American Democracy Minute A 90 second radio news report & podcast on U.S. democracy issues

SCOTUS Turns Down Case Challenging Alaska’s Dark Money Disclosure Law. Great News for Voters and a Possibly a Future Case in Maine.

November 20, 2024November 20, 2024

A 2020 Alaska ballot initiative took steps to shine a light on dark money campaign funding. The U.S. Supreme Court just turned down a challenge to that law, and it may be good news for an expected case in Maine.

After Years of Litigation, Undated Ballot Envelopes are Again at Issue in Pennsylvania’s 2024 Election – and Thousands Likely Disenfranchised

November 19, 2024November 19, 2024

Four Democrat-led counties defied a Pennsylvania state law and counted undated mail-in ballots, a controversy under litigation for years. At immediate issue is the outcome of the Commonwealth’s U.S. Senate race.

Anti-Voter States Line Up for Showdown on 1965 Voting Rights Act at the U.S. Supreme Court

November 18, 2024November 18, 2024

The 2020 redistricting cycle featured several examples of egregious, racist gerrymandering to dilute Black voting power in the South, but also Native American voters in the West. A 2022 Louisiana case is apparently the vehicle chosen by anti-voter states to strike down what’s left of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Colossal Crypto Contributions Change Trump’s Mind, Likely Leading to Friendly Regulation – Or None at All

November 17, 2024November 17, 2024

President Donald Trump was not a fan of crypto currency. That is, until crypto magnates started pouring money into SuperPACs supporting his candidacy and select Congressional candidates to the tune of $133 million dollars.

Trump ‘Election Integrity’ Lawyer Cleta Mitchell Calls for the Firing of All DOJ Voting & Civil Rights Lawyers

November 14, 2024November 14, 2024

Cleta Mitchell, a 2020 Trump election lawyer who later pushed so-called ‘election integrity’ laws in states around the U.S., is now calling for all U.S. Department of Justice voting rights and civil rights lawyers to be fired.