SCOTUS ruling on Texas gerrymander could be good news for California

While the Supreme Court’s decision to let Texas use its mid-decade gerrymander for next year’s midterms comes as a devastating blow for minority voters in Texas, it could also make it harder for the GOP and the Department of Justice to block California’s voter-approved Prop 50 map.
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DOJ’s new voting lawyer brought flawed charges pushed by election deniers

A Republican lawyer playing a leading role in the DOJ's push to seize state voter records was put on leave in a previous job after bringing a flawed prosecution spurred by a false tip from a far-right election conspiracy group.
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SCOTUS to hear Trump’s bid to eliminate birthright citizenship

The Supreme Court will decide whether President Donald Trump can limit the constitutional right to citizenship granted to virtually all American-born children, despite several lower courts already ruling such a limit would violate the 14th Amendment.
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Civil rights groups poised to take Texas’ voter suppression law to SCOTUS

Civil rights groups may ask SCOTUS to take up their challenge to Texas’ sweeping voter-suppression law. If the justices agree to hear it, the conservative majority could use the case to make future challenges to restrictive voting laws even more difficult.
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Court ‘paves way to autocracy’ by upholding Trump’s independent agency firings

A D.C. Circuit three-judge panel “paves the way to autocracy,” upholding Trump’s firings of two officials at independent agencies: Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris and National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox.
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Indiana House passes Trump gerrymander, sending map to uncertain Senate vote

The Indiana House voted 57-41 to advance a Trump-approved congressional map that could eliminate both of the state’s Democratic districts. The map now heads to the state Senate, which is expected to take it up when it convenes Monday.
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Cleta Mitchell ‘praying’ DOJ seizes Georgia ballots in probe of debunked 2020 election claims

Far-right lawyer and anti-voting activist Cleta Mitchell said she is "praying" DOJ Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon will seize ballots cast in the 2020 election in Georgia to probe for evidence of already debunked voter fraud claims.
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A loss for North Carolina voters

A federal court approved a settlement agreement between the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the North Carolina State Board of Elections. As a result, the new GOP-controlled board will reconsider its directive instructing county election boards to accept absentee ballots submitted without a sealed return envelope.
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RNC sues Maryland in latest push for aggressive voter roll purges

Republicans sued Maryland election officials, claiming the state failed to keep accurate voter rolls. The RNC and state GOP argue officials aren’t making required efforts to remove deceased, duplicate, or otherwise ineligible voters. They’re asking a court to order stronger list-maintenance procedures. The move is part of a broader Republican push nationwide to enable more aggressive voter-roll purges.
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Coming up Monday

SCOTUS will hear arguments in a case concerning the president's ability to fire the heads of independent, multi-member agencies.
Trial is scheduled in People Not Politicians' lawsuit seeking to stop the Secretary of State from rejecting signatures for a referendum to veto Missouri’s new gerrymandered map.

AND NOW FOR THIS WEEK’S GOOD NEWS

Grand jury denies DOJ’s bid to re-indict New York AG Letitia James

A grand jury rejected the DOJ’s second attempt to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, marking another major setback in the administration’s effort to prosecute the president’s perceived enemies.
The rejection comes just days after a federal court threw out the first indictment because it found that Trump appointee Lindsey Halligan — who brought the charges — was illegally installed as acting U.S. attorney.

Appeals court disqualifies Trump loyalist as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor

A federal judge panel unanimously upheld a ruling that Alina Habba — Trump’s former personal lawyer — was illegally installed as New Jersey’s acting U.S. attorney, disqualifying her from the position. The court found Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi bypassed vacancy laws and the Senate confirmation process to keep Habba in place while she pursued partisan investigations of Democratic officials.

Colorado rebukes DOJ’s demand for private statewide voter data

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) became the latest election official to refuse the Trump DOJ’s demand to obtain unredacted voter registration records, calling the request unlawful and dangerous. Griswold said Colorado “will not comply” with the DOJ’s national push in which it has pressured and sued states to collect sensitive voter information.

Federal judge blocks Trump admin’s unlawful ICE arrests in Washington, D.C

A federal judge temporarily halted the Trump administration’s warrantless immigration arrests in Washington, D.C., ruling that ICE agents were violating basic legal standards by detaining people without warrants or probable cause. The injunction immediately stops the administration from continuing its sweeping, indiscriminate arrests in the district while challenges proceed.

Federal judge stops Trump’s mass firings at the State Department

A federal judge issued an order preventing the Trump administration from firing roughly 250 State Department employees. The judge ruled the planned layoffs violated Congress’s shutdown agreement barring any reduction-in-force actions through Jan. 30. The order protects hundreds of civil servants from politically motivated firings while the case proceeds — and may open the door to reversing layoffs being carried out at other agencies.