The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 22, 2025

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

We recently reported on presidential orders, including executive orders, and how they’re used.  Executive orders can also be used to revoke previous orders, and among President Donald Trump’s day-one orders was removing a policy of the federal government to promote access to voting.

Trump’s executive order, entitled “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions,” terminated 78 of President Joe Biden’s orders, including Order 14019 from March 7, 2021, setting a policy for the federal government to promote access to voting.

Biden’s order, as noted on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website, QUOTE “Directed all federal agencies to ‘consider ways to expand citizens’ opportunities to register to vote and to obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process.”   This included ensuring equal access for voters with disabilities and non English-speaking Americans.  It ensured voting opportunities for active duty military and overseas citizens, and established a federal ballot tracking system to assist those voters.   

It created a federal working group to protect voting access for Native American voters, and it allowed time off for federal employees to vote and to serve as poll workers.   Importantly, it supported modernization of the Vote.gov website.   Although not included in day-one orders, Trump has also pledged to limit voting to election day only.  

We have more on Trump’s day-one executive orders at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
The White House – INITIAL RESCISSIONS OF HARMFUL EXECUTIVE ORDERS AND ACTIONS, Jan. 20, 2025
Federal Register – (2021)  Executive Order 14019 of March 7, 2021

NPR – (2024) Republicans are turning Biden’s voter registration order into a partisan flash point

VOX – The Trump executive orders that threaten democracy
Washington Post – (Paywall likely) Here are the executive actions and orders Trump signed on Day 1

Groups Taking Action:

Native American Rights Fund, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, League of Women Voters US

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ExecutiveOrders #VoterRegistration #NativeVote

The post Executive Orders Can Also Terminate Previous Orders; One of Trump’s Day-1 Orders Ended a Federal Policy to Promote Voting appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 21, 2025

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

New Presidents often use “Day One” executive orders to move their policy agendas forward.  What are the different kinds of presidential orders, what are their limitations, and why do Presidents use them?

Since John F. Kennedy, presidents have averaged 269 executive orders over their terms.  Since 1907, each order receives a number, and all are cataloged at the National Archives.    There are three kinds of orders, according to Dr. Bert Rockman of Purdue University.   Executive orders are written orders, usually on  more weighty issues such as national emergencies or setting uniform policy for government action.    

Written presidential memoranda, authorize or freeze projects, share official positions with Congress, outline treaties and international affairs, and other policy matters.  Memoranda are not required to be published or public.  A third type are proclamations, such as a proclamation celebrating Juneteenth.   Pardons and clemency are not executive orders, but rather a separate power granted by the Constitution.

Gridlock resulting from the failure of Congress to compromise on legislation often stimulates presidents to use more executive orders, as presidents struggle to move their policies forward.  But executive orders can also be blocked by Congress or court review, as President Trump found out in his first term “Muslim Ban”, and may find again as he tries to end “birthright citizenship,” an action widely seen as unconstitutional.

Find more on the history of presidential orders at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Bar Association – (2021) What Is an Executive Order?

Dr. Bert Rockman, Purdue University – (2021) Executive Orders & Presidential Power
NPR – (2017) Executive Order Or Memorandum? Let’s Call The Whole Thing An ‘Action’
PBS – What is an executive order? Here’s what the tool can and can’t do
ACLU Washington – (2020) Timeline of Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban
NBC 4 NY- Is Donald Trump’s plan to end birthright citizenship viable?

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ExecutiveOrder #PresidentialPower #TrumpInauguration

The post What is an Executive Order?  What are the Limits of Its Power?  Why Do Presidents Use Them? appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan 20, 2025

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

On May 9, 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke in Kingstree, SC about the importance of voting on the eve of a state primary.  Here are his words:

“Let us on that glad day in June march on ballot boxes, for this is the way we’re going to straighten up the South and the nation.

Let us march on ballot boxes until somehow we will be able to develop that day men will have food and material necessities for their bodies, freedom and dignity for their spirits, and education and culture for their mind.

Let us march on ballot boxes so that men and women will no longer walk the streets in search of jobs that do not exist.

Let us march on ballot boxes until the empty stomachs of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina are filled.

Let us march on ballot boxes until the idle industries of Appalachia are revitalized.

Let us march on ballot boxes until ‘brotherhood’ is more than a meaningless word and at the end of a prayer but the first order of business on every Legislature’s slate or agenda. Let us march on ballot boxes.

Let us march on ballot boxes until every valley shall be exalted, until every mountain and hill shall be made low, until the rough places are made plain and the crooked places straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all of bloods shall sing together.”

