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

In 2024, a ballot measure to replace Ohio’s dysfunctional politician-led redistricting process with an independent citizen-led process had its description rewritten by state officials to sink it.  Now, Ohio officials are trying to sink two more measures they don’t like, and the U.S. Supreme Court is now involved. 

Some background.  Ohio’s “fair & truthful” ballot measure requirements allows the state to modify a ballot measure’s description to make it accurate for voters.  But can it use that authority to manipulate the process and block citizens from moving their ballot measure forward?

Organizers tried for two years to get the language okayed to gather signatures for the “Protecting Ohioans’ Constitutional Rights” measure, giving citizens the private right to sue the state and removing the “qualified immunity” that police and government officials are currently given.  

While organizers have acted in good faith, Federal District Court Judge Karen Nelson Moore wrote that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost found fault and rejected the proposed amendment language EIGHT TIMES, and found the reasons “dubious.” The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that Ohio was restricting the organizers’ speech and must approve the measure’s description.

But April 9th, Yost appealed to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh for an emergency stay of the 6th Circuit’s order, which Kavanugh immediately granted despite the sketchy circumstances. We’ll continue to watch this situation.  We have the 6th Circuit’s decision at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Statehouse News Bureau – Group behind qualified immunity amendment sues Ohio Attorney General over latest rejection
Ohio Attorney General –  Unapproved language of  “Protecting Ohioans’ Constitutional Rights” measure 

6th Circuit Court of Appeals –  Opinion in Brown v. Yost
U.S. Supreme Court – Yost’s Application to Justice Brett Kavanaugh for Emergency Stay
U.S. Supreme Court – Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s order, staying the 6th Circuit
Courthouse News Service – Supreme Court keeps Ohio’s qualified immunity ballot initiative on ice

Groups Taking Action:

Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity, Ballot Initiative Strategy Center

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 #Ohio #BallotMeasure #Suppression #DaveYost 

The post State of Ohio Embroiled in Another Fight Over Manipulating Citizen Ballot Initiatives It Doesn’t Like.  Now the U.S. Supreme Court is Involved. appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 12, 2025

On the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, we’re examining how the landmark protections it moved forward in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are now being dismantled by the U.S. Supreme Court’s far right majority.  Louisiana v. Callais may be the next blow.  

What started out as brazen racial gerrymandering in 2022 by the Louisiana legislature, has devolved into a new tactic to undo more of the already-weakened VRA.  Lower courts ordered the legislature to draw new, fairer maps.  After initial defiance, it drew two majority-minority Congressional districts to allow concentrations of the state’s 33% Black population to elect the candidate of their choice.

In 2024, a group of QUOTE “non-African American voters” appealed.  They claim that the new districts are a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment – making the redistricting decisions based on race  – and should be struck down.  In 2023’s striking down of affirmative action, Justices Alito, Gorsuch and Thomas pointed to the Equal Protection Clause, as did Alito in his 2023 dissent in Alabama’s Milligan racial gerrymandering decision.  

When oral arguments begin on March 24th, all eyes will be on Justices Kavanaugh & Coney-Barrett, who upheld the VRA’s Section 2 in the Alabama decision, but who also concurred with parts of Thomas’ Equal Protection Clause dissent. 

The voting rights for which the Selma marchers shed blood may indeed be in jeopardy.   We have more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.  

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

U.S. Supreme Court – Docket for Louisiana v. Callais
All About Redistricting – Louisiana v. Callais
Brennan Center for Justice – Black Louisianians Fight in Court to Preserve Fair Voting Map
SCOTUSBlog – Milligan Decision:  Supreme Court upholds Section 2 of Voting Rights Act
Campaign Legal Center – Supreme Court’s Impact on Voting Rights Is a Threat to Democracy
Legal Defense Fund – Louisiana v. Callais FAQ

National Constitution Center – Supreme Court rules against universities in affirmative action decision

Groups Taking Action:

Legal Defense Fund, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice,  ACLU of Louisiana

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 #Louisiana #VotingRights #FairMaps #VRA

The post Will Louisiana v. Callais Be the Latest Blow Against the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by SCOTUS? appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 29, 2025

Today’s Script

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

There are 141 majority-minority congressional voting districts in the U.S., out of 435.  A new conservative legal tactic has emerged, arguing such districts harm  White Americans, and citingthe Equal Protection Clause, originally passed to end state discrimination against Black Americans.

The 1965 Voting Rights Act Section 2 and subsequent court rulings allow narrow exceptions to connect communities and create majority-minority voting districts.  Such districts allow Black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian communities to elect the representatives of their choice, without having their vote diluted by a White majority.  And that White majority historically has too often attempted to suppress minority voting power through restrictive voting rules and racial gerrymandering.

Since the 2023 Allen v. Milligan racial gerrymandering decision, a conservative legal strategy has emerged, challenging majority-minority voting districts by flipping the original intent of the Equal Protection Clause.  In a U.S. Supreme Court case to be heard in February, a group of Louisiana QUOTE “non-African-American individuals” claim THEIR rights have been harmed by the provision.  Their argument was supported by 12 other red states, including five former preclearance states, citing the Equal Protection Clause.  

