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Bolts
@boltsmag
Bolts
We cover the nuts and bolts of power and political change, from the local up.
175 Posts
Three years after the state supreme court voided direct democracy in Mississippi, all legislative proposals to revive it died again this week. NEW in @boltsmag from @taniel : NEW: Voters this year are deciding the fate of 82 seats across 33 states’ high courts. @taniel walks you through each election, and pinpoints where cases involving abortion, democracy, and other critical issues hang in the balance. Eileen O'Neill Burke was finally named the winner of the Democratic primary for Chicago prosecutor yesterday. Underlying her victory is a familiar electoral geography. NEW in Bolts: Massachusetts passed a law curtailing solitary confinement in 2018, but people in prolonged isolation say the practice continues and are now pushing for new reforms. NEW in Bolts: Crystal Mason, a Black woman in Texas who had been sentenced to five years in prison for casting a provisional ballot while on probation, was acquitted last week after a long legal saga. In a ruling that could affect tens of thousands of votes this fall, a federal court ruled yesterday that Pennsylvania mail-in ballots that are undated should not count even if they arrive on time. Alabama Republicans this month passed a new law criminalizing some absentee ballot assistance. Voting rights groups in the state who believe the law is unconstitutional have vowed to fight back. NEW in @boltsmag : A Florida bill headed to the governor's desk would bar civilian oversight boards from investigating instances of police misconduct, further restricting their limited powers of accountability. NEW in Bolts: A quiet proposal on Wisconsin’s April 2 ballot would restrict who can assist with election tasks. Voting advocates worry it could alienate groups and volunteers needed to run the polls. NEW in Bolts: California has adopted Proposition 1; the result of the March 5 election was confirmed last night. Championed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the measure will change the state’s approach for people with serious mental illness, CalMatters explains. Prosecutor Michael O’Malley, up for reelection next week in Ohio's Cuyahoga County, has worked to keep people on death row, amid dysfunction in his conviction review unit and a threat that executions may resume. NEW in Bolts: NEW: Illinois and Ohio head to the polls next week, with elections for prosecutor, judge, and Congress headlining the day. Here's your guide from @taniel on the twenty elections to watch on March 19: Over 1,000 Pennsylvanians are serving life without parole sentences for murders they didn’t themselves commit. The state supreme court agreed to review whether this is constitutional. NEW in Bolts: Louisiana's new governor has championed a raft of new laws that double down on punishment, worsening a cycle of growing incarceration that sends more money into local sheriffs' coffers. NEW in Bolts: Amidst an overdose crisis, lawmakers in West Virginia are ignoring calls to restore pandemic-era policies expanding access to drug treatment. Instead, they used this session to debate ratcheting up penalties. NEW in Bolts: The “playbook of fear” failed to sway voters in Austin and Houston on Tuesday. Reform-minded DA José Garza prevailed in Travis County, while DA Kim Ogg was ousted by Democratic voters in Harris County. NEW in @boltsmag from @taniel The end of cash bail in Illinois has created new decision points for local prosecutors; the Cook County state’s attorney’s office has been a strong ally so far, but that may change in the March 19 election. NEW in Bolts: https://boltsmag.org/bail-reform-cook-county-prosecutor/ Organizers say attorneys general in red states have become barriers to direct democracy, stonewalling proposed ballot measures on abortion, voting rights, and government transparency with bureaucratic hurdles. NEW in Bolts: NEW: March 5 will decide primaries in California and Texas, the nation’s two largest states, plus Alabama, Arkansas, and North Carolina. @taniel walks you through more than 50 downballot races to watch in our Super Tuesday guide. After mirroring courtwatching programs usually piloted by the left, Bay Area opponents of criminal justice reform are now looking to oust two local judges on March 5. NEW in Bolts: