Newsletter: Georgia Election Board Walks Back Illegal Rules
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This week — following a lawsuit from American Oversight — the Georgia State Election Board (SEB) withdrew rules it approved ([link removed]) in a recent illegal meeting that was held without proper notice or a quorum.

We sued the board ([link removed]) for violating the state’s Open Meetings Act. During the last-minute meeting on July 12, three board members considered two new rules, which — as reporting later revealed — had been suggested by the state Republican Party.
* One of the rules aimed to increase the number of partisan poll monitors observing ballot counting at Georgia tabulation centers.
* On Tuesday, the board voted to withdraw the illegally promulgated rules, but agreed to reconsider them at its next properly noticed meeting, scheduled for next Tuesday.


“We’re pleased that our lawsuit, along with pressure from partner organizations on the ground in Georgia, has prompted the Board to withdraw the illegally approved rules from its sham July 12 meeting,” American Oversight’s interim Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said.
* “We will continue to closely monitor the Board to ensure it does not engage in additional unlawful actions while behind closed doors and unaccountable to the people of Georgia,” she added.
* Still, the board’s decision to promptly revisit the problematic measures, which serve to intimidate election workers and grant partisan advantage to preferred candidates, remains deeply concerning.

On the Records

DOJ Watchdog Criticizes Agency Response to 2020 Racial Justice Protests
This week, the Justice Department Office of the Inspector General released a review ([link removed]) of the department’s response to the 2020 racial justice protests in Washington, D.C.
* The report was critical ([link removed]) of DOJ decision-making that required law enforcement to perform missions without proper training or equipment, and questioned the deployment of government agents whose uniforms did not indicate their agencies or identities.


Records ([link removed]) we previously obtained ([link removed]) show that on June 5, 2020, following days of protests in response to the police killing of George Floyd, the Secret Service sought reinforcements from Customs and Border Protection, including a helicopter capable of delivering a “quick reaction force.”
* We also previously obtained a message ([link removed]) sent to employees by then-acting head of ICE Matthew Albence on June 2 that included advice to “[r]emove ICE identifying badges or clothing” such as hats, jackets, and lanyards while in public. “Anything that identifies you as an ICE employee can make you a target,” the note warned.


Excessive Heat in Texas Prisons
This week, a multi-day hearing began in a Texas lawsuit ([link removed]) seeking to force the state to fully air condition its state prisons. More than 130,000 people are incarcerated in Texas state prisons, but only about a third of the state’s 100 prisons units have full AC.

In May — shortly after several advocacy organizations joined the lawsuit, arguing that the extreme heat in Texas prisons amounts to cruel and unusual punishment — NPR’s “All Things Considered ([link removed]) ” reported on records ([link removed]) we obtained showing that between May and October of last year, people incarcerated in Texas state prisons submitted more than 4,200 individual complaints related to high temperatures.
* The most common grievance types, as categorized by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, include issues with or a lack of a personal fan, lack of cold water or ice, and “excessive heat.”
* We also obtained orientation videos for staff and incarcerated people that outline heat mitigation strategies. Several interventions suggested require purchases from the prison commissary. Incarcerated people in Texas are not paid for their labor.

Other Stories We're Following

Election Denial and Threats to Democracy
* A half-million records and one app: The group behind a massive effort to ‘clean’ voter rolls (CNN ([link removed]) )
* These swing state election officials are pro-Trump election deniers (Rolling Stone ([link removed]) )
* Across Arizona, Republican officials who defended election system lose primaries (Votebeat ([link removed]) )
* He kept investigating the 2020 election. Now this Michigan sheriff faces voters himself. (Bolts ([link removed]) )
* Kansas stops enforcing a law against impersonating election officials (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* How 9 mistakenly discarded ballots in Luzerne County, Pa., fueled Trump’s 2020 lies about elections (Votebeat ([link removed]) )
* Conservative group has challenged 17,000 names on voter rolls in Denton County, Texas (Denton Record-Chronicle ([link removed]) )
* Election deniers are ramping up efforts to disenfranchise voters (Wired ([link removed]) )


