Sheriffs nationwide have enormous control over jail voting access, with many restricting mail and voter guides, making it nearly impossible for incarcerated people to vote. A law in Colorado removed that discretion—and turnout has soared.
Bolts
Jail Voting Soars in Colorado After State Mandates Polling Places in County Lockups - Bolts
Local officials had claimed they were already giving detained people ballot access, but Colorado's first-in-the-nation mandate forced their ha...
Having secured control of the legislature, Virginia Democrats will likely soon advance constitutional amendments to enshrine abortion rights and restore voting rights to people once they’re released from prison.
Bolts
In 2025, Democrats Flipped 21 Percent of GOP-Held Legislative Seats - Bolts
Editor’s note: The article was updated on Dec. 31 to reflect the results of three special elections held in late December, none of which resu...
Six states have adopted new maps so far this year: California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Utah. Several face legal challenges, but Missouri’s is in the most immediate limbo. Read more in our new explainer on gerrymandering:
Bolts
The Escalating Race to Redistrict: Your Questions Answered - Bolts
How are the new maps changing the midterms? Why are courts not doing more? Would proportional representation help? We’ve got answers about mid-de...
Trump hoped for big gains when he pressured GOP-led states to redraw their maps this year. But many developments have brought this battle closer to a draw. Just how much of a draw? Learn more in our latest “Ask Bolts”:
Bolts
The Escalating Race to Redistrict: Your Questions Answered - Bolts
How are the new maps changing the midterms? Why are courts not doing more? Would proportional representation help? We’ve got answers about mid-de...
Advocates in California will continue to push for relief for people convicted of harming their abusers. “Survivors are resilient, and there’s so many left behind, and so many that this bill would have helped.”
Bolts
For Third Year, California Kills Bill to Help Incarcerated Domestic Violence Survivors - Bolts
Advocates in California have pushed for relief for people convicted of harming their abuser, hoping to build on states across the political spectru...
Eileen Higgins has won the Miami mayoral election tonight. The Democrat has prevailed by a large margin over Emilio González, who had the support of President Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis, and she will replace a retiring Republican.
Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.
Eileen Higgins shatters glass ceiling with runoff victory in Miami Mayor’s race
The runoff drew national attention.
This fall, Hawaii's supreme court rejected an argument that recording interrogations is burdensome for police: “If children can record everyday events with ease, law enforcement cannot claim hardship to record perhaps its most consequential investigative act.”
Bolts
Hawaii Supreme Court Expands Rights of Defendants, and Once Again Rebukes SCOTUS - Bolts
The justices ruled that Hawaii’s constitution requires police to record interrogations. And they vowed to protect due process for Hawaii resident...
Katie Wilson, Seattle’s newly elected mayor, has embraced a city-owned startup designed to emulate Vienna’s social housing model, which involves a public developer building housing designed to be permanently affordable.
Bolts
Progressives Win in Seattle, Changing Directions on Public Safety - Bolts
Voters ousted a mayor who oversaw a surge in encampment sweeps, and a Republican prosecutor who pursued punitive policies toward homeless people an...
Rejon Taylor was granted clemency by President Biden and taken off of federal death row last year. Trump officials are now sending him to a notoriously harsh supermax prison and Taylor says he wishes he was never granted clemency to begin with.
Bolts
Death Row Prisoners Granted Clemency by Biden Brace for "Living Hell" Under Trump - Bolts
Trump officials are retaliating by imposing the harshest conditions in the entire federal prison system, including near total isolation.
Chicago police are required by law to document every time they pull someone over. But an investigation by Bolts and Injustice Watch last year revealed the department failed to report hundreds of thousands of stops.
Bolts
Chicago Police Made Nearly 200,000 Secret Traffic Stops Last Year
Chicago police are required by law to report every traffic stop. But a new investigation found one-third of traffic stops went unreported.