Missouri Republicans asked voters to surrender crucial citizen power and, whaddya know, 80% of them declined the offer. @pascalsabino.bsky.social: boltsmag.org/missouri-rej...

Missourians Reject Measure That Threatened to Kill Citizen-Led Ballot Initiatives - Bolts

Missourians on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted against a measure to restrict direct democracy, while state officials are trying to block even more citizen-led reforms from the November ballot.

boltsmag.org

My colleague José Olivares's series 'Force-fed by ICE' is revelatory and horrifying

Guardian US@us.theguardian.com · 4h ago

Exclusive: cases of Afghan man, Ukrainian man and Saudi woman show repeated nasogastric tube insertions and lack of legal representation

Here's @phillipvancesmith2.bsky.social, a journalist incarcerated in North Carolina, talking about his recent story in @boltsmag.org about three-strikes laws—featuring the voices of a man serving life, and the victim he shot who’s been pushing for his release full story boltsmag.org/north-caroli...

A combined 100,000+ people with past felony convictions have either already gained or will soon gain voting rights in Missouri and Virginia, which both have elections today. More: boltsmag.org/gop-run-miss... boltsmag.org/virginia-gov...

The bigger picture here is that Virginia is highly unusual both for its extremely harsh felony disenfranchisement rules and for giving its governor so much control over voting rights. In November, the state will vote on whether to change this system: boltsmag.org/virginia-con...

“It’s Time”: Virginians Will Decide Whether to Repeal Jim Crow-Era Lifetime Ban on Voting - Bolts

Voters will decide this year whether to end Virginia’s uniquely harsh felony disenfranchisement rules. They'll also vote on abortion, gay marriage, and redistricting.

boltsmag.org

Alex Burness@burness.bsky.social · 5d ago

Abigail Spanberger announced she is restoring the voting rights of about 66,000 people with past felony convictions, reversing the course set by Glenn Youngkin. New in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/virginia-gov...

Abigail Spanberger announced she is restoring the voting rights of about 66,000 people with past felony convictions, reversing the course set by Glenn Youngkin. New in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/virginia-gov...

Virginia Governor Restores Voting Rights for Thousands With Past Felony Convictions - Bolts

This is the only state that, absent action by the governor, bans people convicted of any felony from voting for life. Virginians have an opportunity to end that system for good in November.

boltsmag.org

I think one reason that prisons, and by extension the entire criminal justice system, are able to be as barbaric as they are is that prisons and prisoners are for the large part invisible. That's why I think PJP is so important for those inside as well as for humanity at large

Prison Journalism Project@prisonjournalism.bsky.social · last wk.

News: Our summer campaign concludes tomorrow at midnight, which means time is rapidly running out to take advantage of the $15K matching funds provided by generous donors. Thanks to an additional $5K gift from a generous donor, every donation will now be tripled until those funds are exhausted.

“The man has done 30 years. Shit. What else do they want? If I can forgive him, why can’t everybody else? I’m the one he shot.” boltsmag.org/north-caroli...

In North Carolina, a Shooting Victim Pleads for His Shooter’s Release After 30 Years - Bolts

Ramulus Mason was sentenced to life without parole due to North Carolina’s three-strikes law. The man he shot insists that he shouldn’t still be in prison.

boltsmag.org

we've been lucky enough to work w/ @phillipvancesmith2.bsky.social for a couple years, and I think he's truly doing some of the best reporting and writing behind bars right now. follow and read his other work boltsmag.org/north-caroli... boltsmag.org/north-caroli... boltsmag.org/north-caroli...

In North Carolina, Juvenile Lifers See a Pathway to Freedom - Bolts

After North Carolina's previous governor granted clemency to people sentenced to life in prison as minors, others with juvenile life sentences are hoping for a new administration that also believes in...

boltsmag.org

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · 2w ago

NEW: North Carolina’s harsh three strikes law was adopted right before Ramulus Mason was sentenced in the 1990s, so was sentenced to life in prison. Now the man he shot decades ago has become his loud advocate, demanding that the state free him. A fascinating and complex story:

“Like all states, Missouri disproportionately incarcerates Black residents, meaning that HB 1871 will shift voting power disproportionately to Black Missourians, who account for 12 percent of the state’s overall population, but 32 percent of its prison population.”

Alex Burness@burness.bsky.social · 2w ago

An estimated 40,000 Missourians on parole or probation will regain the right to vote, in the latest state-level rollback of felony disenfranchisement. I wrote about it in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/gop-run-miss...

An estimated 40,000 Missourians on parole or probation will regain the right to vote, in the latest state-level rollback of felony disenfranchisement. I wrote about it in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/gop-run-miss...

GOP-Run Missouri Becomes Latest State to Roll Back Felony Disenfranchisement - Bolts

A new law will restore voting rights for tens of thousands of people on probation and parole. It’s a departure from other GOP bills this session to restrict democracy.

boltsmag.org

Traffic stops are the most common type of interaction between police and the public, and can easily turn dangerous—and so people should care that police cover up their activity on this front. Pascal has done amazing work reporting on the issue, and his latest is very worth your time:

Pascal Sabino@pascalsabino.bsky.social · 3w ago

Chicago Police officials said they would address the 200,000+ secretive traffic stops I had uncovered two years ago that were hidden from oversight. But now as CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling retires, the issue is worse— *half* of all stops in the last year were not properly documented

‘We were literally slaves': Incarcerated men expose conditions at Arkansas prison & former plantation, @vevalenz.bsky.social reports. Prisons often frame agricultural labor as “rehabilitation,” but incarcerated people say their working conditions are dangerous & dehumanizing.

