Guess Who? Co-Conspirators of the Insurrection Edition!

Former President Donald Trump’s most recent indictment includes six unnamed co-conspirators, who were “enlisted…to assist him in his criminal efforts to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election and retain power.” 

Based on the details provided in the indictment, the co-conspirators listed as attorneys are presumed to be: (1) Rudy Giuliani, (2) John Eastman, (3) Sidney Powell, (4) Jeffrey Clark and (5) Kenneth Chesebro. The sixth is more speculative than the others, but details in the indictment suggest it may be political operative Boris Epshteyn. 

The alleged co-conspirators are neither inexperienced nor particularly vulnerable to the usual threats, like job loss, that often come with ill-advised decisions. These presumed co-conspirators knew well enough that their lawsuits were baseless when they committed themselves to Trump’s post-election machinations. 

The architects of the larger 2020 post-election strategy of the Trump campaign — that is, the strategy to undermine American democracy — also were directly involved in 10 of the 65 lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign and its allies. All, but one, of the lawsuits were unsuccessful. 

• A hearing on a protective order motion in Trump's 2020 election subversion case will be held today at 10:00 am. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) wants to prevent Trump from sharing sensitive material about the case, specifically on social media. In typical Trump fashion, the former president has countered that the DOJ is stifling his free speech. The DOJ has also asked for trial to begin on Jan. 2, 2024 in the case.

In Ohio, Restricting Access To Direct Democracy and Abortion Not as Popular as Frank LaRose Thought

On Tuesday, voters in Ohio resoundingly supported continued access to direct democracy ahead of a November ballot measure that would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution if successful. 

Over 1.5 million Ohioans rejected Issue 1 and its attempt to raise the threshold to pass a constitutional amendment from 50% to 60%. With turnout around 3.1 million votes, nearly as many people voted in this week’s special election as they did in the 2014 midterms. Earlier this year, before reversing stances, Republicans in Ohio passed legislation to eliminate August special elections, due to, in the words of Senate candidate and Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R), their “embarrassingly low turnout.”  

Republicans also railed against special elections for being “wasteful and cost[ing] the taxpayers precious scarce resources.” This Aug. 8 election — that those same lawmakers called — did exactly that, costing taxpayers $20 million.

• For over a century, Ohioans have been able to pass constitutional amendments with a simple majority. However, Republicans sought to change the rules to better suit their political goals just as other conservative legislators have across the nation.

In exclusive analysis published on Democracy Docket, over 12,000 bills were reviewed to better under how ballot measures have been manipulated by both parties. In the early 2010s, Democrats “were willing to restrict the ballot measure process to prevent conservative use of ballot measures to take away rights like same-sex marriage.” However, following progressive wins later in the decade, Republicans “attempted to restrict the ballot measure process far more extensively than any prior Democratic efforts.” 

Denying the Right to Vote to Thousands Found To Be Cruel and Unusual in Mississippi

Last Friday, in an outstanding victory for voters in Mississippi, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state's Jim Crow-era provision banning individuals convicted of certain felonies from voting for life violates the 8th Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. 

The 2-1 opinion held that the provision violates the 8th Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The provision at issue, known as Section 241, stripped the right to vote for life from anyone convicted of bribery, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretenses, perjury, forgery, embezzlement or bigamy. Section 241 was enshrined in Mississippi’s 1890 constitution with the express purpose of denying Black men the right to vote. It was later amended by the state Legislature in 1950 to remove burglary and again in 1968 to add rape and murder as disenfranchising crimes. 

• According to the Sentencing Project, Mississippi disenfranchises nearly 11% of its voting-age population, the highest percentage in the country. The impact of felony disenfranchisement on the state’s Black population is particularly staggering: “African Americans constitute 36% of Mississippi’s voting age population, but 59% of its disenfranchised individuals. African American adults are thus 2.7 times more likely than white adults to have been convicted of a disenfranchising crime.”  

The majority asserted that, “by severing former offenders from the body politic forever, Section 241 ensures that they will never be fully rehabilitated, continues to punish them beyond the term their culpability requires, and serves no protective function to society. It is thus a cruel and unusual punishment.”

