News Roundup: New Voting Restrictions, Harlan Crow, and Florida Textbooks
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The flurry of new voting restrictions unleashed by state legislatures in 2021 wasn’t the end of conservative efforts to limit access to the ballot — those efforts have just taken on a new strategy of “radical incrementalism,” reported the New York Times ([link removed]) this week.
* Behind the new wave of restrictions — according to the Times, 18 new laws in 10 states this year — is a network of billionaire-funded advocacy groups.
* Playing a key role in this effort is Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who assisted in former President Trump’s attempt to overturn his election loss and whose remarks calling for anti-voting measures like limiting campus voting and ending same-day registration have recently drawn scrutiny. “I think you have got to figure out … where to fix the system that gives a Republican candidate a potential chance to win,” Mitchell said in a recording obtained by the Times.
* We’ve published emails we obtained — including from after she was appointed to the federal Election Assistance Commission’s advisory board — in which she decried expanded access to absentee voting and disparaged a voting rights organization. The Guardian reported on ([link removed]) those emails this week and on the growing alarm over Mitchell’s efforts.


While the former president went on CNN this week to spout more lies, he isn’t the only election denier angling for a return to prominence: The Washington Post ([link removed]) this week published a look at the recent efforts of 11 high-profile election deniers who lost their recent elections, including Kari Lake, Doug Mastriano and Mark Finchem. Here are other headlines related to election denial:
* Virginia becomes the latest GOP-governed state to quit a voter data partnership (NPR ([link removed]) )
* Arizona official targeted by election deniers now struggles with PTSD (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* 45 local candidates running to get control over elections in Pennsylvania have spread election misinformation (Votebeat ([link removed]) )
* Local boards of elections face harassment, influx of public records requests, spread of disinformation (INDY Week ([link removed]) )
* Musk shares baseless election claim with millions of Twitter users (Washington Post ([link removed]) )


Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have asked billionaire Harlan Crow ([link removed]) — whose extravagant gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas have drawn major scrutiny — to supply a detailed accounting of any valuable benefits or goods he’s provided to Thomas or other justices. He’s refused. ([link removed])
* We came across Crow’s name while reviewing records we obtained from the State Department regarding the role played by Mike Pompeo’s wife while he was secretary of state in the Trump administration.
* According to emails, Crow and his wife in 2019 attended at least one of the controversial taxpayer-funded “Madison Dinners” hosted by the Pompeos, providing another indication of the level of access Crow has had with powerful conservative officials, including Trump administration cabinet members. Read more about those records here. ([link removed])
* Related: Frontline ([link removed]) has an episode about Thomas and his wife, Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election. (More on Ginni Thomas below.)


In Florida, the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced that it had initially rejected more than 80 percent of social studies textbooks ([link removed]) submitted to the state, a number that dropped to about 35 percent after publishers worked with the state to make significant changes to lessons.
* Examples of altered lessons ([link removed]) included discussions of race, social justice, and socialism. In one example regarding American symbols, Florida removed guidance about talking to children about why some people might kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality.
* American Oversight sued the Florida Department of Education this spring for records related to DeSantis’ ongoing attacks on public education and his efforts to whitewash American history — learn more about our lawsuit and what we’re seeking here ([link removed]) .

On the Records

Ginni Thomas Emails with Trump DHS Leaders
We obtained emails between top Trump administration DHS officials and Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas. The emails ([link removed]) show her sharing election conspiracies in the days before the 2020 election.
* On Oct. 28 — less than a week before the election — Ginni Thomas sent more than a dozen links to a Google Group called “20024.” “[Redacted] asked me for links we have all been sharing about the coming insurrection, chaos, and violence,” she wrote. “It is not random. It appears very organized if you have the eyes to see and read and hear.”
* Someone from the law firm Foley and Gardner forwarded the email chain to Ken Cuccinelli, a senior Trump appointee at DHS, with additional links from “conservativehq.org.” The articles generally suggested the left was planning an insurrection.
* We obtained these records as part of our ongoing investigation into Ginni Thomas’ political connections and related judicial ethics concerns. Learn more about our ongoing investigation here ([link removed]) .

