Republicans added a slew of Republican staff to the North Carolina elections board, including a former aide to the legislator behind the state’s new gerrymander.
Republicans added a slew of Republican staff to the North Carolina elections board, including a former aide to the legislator behind the state’s new gerrymander. The appointments mark the latest sign of the GOP’s board takeover as it prepares for next year’s election.
“The state board of elections has been an independent agency since its inception,” the board’s former executive director, who was ousted earlier this year, told Democracy Docket. “And now we’re watching it become very political.”
Adam Kincaid, the lead architect of the GOP’s gerrymanders, encouraged donors to fund continued redistricting efforts. “If you’re looking for a return on your investment, redistricting is second to none when it comes to the value for what you can accomplish,” said Kincaid, the executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust.
Despite major pro-democracy wins in 2025, the fight is far from over. Marc exposes the next phase of President Donald Trump and the Republicans' playbook — and what voters, lawyers, and journalists must do now to defend democracy before it’s too late.
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An Arizona appeals court tossed a GOP-backed lawsuit pushing for full hand counts of ballots. The ruling reaffirms that Arizona’s elections will continue to rely on trusted and certified voting machines — not election denial conspiracies.
We’re watching to see if SCOTUS will take a case on Mississippi’s ballot receipt deadline. The state is asking the court to reverse a 5th Circuit opinion striking down Mississippi’s extended ballot receipt deadline. If the court takes the case, a ruling could have wide implications for states with similar laws.
In the Illinois National Guard deployment challenge, supplemental briefs are due on whether the term “regular forces” refers to the regular forces of the United States military.
In the first set of regular elections since Trump returned to the White House, voters across the country delivered a forceful rebuke of his authoritarian rule. Voters elected Democratic governors in Virginia and New Jersey, retained three Democratic justices on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, rejected a Trump-aligned measure to restrict mail voting in Maine and chose a New York City mayor Trump had openly tried to keep out of office.
Perhaps most consequential, they also approved California’s plan to counter GOP gerrymanders ahead of the 2026 midterms — a move signaling that they grasp all too well the need for Democrats to play hardball in fighting to protect democracy.
Three Virginia circuit clerks withdrew their lawsuit seeking to block the state’s Democratic-led plan to counter nationwide GOP gerrymanders. Earlier, a state court denied the plaintiffs’ injunction, finding they lacked standing. The clerks’ move for voluntary dismissal clears the way for Democrats’ effort to defend fair representation and restore balance amid aggressive GOP efforts.
A California appeals court blocked Huntington Beach’s photo ID requirement for local elections, ruling that the city’s charter amendment violated state election law. The decision reverses a lower court ruling and blocks enforcement of the GOP-backed measure. The city has ten days to seek review in the California Supreme Court, but for now, voters in Huntington Beach will not face restrictive barriers at the polls.
Kansas House Republicans dropped their effort to convene a special session to redraw U.S. House districts, as ordered by Trump. Speaker Dan Hawkins revealed they lacked the necessary support, dealing a blow to ongoing Republican map-rigging efforts. While GOP lawmakers may revisit redrawing during the regular session in January, this pause signals that efforts to manipulate maps for political gain are facing pushback.
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