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Poll: Democrats In Crisis Amid Shifting Voter Sentiment

Poll: Democrats In Crisis Amid Shifting Voter Sentiment

Why Blue States Had Better Get Busy Gerrymandering

Why Blue States Had Better Get Busy Gerrymandering

Political Spectacle: Sydney Sweeney’s “Great Jeans”

Political Spectacle: Sydney Sweeney’s “Great Jeans”

Trump’s Executive Order Targets Civil Rights and Academic Freedom in Higher Education

Trump’s Executive Order Targets Civil Rights and Academic Freedom in Higher Education

Homelessness and Mental Illness: How Trump’s New Executive Order Could Backfire

Homelessness and Mental Illness: How Trump’s New Executive Order Could Backfire

Voter machine companies working with DHS to combat hackers

Voter machine companies working with DHS to combat hackers
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumSep 06, 2019
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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Makers of voting machines and other election equipment have given the government under-the-covers access to their products, hoping federal experts can find the potential vulnerabilities before hackers can exploit them next year.

Jeanette Manfra, a top Homeland Security Department cybersecurity official, made the revelation at an Intelligence and National Security Summit in suburban Washington on Thursday. Afterward, she told Bloomberg that the manufacturers are cooperating voluntarily, representing a breakthrough for the government.

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Once Again, Politicians Are Choosing Their Voters. It’s Time for Voters To Choose Back.
Electoral Reforms

Once Again, Politicians Are Choosing Their Voters. It’s Time for Voters To Choose Back.

Map of California.
Democracy

California Considers a Reversal of Its Independent Redistricting Model

Arrests of Immigrants With No Criminal Record up More Than 1,000%, While Criminal Arrests Rise 55%: The Change at ICE Under Trump Administration
Rule of Law

Arrests of Immigrants With No Criminal Record up More Than 1,000%, While Criminal Arrests Rise 55%: The Change at ICE Under Trump Administration

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Stolen Land, Stolen Votes: Native Americans Defending the VRA Protects Us All – and We Should Support Them

Wilson Deschine sits at the "be my voice" voter registration stand at the Navajo Nation annual rodeo, in Window Rock.

Getty Images, David Howells

Stolen Land, Stolen Votes: Native Americans Defending the VRA Protects Us All – and We Should Support Them

On July 24, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a Circuit Court order in a far-reaching case that could affect the voting rights of all Americans. Native American tribes and individuals filed the case as part of their centuries-old fight for rights in their own land.

The underlying subject of the case confronts racial gerrymandering against America’s first inhabitants, where North Dakota’s 2021 redistricting reduced Native Americans’ chances of electing up to three state representatives to just one. The specific issue that the Supreme Court may consider, if it accepts hearing the case, is whether individuals and associations can seek justice under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). That is because the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, contradicting other courts, said that individuals do not have standing to bring Section 2 cases.

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Person voting

New York City’s election has gotten a lot of attention over the last few weeks, and ranked choice voting is a big part of the reason why.

Hill Street Studios/Getty Images

New York City’s Ranked Choice Voting: Democracy That’s Accountable to Voters

New York City’s election has gotten a lot of attention over the last few weeks, and ranked choice voting is a big part of the reason why.

Heads turned when 33-year-old state legislator Zohran Mamdani knocked off Andrew Cuomo, a former governor from one of the Democratic Party’s most prominent families. The earliest polls for the mayoral primary this winter found Mamdani struggling to reach even 1 percent.

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Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series
polling station poster on clear glass door
Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash

Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series

In Part One, Pat Merloe explored the impact of the political environment, the need for constitutional defense against power-grabbing, and the malign effects of proof of citizenship on voting.

In the second part of the three-part series, Merloe explores the harmful effects of Executive Orders, the reversal of the Justice Department on voting rights, and the effects of political retribution.

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Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series
Voted printed papers on white surface
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series

In Part 1, Pat Merloe examines the impact of the political environment, the necessity of constitutional defense against power-grabbing, and the detrimental effects of proof of citizenship on voting.

Part One: Bellicose Environment, Constitutional Infringements, and Disenfranchisement by Proof of Citizenship

The intense MAGA barrage against genuine elections, leading up to 2024’s voting, paused briefly after Election Day - not because there was diminished MAGA hostility towards typically trustworthy processes and results, but mainly because Donald Trump won. Much valuable work took place to protect last year’s polls, and much more will be needed as we head toward 2026, 2028, and beyond.

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