In past opinions, Justices Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch appear ready to pounce on the case, and try to eliminate such opportunity districts for Louisiana’s 33% Black voters, but also for minority voters around the country.    

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

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Ballotpedia – Majority-Minority Congressional Districts
U.S. Supreme Court  – Allen v. Milligan Decision
U.S. Justice Department – States and Counties Formerly Required for Section 5 Preclearance Because of Consistent Racial Voting Discrimination
Brennan Center for Justice – Black Louisianians Fight in Court to Preserve Fair Voting Map
U.S. Supreme Court – BRIEF OF ALABAMA AND 12 OTHER STATES 

American University Law Review  – (2024) The Twists and Turns of A Map that Captured National Attention – Robinson v. Callais
SCOTUS Blog – Louisiana v. Callais (formerly Robinson v. Callais)

Groups Taking Action:

Power Coalition for Equity and Justice,  ACLU of Louisiana

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 #EqualProtectionsClause #14thAmendment #VoterSuppression #RacialGerrymandering  #MajorityMinority

The post Majority-Minority Voting Districts Give Minority Voters a Fair Chance to Elect Proper Representation. The Equal Protection Clause is Now Being Used to Try to End Them appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 28, 2025

Today’s Script

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

The Equal Protection Clause, embedded in the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, is now being used to dismantle the 1965 Voting Rights Act, opening the door to even more voter suppression.  What’s its history, and why is it being used now?

The 14th Amendment passed in 1868 and granted citizenship to formerly enslaved African Americans. The Equal Protection Clause reads, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Scholars agree it was intended to stop states from discriminating against Black Americans.  Yet, as the National Constitution Center points out, it was also used to justify the U.S. Supreme Court’s Plessy vs. Ferguson, allowing discriminatory “separate but equal” schools, transportation and accommodations in 1896.  Another interpretation overturned that decision in Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954.  In 2023, it was used to eliminate race-based affirmative action for college admissions. 

U.S. Supreme Court conservatives, notably Justices Alito and Thomas, argue any consideration of race is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause. How might their interpretation impact voting rights?  More on that in our next report.

Find our resources at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

National Archives – 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868)
U.S. Senate – Landmark Legislation: The Fourteenth Amendment
National Constitution Center – The Equal Protection Clause
National Archives – Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Cornell Law – Equal Protection
ABC News – Supreme Court allows what critics call ‘racial balancing’ at elite public school
U.S. 

Groups Taking Action:

ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Constitutional Accountability Center

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 #EqualProtectionClause #14thAmendment #VotingRights

The post What is the Equal Protections Clause and How Have Interpretations of It Changed? appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 27, 2025

Today’s Script

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

The Biden administration’s solicitor general submitted a Supreme Court brief in 2024, supporting fair Congressional voting maps in Louisiana under the 1965 Voting Rights Act.  January 24th, a Trump DOJ official rescinded that brief, saying it no longer represented the U.S. Government.

Oral arguments begin in February for Robinson v. Callais.  After the state was forced to draw two minority-majority congressional districts, Republicans appealed, employing an argument tailored for the conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court.  The appellants argue the VRA Section 2 minority-majority district violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause because it was drawn on the basis of race.  Louisiana’s population is almost 33% Black, yet only one of six Congressional districts was a minority-majority district where voters could reasonably elect the candidate of their choice. 

Biden’s solicitor general told the court, QUOTE, “In particular, the United States has an interest in ensuring that States have latitude to adopt districts that comply with both Section 2 and the Equal Protection Clause.”  

But in a letter to the Supreme Court just four days after inaugeration, Trump’s acting solicitor general Sarah Harris revoked it, saying, QUOTE, “. . .the previously filed brief no longer represents the position of the United States.”  

If you’re a Black, Hispanic, Native American, or other minority voter who wants to elect a candidate of your choice, that’s bad news.   

We have more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Biden Administration U.S. Supreme Court Brief – Robinson v. Callais / Louisiana v. Callais
U.S. Supreme Court –  All Briefs for Robinson v. Callais / Louisiana v. Callais

American Democracy Minute – What’s Ahead for 2025:  VRA Majority Minority Voting Districts at Risk in Louisiana Redistricting Case at the U.S. Supreme Court
Louisiana Illuminator –  (Separate case – Nairne v. Ardoin) Republican AGs seek to use Louisiana redistricting case to weaken Voting Rights Act

The Guardian – Fears grow for voting rights as Trump plots to reshape US justice department
U.S. Justice Department – Letter from Acting Solicitor General Revoking Previous Briefs in Robinson v. Callais

Groups Taking Action:

Power Coalition for Equity and Justice,  ACLU of Louisiana

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 #Louisiana #VotingRightsAct #VRA #FairMaps

The post Trump’s DOJ Reverses Position on Pending Voting Rights Act Case, Signaling Further Attacks on Fair Voting Districts for Minority Voters appeared first on American Democracy Minute.