@bolts@journa.host
@bolts@journa.host avatar

bolts

@bolts@journa.host

We cover the nuts and bolts of power and political change, from the local up. Boltsmag.org

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

An Arizona constitutional amendment, placed on the November ballot by GOP lawmakers, would severely restrict direct democracy through strict geographic requirements on ballot petitions.

NEW in @bolts: https://boltsmag.org/arizona-ballot-measure-would-restrict-popular-initiatives/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

In California, absentee voters with low vision and other disabilities often have to give up their right to a secret ballot. “We want to vote the same way that other people do,” says a blind man who's suing the state. https://boltsmag.org/california-electronic-voting-disability-rights/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

To take a plea in Virginia, defendants routinely give up their constitutional protections against unreasonable search — sometimes for years.

One local organization is working to teach people about the dangers of forfeiting these rights. https://boltsmag.org/fourth-amendment-waiver-virginia-police-traffic-stops/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Black Virginians are far more likely than white residents to get offered plea deals under the condition that they agree to waive some of their constitutional rights for years, opening them up to random and invasive police searches long after their cases have been resolved. https://boltsmag.org/fourth-amendment-waiver-virginia-police-traffic-stops/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law last month that bars civilian oversight boards from investigating instances of police misconduct, further restricting their ability to bring accountability. https://boltsmag.org/florida-weaken-civilian-police-oversight-bodies/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

A federal decision has struck down a North Carolina law that criminalized the act of voting while serving a felony conviction: https://ncnewsline.com/2024/04/23/federal-judge-rules-das-cant-prosecute-disenfranchised-probationers-for-mistakenly-voting/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

There are state supreme court elections this year in 33 states. At stake? Cases ranging from abortion access to voting rights, and a lot more.

@taniel walks you through what's on the ballot, state by state. https://boltsmag.org/your-state-by-state-guide-to-the-2024-supreme-court-elections/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Two Colorado justices who voted to keep Donald Trump on the state's ballot are up for retention this year, as is one justice who joined the majority in declaring him ineligible. https://boltsmag.org/your-state-by-state-guide-to-the-2024-supreme-court-elections/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Tomorrow, Summer Lee, a member of Congress who is part of the Squad, faces challenger Bhavini Patel, who has taken issue with Lee’s criticism of Israel’s actions. https://boltsmag.org/whats-on-the-ballot/primaries-on-the-pennsylvania-ballot-april-23/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Over 26 years, Mississippi DA Doug Evans and his team struck Black prospective jurors more than 4 times as often as white ones, famously in Curtis Flowers' case. Despite lawsuits and complaints, he never faced any discipline and retired on his own terms. https://boltsmag.org/mississippi-da-doug-evans-retires/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Iowa Justice David May faces voters for the first time since his 2022 appointment.

Last year, he sided with the anti-abortion camp, voting to reverse a lower-court ruling that had blocked a new ban on abortions after six weeks. https://boltsmag.org/your-state-by-state-guide-to-the-2024-supreme-court-elections/#IA

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Why do so many criminal cases resolve with plea deals instead of going to trial? One New Jersey public defender says the lack of diversity in the jury box is one reason. “The expected composition of the jury affects the way we advise people.” https://boltsmag.org/new-jersey-juries-service-people-with-criminal-convictions/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

NEW in Bolts: @taniel guides you through 15 primaries to watch in Pennsylvania next week, from Congress to the legislature.
https://boltsmag.org/whats-on-the-ballot/primaries-on-the-pennsylvania-ballot-april-23/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Michigan Democrats won two special elections tonight, regaining a majority in the state House.

This also means that they will once again enjoy full control of the state government. https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/democrats-retake-michigan-house-special-election-wins

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Some 60,000 Minnesotans with past misdemeanor marijuana convictions will have their criminal records expunged by August, the Star Tribune reports: https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-poised-to-expunge-misdemeanor-marijuana-records-as-early-as-may-felonies-will-be-reviewed/600355980/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

This morning, the Arizona supreme court ruled that the state can enforce a law adopted in 1864 that bans almost all abortions in the state. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/09/arizona-supreme-court-abortion-decision

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Three years after the state supreme court voided direct democracy in Mississippi, all legislative proposals to revive it died again this week.

NEW in @bolts from @taniel: https://boltsmag.org/mississippi-keeps-door-shut-on-ballot-initiatives/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Is your state electing supreme court justices this year? Find out in our new guide: https://boltsmag.org/your-state-by-state-guide-to-the-2024-supreme-court-elections/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

The co-sponsor of a Massachusetts bill to further limit solitary confinement says that keeping people in isolation “is not actually about security.” “Is putting someone in a deeply traumatizing environment really going to help them when they are released?” https://boltsmag.org/massachusetts-solitary-confinement/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Alabama already had some of the most restrictive voting laws in the country. A law signed by Governor Kay Ivey last month makes it even harder to vote by mail. https://boltsmag.org/alabama-law-absentee-voting-law/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Crystal Mason, a Black woman in Texas who had been sentenced to five years in prison for casting a provisional ballot while on probation, was acquitted last week after a long legal saga. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/28/crystal-mason-texas-woman-acquitted

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

In a ruling that could affect tens of thousands of votes this fall, a federal court ruled yesterday that Pennsylvania mail-in ballots that are undated should not count even if they arrive on time. https://penncapital-star.com/justice-the-courts/undated-pennsylvania-mail-in-ballots-should-not-be-counted-appeals-court-rules/

bolts,
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Bolts reported earlier this year about how local officials in Pennsylvania are trying to get ahead of mail ballot rejections by proposing innovative solutions like this ‘ice cream truck’ for ballot curing:
https://boltsmag.org/mobile-ballot-curing-in-pennsylvania/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Paid organizers who help collect or deliver absentee ballots in Alabama could now face a class C felony charge under a controversial new law — the same felony class as looting, stalking, and more, and which is punishable by up to ten years in prison. https://boltsmag.org/alabama-law-absentee-voting-law/

bolts, to random
@bolts@journa.host avatar

Alabama Republicans this month passed a new law criminalizing some absentee ballot assistance. Voting rights groups in the state who believe the law is unconstitutional have vowed to fight back.

NEW in @bolts: https://boltsmag.org/alabama-law-absentee-voting-law/

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • megavids
  • rosin
  • ngwrru68w68
  • Durango
  • DreamBathrooms
  • mdbf
  • magazineikmin
  • thenastyranch
  • Youngstown
  • khanakhh
  • slotface
  • everett
  • vwfavf
  • kavyap
  • provamag3
  • osvaldo12
  • GTA5RPClips
  • ethstaker
  • tacticalgear
  • InstantRegret
  • cisconetworking
  • cubers
  • tester
  • anitta
  • modclub
  • Leos
  • normalnudes
  • JUstTest
  • All magazines
    •