Other Stories We're Following

2020 Election Investigations
* DOJ cites threats to democracy on Jan. 6 in push for steep Oath Keepers sentences (Politico ([link removed]) )
* 8 Trump 'fake electors' have accepted immunity in Georgia election probe, attorney says (ABC News ([link removed]) )
* Fresh January 6 convictions raise the stakes for Trump (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Georgia GOP chairman says he was just following orders from Trump lawyers (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Judge: Wisconsin fake electors complaint must be reheard (Associated Press ([link removed]) )


Voting Rights
* Texas Republicans push new voting restrictions aimed at Houston (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Justice Dept. settles with New Jersey county over ballot languages, highlighting widespread barrier (ABC News ([link removed]) )
* Major overhaul of initiative process one step from Missouri ballot (Missouri Independent ([link removed]) )
* Errors. Red flags. A big payday. Records show how one Arizona county’s election disaster unfolded (Votebeat ([link removed]) )


Immigration
* U.S. finalizes asylum restriction to ramp up border deportations once Title 42 lapses (CBS News ([link removed]) )
* Migrants waiting to cross the border say government's app for asylum-seekers is a mess (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* DeSantis takes steps to again send migrants to Democratic-led cities (CNN ([link removed]) )
* New York City mayor announces plan to transport willing migrants to locations outside the city ahead of expected surge (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Texas uses aggressive tactics to arrest migrants as Title 42 ends (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Minutes after Title 42 expired, scenes of anxiety and weariness along the border (New York Times ([link removed]) )


In the States
* A right-wing takeover of a Colorado school board has some of the town’s conservatives deeply concerned (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* New College picks Trump Covid adviser Scott Atlas as commencement speaker (Tampa Bay Times ([link removed]) )
* DeSantis-backed libel bill appears to fail in Florida Legislature (Orlando Sentinel ([link removed]) )
* DeSantis ally with no higher-ed experience says he’s getting a state college’s top job (Miami Herald ([link removed]) )
* Ohio lawmakers vote to set Aug. 8 election for controversial 60% constitutional amendment proposal (Cleveland.com ([link removed]) )
* One family has spearheaded Montana’s unflinching conservatism (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Michigan commission accuses lawyers who tried to overturn 2020 election of misconduct (Detroit News ([link removed]) )
* Wisconsin lawmaker who urged Pence to delay certifying the 2020 election is named to lead Senate elections committee (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ([link removed]) )
* Takeaways from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos on Gableman, abortion, Donald Trump, Milwaukee sales taxes (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ([link removed]) )


Attacks on Civil Rights
* North Dakota governor outlaws pronoun policies in schools (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Citizens' initiative is on to enshrine right to abortion in the Florida Constitution (Florida Phoenix ([link removed]) )
* Kansas, Missouri are center of battle on transgender rights (Kansas City Star ([link removed]) )
* Kansas City considers becoming LGBTQ sanctuary city (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Documents Reveal ‘How to Defund Trans Pediatrics’ in Texas (Texas Observer ([link removed]) )
* Missouri lawmakers pass gender-affirming care ban for minors and anti-trans sports bill (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Abortion clinics in 3 states sue to protect pill access (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Rape, incest exceptions to Louisiana abortion ban rejected by GOP lawmakers (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Virginia could be key to abortion access in the South. Its laws could hinge on this Democratic primary (19th News ([link removed]) )
* Youngkin renews push for 15-week abortion ban in Virginia (13 News Norfolk ([link removed]) )


Anti-Transparency Initiatives
* ‘I just couldn’t comment to that:’ Florida’s attorney general dodges question about DeSantis public record delays (News 6 ([link removed]) )
* Texas public records loophole lets cities keep suicide reports from families of dead soldiers (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* DeSantis signs bill blocking state travel records from public disclosure (CNN ([link removed]) )


National News
* Jury finds Trump liable for sexual abuse, awards accuser $5M (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* FDA advisers back making birth control pill available over the counter (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* U.S. Covid public health emergency ends, leaving behind a battered health system (CNBC ([link removed]) )
* Biden and McCarthy reach no consensus as a possible default looms (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Group tied to influential conservative activist spent $183 million in a year (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Under fire, CIA moves to overhaul its handling of sexual assault (Politico ([link removed]) )

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