Loyal readers of Democracy Docket know that I often point out the organization was founded in 2020. The other day, someone at Democracy Docket asked me why I always add that clarification. It was a good question — one that made me pause.
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September 20, 2025
Loyal readers of Democracy Docket know that I often point out the organization was founded in 2020. The other day, someone at Democracy Docket asked me why I always add that clarification. It was a good question — one that made me pause.
Did I include the year as a kind of verbal crutch, filling a gap in the story of how the organization grew so quickly and reached so many? Was it simply a habit I picked up along the way? Or did it carry some broader meaning — for me, for our subscribers and for our members?
Looking back, I realize it’s because 2020 was unlike any other year.
Since 2020, Democracy Docket has delivered reliable news and information on the threats and attacks on our democracy as they happen. Our mission remains the same today — make an impact on independent, fearless journalism by upgrading today. ([link removed] )
The year began with optimism about the large field of Democratic candidates vying to take on Donald Trump. Joe Biden entered 2020 with less than one-third of Democrats supporting his candidacy. Within a month, he had slipped to third place, behind Bernie Sanders and a surging Michael Bloomberg. Yet, after the votes were counted in South Carolina, it seemed the race was over — and Biden had won.
Then, in March, COVID-19 hit the United States and the world. Almost overnight, we went from business as usual to total shutdown. Every sector of society was affected — schools, businesses, government.
Campaigns and elections were no exception. A business that typically relied on in-person events and communication had to move online. Voting, once overwhelmingly in-person, shifted rapidly to mail-in ballots.
Even before the pandemic, Donald Trump had made clear his hostility toward free and fair elections. Despite winning in 2016, he falsely claimed widespread fraud had cost him the popular vote. In 2017, he launched a commission to investigate nonexistent voter fraud. It was disbanded the following year in disgrace — having found nothing.
When I worked to ensure all lawful ballots were counted in Florida’s close 2018 Senate election, Trump attacked me by name, calling me the Democratic Party’s “best election-stealing lawyer.”
By the time we entered the 2020 election cycle, Trump had already transformed the GOP into a voter suppression machine. In fact, the very first piece I wrote after launching Democracy Docket was titled “GOP’s Bigger, Better Voter Suppression Program,” which described the Republican National Committee’s $20 million investment in voter suppression.
Two weeks later, I wrote what may have been the most influential opinion piece I have ever written: “Four Pillars to Safeguard Vote by Mail.” It outlined the minimum safeguards needed to scale mail-in voting to the level required to ensure free and fair elections during COVID.
The piece became a blueprint for dozens of voting rights lawsuits — as well as a target for GOP litigation. My law firm and I became the most active, though not the only, proponents of this strategy.
It was widely praised by Democrats and voting rights organizations, and just as widely demonized by Trump and his supporters. In many ways, it foreshadowed the legal battles that erupted after the election. GOP opposition to my recommendations continues to shape Trump’s anti-voting agenda today.
As the election heated up, Democracy Docket became the central repository of court pleadings and judicial opinions related to voting rights and election litigation. Designed for non-lawyers, our case pages allowed ordinary citizens to follow along with the ups and downs of these hotly contested legal battles.
From a part-time team of three to a full newsroom serving 450,000 readers, Democracy Docket has grown fast — and we need readers like you to sustain it. Join our premium community to support fearless coverage of voting rights, elections and democracy. ([link removed] )
Then came Election Day — and the aftermath. Almost instantly, Democracy Docket became the unofficial tracker, organizer and scorekeeper for the dozens of lawsuits filed to contest the outcome of the 2020 election. Our scoreboard in particular — updated daily, and sometimes hourly, on social media — became a phenomenon of its own. It was shared, reposted and cited by media outlets of all sizes and political leanings.
When the election ended, the results were certified, and Joe Biden was sworn in, it was clear Democracy Docket was here to stay. In less than a year, it had proven to be a vital piece of pro-democracy infrastructure.
Much has changed since then. Democracy Docket has grown from a part-time team of three to a full-time staff of more than 20. We’ve added original reporting, a thriving YouTube channel and podcast, and a daily newsletter, while expanding our scope to cover a broader range of democracy-related issues.
On the business side, we didn’t have a clear model in 2020. At first, the largest source of support came from me personally. But I’ve always been proud that everything on our site is free — from our flagship “On the Docket” newsletter, which launched alongside the site, to our newer Daily Docket. Today, nearly 450,000 people receive our free newsletters.
Last year, we added a premium tier. This has allowed us to hire more staff, expand our coverage, and provide even greater depth and analysis for those who want it. Recently, we announced that Democracy Docket’s paid membership had crossed 50,000.
The more I thought about why I always say “I founded Democracy Docket in 2020,” the clearer it became. 2020 was perhaps the most pivotal year for American democracy since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The organization would not be what it is today if it had started a year later. It was born in the crucible of the 2020 election — and it has carried that spirit ever since.
In the months and years ahead, Democracy Docket will continue to grow. It will deliver more content to subscribers, more value to members and more resources to the public — whether they are lawyers or health care workers, retirees or students.
But it will always remain the organization I founded before COVID, before the 2020 election, before Trump led us down the dark path we are still navigating today. For that reason, I will always be grateful that Democracy Docket was founded in 2020 — to be the leading digital news platform dedicated to information, analysis and opinion on voting rights and election law.
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