Diluted and Debased: Wisconsinites Fight for Fair Maps

A group of Wisconsin-based mathematicians and computer scientists filed a lawsuit in the Wisconsin Supreme Court challenging the state's legislative maps. They allege that the districts are gerrymandered to heavily benefit Republicans and violate the state constitution. This is the second challenge to the state’s maps since the state Supreme Court gained a new liberal majority last week.

The Wisconsin-based experts and professors behind the challenge ask the state Supreme Court to block the current legislative maps and order new, fairer maps for future elections that comply with the Wisconsin Constitution. 

Of special note, the petitioners request that the court order special elections in 2024 for certain state senators whose terms would not otherwise expire until 2027, arguing that these lawmakers were elected under unconstitutional maps.

• Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Wisconsin Republican Party asked to join another lawsuit that challenges several restrictive absentee voting rules in Wisconsin, including the state's complete ban on drop boxes. The Republicans seek to defend these onerous mail-in voting rules. A spokesperson for the RNC tried to explain away the challenged restrictions as “really boring, basic rules” and not “dramatic rocket science.” So, you can rest easy now, it’s just your run-of-the-mill voter suppression. 

Without Preclearance, Minority Voters in Galveston County, Texas Are Cracked, but Allen May Provide the Fix 

Trial began this week in a redistricting lawsuit arguing that the commissioner districts of Galveston County, Texas deny Black and Latino voters representation and violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. 

Serving as the county’s primary governing body, the Commissioners Court exercises substantial authority over policy-making, budgetary and infrastructure-related matters within the county. 

• Despite accounting for nearly 40% of the county’s total population, Black and Latino residents do not constitute a majority in any commissioner precinct under the challenged redistricting plan.

Prior to the Shelby County v. Holder decision in 2013, Galveston County had been required to preclear its redistricting plans and election laws with the DOJ. In light of the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Section 2 in Allen, federal courts across the country must continue to assess claims of racial vote dilution in accordance with over four decades of precedent. 

“It puts a little wind on our backs to have [Allen v.] Milligan affirm 40 years of precedent and particularly for our Section 2 case, because what our clients allege in the Section 2 case is very similar to what the plaintiffs in Alabama allege,” stated Valencia Richardson, an attorney for the plaintiffs.

More News

• In Oregon, lawmakers with 10 or more unexcused absences during the 2023 legislative session will not be allowed to run again in 2024, according to a directive from the Oregon secretary of state. This stems from a ballot measure passed by voters in 2022 intended to hold legislators accountable.

• In Tennessee, civil rights groups filed a lawsuit arguing that the state's congressional and state Senate maps are racially gerrymandered and intentionally discriminate against Black and Brown voters in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

• In Michigan, nine of the 16 people charged last month for their role in a false electors plot to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election were arraigned on felony charges in district court.

• Civil rights groups asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block city commissioner districts in Miami-Dade County, Florida, arguing that the districts are unconstitutionally racially gerrymandered. A district court previously struck down the map for this reason, but a federal appeals court subsequently paused the ruling, allowing for the gerrymandered maps to be in place for the city’s November 2023 elections. The plaintiffs are asking the Court to vacate the stay so fairer maps will be in place for elections later this year.

OPINION: To Fight the Supreme Court, Build the Bench

By Rakim Brooks, a public interest appellate lawyer and the president of Alliance for Justice. As a contributor to Democracy Docket, Brooks writes about issues relating to our state and federal courts as well as reforms to our judicial systems. Read more ➡️

We are reading the latest piece from ProPublica that details the “leisure activities” of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas that “have been underwritten by benefactors who share the ideology that drives his jurisprudence.” From oil barons to media executives, for years Thomas has been wined and dined by those who have a stake in his conservative role on the Court.

It’s summer break for our podcast, Defending Democracy! So, there won’t be a new episode until after Labor Day. But, it’s the perfect time to catch up on everything that has been covered so far this year. Listen on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.