After the 2024 elections, who will run each state’s government? Bolts sums it up in one graph:
Bolts
The GOP Came Out Ahead in Legislative Races, But Their Gains Were Modest and Uneven - Bolts
Our annual review of incoming state legislatures breaks down the swing in each chamber and the five biggest political and policy takeaways.
 image
Data shows that California property crime rates are at historic lows. But “people's perception of how at risk they are has changed over the last four years,” one researcher noted, in large part due to shoplifting videos that have gone viral on social media.
Bolts
How California's Embrace of a Tough-on-Crime Measure May Undo a Decade of Reform - Bolts
The passage of Prop 36 marks a return to harsher punishments for some drug and theft crimes. Advocates worry it will also lead to a surge in prison...
Percy Glover first worked as a volunteer boosting civic engagement in Flint’s county jail. Now, he’s hired full-time to ensure the people incarcerated there know their voting rights: “Percy made us part of the process,” says one.
Bolts
The Michigan Jail that Candidates Keep Visiting - Bolts
This county lockup in Flint goes far beyond most in promoting civic engagement. But the jail still cuts people off from the world in many other way...
Do you value our work on local politics, criminal justice, and voting rights? It takes time and resources for our small team to produce it, and you can help! Start a new monthly subscription, and NewsMatch will multiply your first monthly gift 12x!
Bolts
Support Bolts
We are a nonprofit publication that covers the nuts and bolts of political change, from the local up, and we need reader support to build our journ...
With no reentry support, Phillip Vance Smith was released from prison into homelessness. His story echoes thousands of others, writing in Bolts that 1 in 6 people left North Carolina prisons last year “as hopelessly as I did” with nowhere to turn.
Bolts
On His Way Out, North Carolina Governor Expands Support for People Leaving Prison  - Bolts
An executive order directs state agencies to improve reentry services and fix a broken system that failed me and thousands of others released from ...
The ‘no’ to repealing ranked-choice voting in Alaska did well in blue areas, while outpacing Kamala Harris’ share of the vote by nearly 9 percentage points statewide. It did best relative to Harris in areas with large Native populations.
Bolts
Powered by Native Voters, Ranked-Choice Voting and Open Primaries Survive in Alaska - Bolts
Alaska’s predominantly Native regions delivered huge margins against repealing the state’s new elections system, despite facing continued logis...
In New Jersey, 25% of Black adults are barred from ever serving on a jury. “We’re whitewashing a space that’s disproportionately affecting Black and brown communities,” said one lawyer. “Which calls into question: who is getting a jury of one’s peers?”
Bolts
New Jersey May Open Juries to Most People with Criminal Convictions - Bolts
New Jersey has one of the nation's harshest jury exclusion laws. A bill championed by formerly incarcerated people would walk that back, and m...
Despite accusations of neglect and abuse by Wexford Health Sources, Illinois inked a 5-year, $4 billion contract with the prison healthcare company, raising fresh questions about the state’s commitment to improving quality of care for incarcerated people.
Bolts
In Illinois, a Private Prison Company's Long Trail of Deaths and High-Dollar Contracts - Bolts
This year, Illinois again picked Wexford Health Services for prison health care despite longstanding claims of neglect. A judge has since extended ...
With a conservative hold on federal courts, state supreme courts are now where voting rights, abortion, and other critical issues will be fought. @npub1skvn...dfdf explains how last week's elections set the stage:
Bolts
How Supreme Court Elections Set the Stage for Coming Battles, from Voting to Abortion - Bolts
More than before, progressives working to protect people’s rights will need state supreme courts to be hospitable to lawsuits that are increasing...
California voters last week ousted two of the boldest reform DAs to hold office since the “progressive prosecutor” movement began: George Gascón in LA and Pamela Price in Alameda County.
Bolts
Voters Dismiss Two of California's Leading Progressive Prosecutors - Bolts
Los Angeles' George Gascón and Oakland's Pamela Price sought to use their offices to redress the harms and disparities of the criminal l...