ICE chief admits there’s no reason for immigration agents to be at voting sites

Thursday, February 12

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The statement marks the first time a senior Trump official has contradicted the administration’s ongoing threats of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presence at the polls.
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‘Most restrictive voting bill ever’ passes in the House

The U.S. House voted last night to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require voters to show documentary proof of citizenship at registration and provide photo ID when they cast ballots. Passage seems unlikely in the Senate, but far-right Republicans are doing everything they can.
An exclusive Democracy Docket report Thursday revealed that a think tank staffer being credited with drafting much of the bill played a key role in the “fake elector” scheme that the Trump campaign tried to use to steal the 2020 election.
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White House fires judge four hours after he was sworn in

Federal judges appointed a veteran litigator as the top federal prosecutor in Upstate New York to replace a Trump appointee who was disqualified from the role. The White House said nope.
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Fulton County chair: FBI raid was ‘a serious attempt to overturn and to take control of elections’

The chair of the board warned that if President Donald Trump’s scheme in the Georgia county proves successful, his efforts will spread nationwide.
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Election deniers are back to pushing conspiracies, this time targeting the Fulton County raid

More specifically, they’re theorizing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s shadowy presence at the search is connected to the outrageous claim that Venezuela rigged voting machines in 2020.
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Judge blasts attempt to demote senator over video to U.S. troops

A judge ruled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated Sen. Mark Kelly’s (D-Ariz.) First Amendment rights by moving to strip him of his retired military rank for reminding troops to refuse illegal orders.
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Judge orders Trump administration to allow men expelled to El Salvador to return

The 137 Venezuelan men who were previously expelled to a notorious megaprison in El Salvador may return to the United States and challenge their removal from the country. But it’s not clear many will take the offer up.
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RNC asks SCOTUS to uphold Pennsylvania law that would disqualify undated, wrongly dated mail-in ballots

The move comes after the 3rd Circuit ruled last year that the measure violates the Constitution, and rejected Republicans’ request for a full circuit rehearing.
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A loss for Texas voters

The 5th Circuit upheld a suppressive Texas law that imposes criminal penalties on paid canvassers who interact with voters in the presence of a mail-in ballot. The district court previously struck it down, ruling it violated the First Amendment.
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Also in Texas, pro voting groups filed a lawsuit against Harris County’s inaccessible vote-by-mail ballots

Plaintiffs said if the county provided electronic vote-by-mail ballots, voters who are visually impaired would be able to privately and independently read and mark their ballots without depending on a third party.
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DEMOCRACY FOOTNOTES

Here we share noteworthy briefs on all things voting rights and democracy. Have a footnote for us? Send them to news@democracydocket.com.

Campaign slogans are telling us a lot about how primaries in Texas are going.
New Mexico disqualified several Republican candidates after they failed to meet ballot requirements. As a result, the state’s November 2026 election ballot will not have any Republicans. Awkward.