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The news came big and fast this week. New York’s mayor faced a blockbuster indictment, while North Carolina Republicans are in disarray. Congress passed a temporary budget and Speaker Mike Johnson refused to commit to certify the 2024 election. The presidential campaigns moved forward as they prepare for the anticipated vice-presidential debate. And through it all, there were polls, polls and more polls.

But here is the thing: if you only paid attention to the indictment of the current New York City mayor, but not the disbarment of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, you missed something important. If you know about Mark Robinson's scandals, but not the RNC’s latest lawsuits to disenfranchise Tar Heel voters, you missed critical election news. And, if you carefully followed every one of the latest poll results, but not about the latest voting rights court decisions, you aren’t really focused on what is most important for the outcome of the election.

That's why Democracy Docket's 16-person team sends free daily and weekly newsletters, and it is why, every Saturday, I give you the most important news of the week that you probably missed.

So, grab a cup of coffee and get caught up on what I think were the five most important stories of the week.

THE SCOREBOARD

YOUR WEEKLY SNAPSHOT

YOUR WEEKEND READING LIST

A right-wing group is suing multiple Nevada counties to force them to remove voters from the rolls. This is the type of case that should be national news but isn’t. With critical House, Senate and presidential elections on the ballot, it is something we all should follow closely in the days and weeks to come.

While the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has been the subject of a lot of recent attention, it quietly dismissed a lawsuit brought by two Republican legislators to alter existing rules about where voters can return their completed absentee ballots for tabulation.

Frank LaRose tried to quietly limit the use of ballot drop boxes. The Ohio Democratic Party has sued.

It may not be top of mind, but the fight over fair congressional districts continues. While there was a good amount of coverage of the recent ballot initiative to fix partisan gerrymandering in Ohio, there was also a major victory for pro-democracy forces in Utah.

You may know about this one, but if not, the Republican effort to change the rules of allocating presidential electors in Nebraska failed when a lone Republican stood up to protect the system.

That’s all for this week. I hope you have a restful and relaxing weekend — I know Bode will.