We’ve linked to more of Dr. King’s speech, archived at the University of South Carolina’s Moving Image Research Collections at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
WLTX – (2020)  ‘Let us march on ballot boxes:’ Words spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1966 resonate in 2020
University of South Carolina’s Moving Image Research Collections (MIRC) – Martin Luther King Jr. on voting
Equal Justice Initiative – Dr. King and Hundreds of Voting Rights Activists Arrested
Lee Saunders, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) – (Opinion) Advancing Dr. King’s voting rights legacy
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register and Vote in Your State

Groups Taking Action:
NAACP,  Black Voters Matter, Vote.org, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Rock the Vote, League of Women Voters Vote 411

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources
WLTX – (2020)  ‘Let us march on ballot boxes:’ Words spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1966 resonate in 2020
University of South Carolina’s Moving Image Research Collections (MIRC) – Martin Luther King Jr. on voting
Equal Justice Initiative – Dr. King and Hundreds of Voting Rights Activists Arrested
Lee Saunders, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) – (Opinion) Advancing Dr. King’s voting rights legacy

Groups Taking Action:

NAACP,  Black Voters Matter, Vote.org, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Rock the Vote, League of Women Voters Vote 411

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ProtectPollWorkers

The post For MLK Day: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “March on Ballot Boxes” Speech in South Carolina, May 9, 1966 appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 17, 2025

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

Native American voters prevailed in federal court against the State of North Dakota, protecting the ability to elect the candidate of their choice.  The state has a history of diluting Native voting power.

January 13th, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a redistricting case we covered back in May 2024, affirming a North Dakota Federal Appeals Court decision.  The appeals court had dismissed a state house district challenge by two non-native residents, who claimed their rights were infringed.

The case dates back to 2021, when the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara nations, also known as the MHA Nation, negotiated with the State to protect Native voting power under the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Section 2.  After an agreement, State GOP officials later shamefully reversed positions in 2022, embracing a new GOP tactic which argues such majority-minority districts are a violation of the Equal Protection Clause under the U.S. Constitution.  The same argument has been made in Robinson v. Callais over Louisiana’s now two majority-minority districts. 

The MHA Nation decision protects North Dakota State House District 4A and three other districts –  great news for Native voters. But the Louisiana case is expected to be heard in the high court early in 2025, and the conservative justices seem to have made it their mission to dismantle the VRA.   

We have links to the history of the case at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
North Dakota Legislature – District 4

North Dakota Monitor – North Dakota changes course on tribal redistricting case, asks US Supreme Court to rule

North Dakota Monitor – Supreme Court upholds North Dakota’s majority-Native legislative subdistricts
Campaign Legal Center – Supreme Court Upholds Fair Map for Native Voters in North Dakota
Native American Rights Fund – North Dakota Native voting rights upheld by Supreme Court

U.S. District Court for North Dakota – (2023 – Via Democracy Docket) District Court Decision

Groups Taking Action:

Native American Rights Fund, Campaign Legal Center, Election Law Group , ACLU North Dakota

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #NativeVote #VotingRightsAct #VRA #FreedomtoVote

The post ND Native American Nation Prevails in Protecting Majority-Minority Voting Districts.  A Victory for Minority Voters, But GOP Efforts to Neutralize the VRA Continue appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 16, 2025

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

Our recent reporting explored the massive contributions to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, reportedly reaching $170 Million dollars.  What are the rules as to how that money is spent?  The short answer is, there aren’t any.

The Federal Election Commissions allows private donations to support inaugural activities.  This year, that’s a parade, a rally, two luncheons, a tea, three dinners, three inaugural balls, and fireworks at Trump’s Sterling golf club.  The FEC requires reporting of donations over $200 dollars, but sets no limits or dictates how it’s used. Of the known inaugural donors, crypto platform Ripple has contributed the most, at $5 Million dollars. 

Taxpayers foot some of the bill, including security for the inauguration itself.  Let’s say that the Trump inauguration has 12 events, and they cost an astronomical $2 million dollars each – a whopping $24 Million dollars.  That leaves $146 Million left.  When the inauguration is over, will we know how the leftover money will be used? 

We won’t.  While a Trump campaign source told the New York Times some would be used for Trump’s Presidential library, there are no rules dictating how that money is used.  

The Inaugural Fund Integrity Act is expected to be re-introduced in Congress in January, which would set a limit of $50,000, require immediate disclosure of contributions over $1000, and ban corporate and SuperPAC donations.   But the legislation STILL doesn’t require disclosure of how that extra money gets spent.   

Find more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Yahoo Finance – (2017) Here’s how much an inauguration costs, and who pays for it

Congressional Research Service – (2013) The Presidential Inauguration: Basic Facts and
Information
Federal Election Commission – Funding inaugural committee activities
CBS News –  (2014) How much do state dinners cost? They ain’t cheap
Spectrum News – Trump’s second inauguration celebration will last four days. Here’s the schedule
National Archives – Federal Code § 104.21 Reporting by inaugural committees.
Public Citizen – Billionaires, Millionaires and Lobbyists Cozy Up to Trump by Flooding the Inauguration with Record-Breaking Donations
Public Citizen – Contribution Tracker: Corporations and Billionaires Funnel Millions Into Trump Inauguration Committee
U.S. Congress – H.R.6312 – Inaugural Fund Integrity Act

Groups Taking Action:
Common Cause, Public Citizen,  C.R.E.W., Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #TrumpInauguration #Inauguration #PoliticalCorruption #EndCitizensUnited

The post What are the Rules as to How Contributions to Inaugural Committee Funds Are Spent?  There Aren’t Any. appeared first on American Democracy Minute.