Democracy Docket is the only national outlet still covering the hearing that could block the GOP’s effort to fix the 2026 midterms.
Friday, October 10
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THIS WEEK
- Top GOP mapmaker takes stand in court battle over Texas gerrymander
- SCOTUS will hear arguments to gut the VRA. The future of fair elections could be at stake…
- … But in a separate case, the justices seem uninterested in opening election law litigation floodgates
REDISTRICTING
Top GOP mapmaker takes stand in court battle over Texas gerrymander
Our reporter Jen Rice filed her 7th dispatch ([link removed] ) from El Paso Wednesday night, where she is now the only national reporter covering the ongoing legal challenge ([link removed] ) to Texas’ mid-decade gerrymander.
Other national outlets long ago stopped covering the hearing*, which may extend over the weekend, but not Democracy Docket. Jen was there when the mini-trial kicked ([link removed] ) off and when experts ([link removed] ) and lawmakers ([link removed] ) testified how the new GOP map focused on race ([link removed] ) . Jen was the lone national reporter in the courtroom when a top Texas Republican revealed ([link removed] ) he neglected to tell other lawmakers about a conversation he had with Adam Kincaid, the GOP’s go-to mapmaker, and again when Kincaid himself took the stand ([link removed] ) . Kincaid admitted under oath that he ignored the voices of everyday Texans when he redrew the districts, listening instead only to the White House and Republican Congress members.
Jen will have more reports in the coming days as this vital hearing wraps up. Keep checking back for more ([link removed] ) .
Read Jen’s latest dispatch from El Paso here. ([link removed] ) Read more about the Texas lawsuit here. ([link removed] )
*Some Texas voters are represented by the Elias Law Group (ELG). ELG firm chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR
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8 months into the Trump administration, the ACLU:
- Blocked President Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship
- Secured the release of student activists detained for their political speech
- Forced the State Department to issue accurate passports to trans and intersex people
- Organized 475+ artists to speak out for free speech rights after Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension
And much more. Join the ACLU. ([link removed] )
REDISTRICTING
SCOTUS will hear arguments to gut the VRA. The future of fair elections could be at stake…
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday in Louisiana v. Callais ([link removed] ) , where conservatives will ask the court to strike down or significantly weaken Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and usher in a new era of racial gerrymandering.
Pro-voting groups Fair Fight Action and Black Voters Matter have come out with a new report ([link removed] ) on the immediate impact that could have in Congress. It’s nothing good.
“Combined with Republicans’ mid-decade gerrymandering, a ruling gutting Section 2 could help secure an additional 27 safe Republican U.S. House seats, at least 19 directly tied to the loss of Section 2,” the report explains. “It’s enough to cement one-party control of the U.S. House for at least a generation.”
Our Yunior Rivas read the report and highlighted ([link removed] ) its most important points. Gutting the VRA could pave the way for new GOP gerrymanders across the south, effectively disenfranchising millions of Black and Latino voters in those states, and potentially condemning Democrats to decades in the minority.
Read Yunior's coverage here. ([link removed] )
ELECTION ADMINISTRATION
… But the justices seem uninterested in opening election law litigation floodgates
The news isn’t all grim out there! This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a GOP-backed case that could unleash a torrent of lawsuits challenging election laws across the nation. But within minutes, it was obvious to anyone listening that the justices were not very interested ([link removed] ) in that idea.
Lawyers arguing on behalf of Rep. Michael Bost (R-Ill.) urged the court to allow any candidate for office — even the loonies without a shot of winning much more than their own vote — to challenge election laws in court. But the justices weren’t having that, focusing on far more narrow questions about Bost’s standing to sue. Bost filed suit in 2022, asking federal courts to block a state law allowing mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive within 14 days of polls closing. The lower courts told Bost to buzz off, saying he hadn’t alleged in his filing that the law caused him an actual, factual injury (which you need to have standing to sue).
The Supreme Court decided to take up this case just on the issue of standing, which had some of us worried ([link removed] ) they might adopt a rule so broad it’d let hundreds of cranks spam the courts with laughable lawsuits. But after Wednesday’s oral arguments, our anxiety levels have returned to their normal, still-extremely-heightened, heights.
Read more about the oral arguments here. ([link removed] )
OPINION
Why Marc’s law firm is litigating 63 voting rights cases
Screenshot 2025-10-09 at 4.04.22 PM ([link removed] )
Democracy Docket’s founder, Marc Elias, normally doesn’t write about his law firm in his opinion pieces for us, but he made an exception this week ([link removed] ) .
The Elias Law Group’s team of not-quite 60 lawyers is currently litigating 63 voting and election cases across 30 states, and that number is certain to rise in the coming weeks.
“Unfortunately, the biggest area of growth has been defensive interventions — fighting lawsuits brought by the Republican Party or their right-wing allies,” Marc writes. “In recent months, we’ve had to add the Department of Justice to that list. While in the past we often found ourselves allied with the DOJ, we are now forced to oppose them to prevent the trampling of voting rights.”
Free and fair elections are under attack: in our courtrooms, our state capitols, and potentially — with the deployment of federal troops to American cities — on our very streets.
“As the Supreme Court said more than 60 years ago, ‘the right to exercise the franchise in a free and unimpaired manner is preservative of other basic civil and political rights,’” Marc writes. “We have a little more than a year to ensure that remains true for another election cycle. Let us all commit now to making sure it does.”
Read the full essay here. ([link removed] )
NEW VIDEO
Why "Good Republicans" Don't Exist
It's time to stop grading Republicans on a curve. This week, Marc breaks down why there are no GOP heroes in the fight for democracy and why staying grounded in the truth is so essential. Watch it on YouTube here. ([link removed] )
What We’re Doing
Reporter Jim Saksa is gearing up for next weekend’s No Kings rally ([link removed] ) . He’s not much of a sign-maker (art was his worst subject in school), so he’s opting to buy a new hoodie ([link removed] ) that also advertises his affinity for Philly. If you are a placard-producing pro but need some writing tips, check this out ([link removed] ) . Whether you plan on bringing a sign, rocking new swag ([link removed] ) or not, you can find a No Kings march near you here ([link removed] ) .
8 months into the Trump administration. 80+ lawsuits filed to defend free speech, birthright citizenship, trans equality, and more.
Join the ACLU’s fight to defend our civil liberties. ([link removed] )
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