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

SCOTUS Let Stand an 8th Circuit Decision Disallowing a ‘Private Right of Action’ in Voting Rights Cases. It May Be the Next VRA Domino to Fall

June 29, 2026June 29, 2026

The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a case from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals June 22nd which takes another step toward striking down a “private right of action” for Voting Rights Act cases. For the moment, it impacts only seven states, but it may be the next VRA domino to fall.

Federal Court Blocks Trump Administration from Implementing Key Parts of Executive Order on Elections as Unconstitutional Overreach

June 28, 2026June 28, 2026

Attorneys general from 23 states challenged President Donald Trump’s March 31st executive order on elections under the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution. June 25th, a federal district court judge blocked the administration and U.S. Postal Service from implementing key sections of the order.

As Threatened, Trump Holds Up Passage of Long-Awaited Bipartisan Housing Bill, Demanding the Senate Pass the Restrictive SAVE America Act

June 25, 2026June 25, 2026

In our June 19th report we told you about President Donald Trump’s threat to not sign the bipartisan housing or FISA homeland security bills unless the Senate passed the SAVE America Act. The Senate passed the housing bill – without the SAVE Act attached – and its signing ceremony was abruptly cancelled.

Trump’s DHS, Having Had SAVE Database Compliance Blocked by Courts, Reportedly Turns to Withholding State Election Security Funding

June 24, 2026June 24, 2026

There’s another development in the deployment of the expanded, and notoriously inaccurate, SAVE database, repurposed to verify citizenship for voting purposes. The Trump administration, having lost multiple court challenges, is reportedly proposing to withhold state election security funding for noncompliance.

Federal District Court Rules Use of Social Security and Other Federal Data for SAVE Database Violates Multiple Federal Privacy Statutes

June 23, 2026June 23, 2026

President Donald Trump’s executive order to verify the citizenship eligibility of registering and mail-in voters was dealt a serious blow by a Federal District Court June 22nd. It ruled that the integration of Social Security and other federal data into the SAVE database violated federal privacy statutes.