Voting Rights
* Arizonans left off voter rolls just before primary because of problems with their forms, analysis shows (Votebeat ([link removed]) )
* Court reverses its ruling on proof of citizenship for Arizona voter registration (Arizona Republic ([link removed]) )
* Amid new ballot drop boxes limits, Florida's shorter hours cause voting rights worry (USA Today ([link removed]) )
* Alabama Secretary of State accuses League of Women Voters of ‘data mining’ (News from the States ([link removed]) )
* Michigan faces a shortage of local clerk candidates, raising alarms about how elections will be run (Michigan Advance ([link removed]) )


In the States
* Mayor Whitmire’s proposal to ban some protests near homes raises questions over constitutionality (Houston Chronicle ([link removed]) )
* Discrimination lawsuit against Atlanta VC firm has far-reaching impacts (Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed]) )
* Los Angeles says it will not join Newsom’s push to clear encampments (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* For inmates, little escape from brutal heat in prisons without air conditioning (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Wisconsin incarcerates more people than its prisons were designed to hold (Wisconsin Watch ([link removed]) )
* New Louisiana law serves as a warning to bystanders who film police: Stay away or face arrest (Verite News ([link removed]) )


National News
* Project 2025 shakes up leadership after criticism from Democrats and Trump, but says work goes on (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* This company promised to improve health care in jails. Dozens of its patients have died. (Marshall Project ([link removed]) )


LGBTQ Rights
* Judge says Missouri lawmaker immune from subpoena in challenge of transgender care ban (Missouri Independent ([link removed]) )
* Federal protections of transgender students are in effect where courts haven’t blocked them (Associated Press ([link removed]) )


Abortion and Reproductive Rights
* Iowa’s 6-week abortion ban takes effect (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* States break out new tactics to thwart abortion ballot measures (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Woman sues Kansas hospital over alleged denial of emergency abortion (ABC News ([link removed]) )
* Exclusive: Inside the Supreme Court’s negotiations and compromise on Idaho’s abortion ban (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Texas sues Biden administration to limit teenage access to birth control (Guardian ([link removed]) )
* GOP wanted to use 'unborn human being' to describe AZ's abortion measure. A judge rejected it (Arizona Republic ([link removed]) )
* Judge strikes down a North Carolina abortion restriction but upholds another (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Abortion care remains available in Utah after state Supreme Court ruling — for now (Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed]) )


Threats to Education
* Ryan Walters calls for study into impact of illegal immigration on Oklahoma schools (Oklahoman ([link removed]) )
* Walters threatens 'rogue' school districts that don't embrace Bible mandate (Oklahoman ([link removed]) )
* University of Missouri bows to Republican pressure and eliminates campus DEI division (Missouri Independent ([link removed]) )
* Georgia schools chief says African American studies decision rooted in ‘divisive concepts’ law (Georgia Recorder ([link removed]) )
* Jerry Falwell Jr. and Liberty University reach settlement (Washington Post ([link removed]) )


Government Transparency and Public Records Law
* What should Virginia’s FOIA council prioritize? Depends who you ask. (Virginia Mercury ([link removed]) )
* Pennsylvania court says images of absentee, mail-in ballots are public records (Democracy Docket ([link removed]) )


Immigration
* Texas’ floating Rio Grande barrier can stay for now, court rules as larger legal battle persists (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* In an Arizona border county, rifts over how much to help the feds patrol the border (Bolts ([link removed]) )
* The right-wing dream of ‘self-deportation’ (New York Times ([link removed]) )


Trump Accountability
* $10M cash withdrawal drove secret probe into whether Trump took money from Egypt (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Donald Trump says again he would 'absolutely' pardon Jan. 6 rioters (NBC News ([link removed]) )

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