Hello, pro-democracy readers! As the Trump administration leaves open the possibility of ICE agents at polling places during the midterms, a new poll finds nearly half of Americans oppose the idea. Meanwhile, in a win for voters, a judge allowed a challenge to an anti-voting law in Louisiana.
One more thing: Earlier this month, I asked what you value about Democracy Docket’s newsletters. And wow did you tell me — we got hundreds of responses! I want to reply to all of them, but figured I’d just publicly thank those of you who responded. We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts, and we can’t wait to use what you told us to make our newsletters better.
Finally, readers like you were interested in yesterday’s story about whether or not Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) would obey a recent judge’s order. Marc will be going live on YouTube at 6:30 p.m. EDT to discuss it. Be sure to check it out.
All that and more is on the docket today. On a programming note, Sally will be guiding you through the news for the next two days, so I’ll see you later this week!
More than half of Americans don’t want ICE at polls, survey shows
Public dissent comes as three major lawsuits were filed to block federal interference at polling places this month. From prominent civil rights groups and national Democrats to local prosecutors and everyday Americans, there’s significant opposition to the federal election interference that President Donald Trump and members of his administration have failed to rule out.
Trump DOJ responds to DNC lawsuit, offers no records on ballot seizure plans
The Trump administration filed a response to a Democratic National Committee lawsuit that seeks records about plans to seize or inspect ballots, voting machines or other election materials during the midterms.
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Judge greenlights challenge to Louisiana anti-voting law, citing discrimination claims
A federal judge today rejected most of Louisiana officials’ efforts to dismiss the lawsuit challenging Act 500, which requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration.
Georgia election board asks for Trump admin to help go after state’s voting machines
The resolution directs the board’s executive director to pursue assistance “from any quarter,” including the DOJ and Department of Homeland Security, while pressuring Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to pursue an ill-defined software update to Georgia’s voting equipment.
The midterms are getting closer by the day. Are there any postcard writing events near you? Rallies you want to attend? Ways you want your fellow pro-democracy readers to get involved? We want to hear from you! Just add it to this (very easy to fill out) form. The submissions will be posted to our new Bulletin Board for Democracy Docket members to see.
Here we share noteworthy briefs on all things voting rights and democracy. Have a footnote for us? Send it to newsletters@democracydocket.com.
Are you a poll watcher or local election official? All Voting is Local and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law released an updated local election guide that covers federal and state laws in several battleground states.
Primarily because of state-level voter ID laws, more than 300,000 transgender voters in the U.S. will face barriers to casting a ballot this fall. Those laws create a “unique and, in some cases, insurmountable barrier to voting.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson has made it clear what will happen if Republicans retain control of the House after this fall’s midterm elections: “Exactly what we have been doing already.” Bold strategy.
This is funny. As he’s aggressively defended AI despite growing backlash, Trump today launched an America.gov chatbot (and bizarrely linked it to his anti-voting SAVE America Act). Naturally, many people asked the bot who won the 2020 election. Thankfully, and somewhat surprisingly given Trump’s constant lying about elections, it answers the question correctly. I confirmed this myself, as did reporter Jacob Knutson. Here’s a screenshot. How long until Trump starts bashing AI?
Today's newsletter was edited by Sally Holtgrieve and Dave O'Brien, and produced by Leila Fusenig. Learn more about our staff here.
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