Wednesday, April 30

Trump’s DOJ to focus on voter fraud, not voting rights

• The Justice Department (DOJ) is quietly dismantling its voting section and redirecting it to target voter fraud, marking an alarming departure from the unit’s longstanding purpose of protecting ballot access.
  
  
• According to Democracy Docket’s litigation tracker, the DOJ remains involved in at least 29 voting rights or redistricting cases across 18 states. If the department formally withdraws from all those cases, it could further weaken enforcement of voter protections nationwide.
  
  
• “What is going to happen when they start bringing voting fraud suits right in the middle of an election?” a former head of the voting section asked Democracy Docket.

North Carolina court backs GOP in election board power struggle

• North Carolina's second-highest court bolstered a Republican effort to gain control of the state’s election board and potentially undo Democrat Allison Riggs’ narrow victory in the state’s 2024 Supreme Court race.
  
  
• A three-judge panel for the North Carolina Court of Appeals granted Republicans’ request to stay a ruling that halted a measure passed by the GOP last year that empowers the state’s auditor, a Republican, to appoint board members. Shortly after, Gov. Josh Stein (D) asked the state Supreme Court to pause the order. He said he plans to ask the state's highest court to take the case.
  
  
• Stein said he’s concerned that gaining control of the election board could make it easier for the GOP to overturn the results of the Supreme Court race. He called the ruling “the latest step in the partisan effort to steal a seat on the Supreme Court.”
  

EAC tells states: Drop DEI policies if you want election security funds

• The U.S. Election Assistance Commission is directing states to eliminate all DEI programs to continue receiving election security funding, citing President Donald Trump’s order cracking down on DEI programs nationwide.

One hundred days of Republican complicity

• Trump’s first 100 days back in office have been filled with attacks on democracy and the rule of law. But we must not lose sight of the fact that it is the Republican Congress enabling his authoritarianism, Marc writes in a new piece. 

Court blocks DOGE access to social security data

• The 4th Circuit rejected the Trump administration’s request to allow the Department of Government Efficiency to access Americans’ personal data, such as tax information and employee payment records, held by the Social Security Administration.

A win for Georgia voters

• A federal judge dismissed a case brought by two far-right activists in Georgia challenging the state's voter roll maintenance policies and seeking to have voters purged. The court found they lacked standing to sue.

Sen. Chris Murphy: This is a ‘dire’ moment for democracy

• Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) joined Marc to discuss Trump's first 100 days back in office, the threats facing democracy and what Sen. Murphy is hearing from voters in deep-red districts across the country.