bolts

bolts, 9 months ago to random

A massive new resource from @bolts today: A state-by-state guide to every state supreme court.

We break down their structure, selection procedures, and functions: https://boltsmag.org/whats-on-the-ballot/state-supreme-courts/

bolts, 6 months ago to random

Michigan is poised to adopt the first law in the nation to automatically register people to vote as they leave prison. The bill, adopted this month by lawmakers, now sits on the governor's desk. https://boltsmag.org/michigan-automatic-voter-registration-prison/

bolts, 5 months ago to random

Michigan automatically registers people to vote when they get a driver's license.

This year, it adopted a new law to also register people automatically when they sign up for Medicaid, obtain a Native American tribal ID, or are released from prison.
https://boltsmag.org/michigan-automatic-voter-registration-prison/

bolts, 3 months ago to random

JUST IN: Democrat Jim Prokopiak prevailed in a special election tonight for Pennsylvania's 140th legislative district, according to the Associated Press.

This means that Pennsylvania's state House will retain a Democratic majority.

This is one of several key races we're tracking tonight. https://boltsmag.org/whats-on-the-ballot/february-2024/

bolts, 3 months ago to random

After years of being whittled away, the Voting Rights Act unexpectedly survived an existential threat in 2023.

But the reprieve may have been temporary: Conservatives are targeting the law with major threats this year. Bolts breaks them down: https://boltsmag.org/threats-to-voting-rights-act-section-2/

bolts, 4 months ago to random

For people in jail, using tablets is often exorbitantly expensive to use due to the prices set by for-profit prison telecom companies.

San Francisco has made them free: https://boltsmag.org/san-francisco-free-jail-phone-calls-tablet-services/

bolts, 17 days ago to random

Minnesota just became the latest state to eliminate prison gerrymandering. A new law will end the practice of counting incarcerated people where prisons are located, which skews political power within the state.

NEW in Bolts: https://boltsmag.org/minnesota-ends-prison-gerrymandering/

bolts, 1 year ago to random

As solitary confinement grew more controversial in recent years, California prison officials have labeled prolonged isolation “administrative segregation” or a host of other terms that have helped conceal the reality and scope of the practice. https://boltsmag.org/solitary-confinement-california/

bolts, 6 months ago to random

Michigan first adopted automatic voter registration in 2018, when voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure.

Lawmakers have now passed a bill that would very considerably expand the program. Bolts breaks down how: https://boltsmag.org/michigan-automatic-voter-registration-prison/

bolts, 6 months ago to random

Annalyse Gosselin spent $5,000 over 15 months just to talk to her boyfriend, who is incarcerated in a Massachusetts prison. A law that went into effect yesterday will eliminate the exorbitant changes going forward: “It will honestly be the best thing.” https://boltsmag.org/massachusetts-prison-jail-phone-calls/

bolts, 5 months ago to random

The threat that new conservative justices in Florida would shrug off partisan gerrymandering complaints has made the state’s existing protections against partisan gerrymandering virtually toothless. https://boltsmag.org/partisan-gerrymandering-rucho-and-new-hampshire/

bolts, 5 months ago to random

The Wisconsin supreme court today, in a 4-3 ruling, overturned the state's legislative maps as unlawful gerrymandered and ordered new maps by the 2024 elections. https://wisconsinwatch.org/2023/12/wisconsin-supreme-court-orders-new-legislative-maps-for-2024/

bolts, 4 months ago to random

Dennis Watkins, an Ohio prosecutor, has never faced a challenger in any of his nine prior reelection bids since 1984. He drew attention last month for bringing charges against a woman who experienced a miscarriage. https://boltsmag.org/ohio-prosecutor-elections-2024/

bolts, 4 months ago to random

Even as he voted to save the VRA last year, Justice Brett Kavanaugh opened the door to reconsidering whether a key section of the landmark law should still apply in the present.

Now, cases are coming up the system in which conservatives are testing the question. https://boltsmag.org/threats-to-voting-rights-act-section-2/

bolts, 20 days ago to random

Pinny Sheoran, president of the League of Women’s Voters of Arizona, is alarmed about a Republican proposal to restrict direct democracy: "The ruling minority doesn’t want to share the power with the public." https://boltsmag.org/arizona-ballot-measure-would-restrict-popular-initiatives/

bolts, 7 months ago to random

After the Kentucky governor restored hundreds of thousands of people’s voting rights in 2019, a coalition led by formerly incarcerated Kentuckians is working to inform people of their rights.

https://boltsmag.org/kentucky-voting-rights-restoration/

bolts, 3 months ago to random

In an unusual game of musical chairs, four Arkansas justices are running for different seats than their own next week. Any vacancies created would then be filled by the state’s staunchly conservative governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders: https://boltsmag.org/arkansas-supreme-court-appointments/

bolts, 3 months ago to random

D.C. Jail authorities claim to no longer use solitary confinement, but still isolate people with mental health crises in "safe cells." A bill introduced in September seeks to limit this practice.

NEW in Bolts: https://boltsmag.org/solitary-confinement-dc-jail-erase-act/

bolts, 2 months ago to random

Michigan automatically registers people to vote when they get driver's licenses.

It adopted a new law last fall that will also register people automatically when they sign up for Medicaid, obtain a Native American tribal ID, or are released from prison. https://boltsmag.org/michigan-automatic-voter-registration-prison/

bolts, 2 months ago to random

While the U.S. Constitution prohibits “cruel and unusual” punishments, many advocates for sentencing reform are turning to state constitutions: Some contain language that may allow more expansive protections.

https://boltsmag.org/pennsylvania-case-life-without-parole-felony-murder/

bolts, 1 month ago to random

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, 1 month ago to random

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, 12 days ago to random

Tennessee has added new steps for residents who've lost their voting rights and want to regain them. The steps cost money.

A resident of Nashville would have to pay $159.50 to petition a judge to regain their rights. https://boltsmag.org/tennessee-restricts-rights-restoration/

bolts, 11 days ago to random

Oregon secretary of state candidate Dennis Linthicum wants to stop all mail voting. He’ll face Democrat Tobias Read in November's race to be the state's top elections official.

NEW in Bolts: https://boltsmag.org/oregon-secretary-of-state-election-linthicum-read/

bolts, 5 days ago to random

Colorado on Friday adopted a first-in-the-nation mandate to turn local jails into in-person polling places.

“It’s really a gold standard for what all states can aspire to,” a jail voting expert told Bolts. https://boltsmag.org/colorado-voting-centers-in-jails-bill/