawsuits challenging Wisconsin’s congressional map filed with state Supreme Court
Wisconsin Supreme Court (via WPR) - Elias Group Challenge to Congressional Districts
Wisconsin Supreme Court (via WPR) - Campaign Legal Center Challenge to Congressional Districts

Groups Taking Action:

Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition, League of Women Voters WI, Common Cause WI

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#Democracy #DemocracyNews #Wisconsin #FairMaps #WISupremeCourt #SusanCrawford

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 15, 2025

This is a timely rebroadcast of a piece we did last November on the emoluments clause. The numbers quoted are chump change compared with the money being thrown at President Donald Trump by foreign countries right now in bitcoin, sweetheart investments and even a luxury Boeing 747. What would the framers have said?

The Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause was Intended to Stop Bribery and Corruption. Recently, Not So Much.
The framers of the U.S. Constitution included the Foreign Emoluments Clause because they feared the influence, corruption and bribery they witnessed in Europe’s monarchies. Why should Americans care about it?
Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Congressional Research Service – The Emoluments Clauses of the U.S. Constitution
National Constitution Center – The Foreign Emoluments Clause: Article I, Section 9, Clause 8
National Constitution Center – Prof. Zephyr Teachout – The Foreign Emoluments Clause
American Constitution Society – Profiting off the Presidency: Trump’s Violations of the Emoluments Clauses
U.S. Supreme Court – BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE OF FORMER FEDERAL ETHICS OFFICIALS SUPPORTING
RESPONDENT
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (C.R.E.W) – Trump likely benefited from $13.6 million in payments from foreign governments during his presidency
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (C.R.E.W) – (2019) Tracking President Trump’s unprecedented conflicts of interest
Business Insider – Trump waited until after he left office to disclose trademarks he owns in China and Russia

Groups Taking Action:
C.R.E.W., Public Citizen, Common Cause

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#Democracy #DemocracyNews #EmolumentsClause #ForeignInfluence #Corruption #DonaldTrump

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 14, 2025

Special Note from the Host: You may notice some slurring of my speech during this and upcoming reports. May 9th, I suffered an attack of Bell’s Palsy which has affected the right side of my face and impacts my speech. This is being treated, and recovery is expected with 2-3 weeks of steroid treatments. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Colorado Governor Signs Colorado Voting Rights Act in Effort to Guarantee Access and Voting Power for Native, Hispanic, Black and LGBTQ Voters
Governor Jared Polis signed the Colorado Voting Rights Act on May 12th, another state to take action in the face of ongoing erosion of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The Act forbids discrimination in voting practices, protects registration and voting for Native voters, and curbs racial gerrymandering, among several provisions.

Some podcasting platforms strip out our links. To read our resources and see the whole script of today’s report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Colorado Legislature - Senate Bill 25-1 - The Colorado Voting Rights Act
National Conference of State Legislatures - Legislatures Pursue State-Level Voting Rights Acts
Colorado Public Radio - Colorado lawmakers approve voting rights bill, despite pushback from local officials
Colorado Newsline - Gov. Polis signs voting rights bill, shielding Colorado from federal backsliding

Groups Taking Action:

NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Common Cause CO, Campaign Legal Center, League of Women Voters

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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#Democracy #DemocracyNews #COVRA #Colorado #VotingRightsAct #StateVRA

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 13, 2025

Special Note from the Host: You may notice some slurring of my speech during this and upcoming reports. May 9th, I suffered an attack of Bell's Palsy which has affected the right side of my face and impacts my speech. This is being treated, and recovery is expected with 2-3 weeks of steroid treatments. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Cockpit Lights Flash Emoluments Clause Danger, as Qatar Government Apparently Gifts $400M 747 to Trump for Air Force One

President Donald Trump appears poised to accept a gift of a $400 million dollar super luxury Boeing 747 from the Qatar royal family for use as Trump’s Air Force One. The potential gift is raising questions of potential corruption under the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, and a potential security risk.

Some podcasting platforms strip out our links. To read our resources and see the whole script of today’s report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

U.S. Congress - U.S. Constitution's Emolument's Clause
ABC News - Trump administration poised to accept 'palace in the sky' as a gift for Trump from Qatar: Sources
President Donald Trump - Post on Truth Social defending the gift
CNN - Boeing now plans to deliver new Air Force One jets in 2027, before Trump leaves office
Open Secrets - Lobbying expenditures by Qatar government, including by Pam Bondi's former lobbying firm, Ballard Partners
The Independent - Qatar pushes back on reports of $400M Boeing jet gift to Trump

Groups Taking Action:

American Promise, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Brennan Center for Justice

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Pacifica Radio Network's Audioport and PRX

#Democracy #DemocracyNews #EmolumentsClause #MoneyinPolitics #ForeignInfluence

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 12, 2025

Special Note from the Host: You may notice some slurring of my speech during this and upcoming reports. I've suffered a bout of Bell's Palsy which has affected the right side of my face and impacts my speech. This is being treated, and recovery is expected with 2-3 weeks of steroid treatments. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Fallout Continues from 2023 SCOTUS ‘Milligan’ Decision, as the Alabama Legislature Faces Possible Return of Preclearance Requirements

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision in Allen vs. Milligan in 2023, finding Alabama must provide an additional majority-Black Congressional District. Defiant, the legislature created new maps - again with only one real majority-minority district. That action could return Alabama to “preclearance” status by the federal government.

Some podcasting platforms strip out our links. To read our resources and see the whole script of today’s report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

History of Allen v. Milligan:
American Democracy Minute - (2023) Bombshell SCOTUS Decision in Alabama Case Reaffirms VRA Section 2 and May Impact 2024 Elections
American Democracy Minute - (2023) Federal Appeals Court Slams Alabama Legislature for Defying U.S. Supreme Court’s Milligan Ruling and Strikes Down Revised Maps
American Redistricting Project - Allen v. Milligan

Current Decision in Alabama's Appeal in Allen v. Milligan
U.S. District Court - INJUNCTION AND ORDER FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

Alabama Reflector - Federal court: Alabama Legislature intentionally discriminated against Black voters in redistricting

Groups Taking Action:

NAACP Legal Defense Fund, ACLU

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#Democracy #DemocracyNews #Alabama #AllenvMilligan #RacialDiscrimination #VotingRightsAct #FairMaps