Incarcerated men expose forced labor conditions at Arkansas prison

Prisons often frame agricultural forced labor as “rehabilitation,” but incarcerated people say their working conditions are dehumanizing

prismreports.org

All the more important today, given the shooting news out of Maine.

A few months ago, @felipedlh.bsky.social came to me with a fascinating civil rights case out of Maine that's serving as an early test of the legal theory that state-level statutes could be used to constrain federal ICE agents. Really fascinating story: boltsmag.org/maine-lawsui...

An attorney with the ACLU of Colorado says local jails can cycle people in and out of isolation, offering out-of-cell time in the middle of the night, for example, to avoid the legal definition of solitary confinement.

Colorado Limited Solitary for People with Mental Illness. But Judges Still Routinely Approve It.  - Bolts

Despite a 2021 law meant to curb solitary confinement in local jails, judges almost always grant requests to isolate people with serious mental illness, often because there

boltsmag.org

Many of the harshest felony disenfranchisement schemes in the U.S. are in the South. That's because southern states made a point to tie criminal records to voting rights, specifically to limit Black political power. But it was never supposed to be that way. Thread on an overlooked bit of history:

A Voting Rights Promise, Betrayed for 156 Years - Bolts

After the Civil War, Congress readmitted Southern states on the condition they not expand felony disenfranchisement—but they quickly ignored the restriction. It has finally caught up with one state, w...

boltsmag.org

This piece rules. More than anything, I appreciate how voting rights advocates are well aware that a hostile, anti-Reconstruction Supreme Court is their biggest hurdle to realizing the long-forgotten promise of the Readmission Acts—which are still the law!

Bolts@boltsmag.org · 4w ago

NEW in Bolts: After the Civil War, Congress mandated Southern states not expand felony disenfranchisement—but they quickly ignored that law. It has finally caught up with one state, with a federal court ruling reviving the Reconstruction-era promise.

This is fascinating. Reconstruction II, except it’s actually just enforcing the letter of Reconstruction. But also: our predecessors *knew* the traitorous Confederates had to be strictly constrained from implementing their sick dreams of white supremacy. I’m a Bolts subscriber, they do great work!

Alex Burness@burness.bsky.social · 4w ago

Congress imposed strict limits on felony disenfranchisement when it readmitted former Confederate states post-Civil War. But the South quickly blew past those limits—and then some. Now, for the first time, one state is facing consequences for 156 years of disregard. My latest in @boltsmag.org:

Congress imposed strict limits on felony disenfranchisement when it readmitted former Confederate states post-Civil War. But the South quickly blew past those limits—and then some. Now, for the first time, one state is facing consequences for 156 years of disregard. My latest in @boltsmag.org:

A Voting Rights Promise, Betrayed for 156 Years - Bolts

After the Civil War, Congress readmitted Southern states on the condition they not expand felony disenfranchisement—but they quickly ignored the restriction. It has finally caught up with one state, w...

boltsmag.org

We’re taking questions on mail voting—how it works, right-wing efforts to undermine it, changes at USPS, relevant court cases, etc. Ask away and we’ll answer in an upcoming @boltsmag.org reader Q&A: boltsmag.org/mail-voting-...

Mail and the Midterms: Send Us Your Questions - Bolts

As the midterms draw closer, President Trump and his allies on the right have increased their attacks on mail voting while continuing to falsely claim that it is rife with... Read More

boltsmag.org

There is still one group of people born in the U.S. who are not entitled to birthright citizenship, even after yesterday’s SCOTUS ruling: American Samoans pay taxes, owe “allegiance” to the U.S., and serve in the military—but have no constitutional right to citizenship: boltsmag.org/prosecuted-f...

Americans by Name, Punished for Believing It - Bolts

In a small Alaska town, American Samoans face prosecution for voting in the only country they’ve ever known. They live in a limbo, created by colonial expansion, that now confuses even public official...

boltsmag.org

How quickly things change… 8 years ago, running for AG, Weiser *was* the establishment pick and very narrowly won his first primary against an anti-establishment leftist. It’s been funny seeing him lumped in coverage with folks like Kiros and Gonzales this year, because he is very much not that.

Ryan (Ry) Warner@ryanhasaquestion.bsky.social · last mo.

“We proved the establishment wrong,” says Phil Weiser, who has won the Democratic gubernatorial primary. “The future of Colorado will not be decided by out-of-state billionaires…”

I’d argue the anti-establishment narrative in Colorado is pretty clear tonight and that Hickenlooper’s win in fact underscores it: His progressive challenger, Gonzales, announced late in the game and got hugely outspent while running a relatively low-profile campaign, and still is over 43 percent.

Jacob Weindling@jakeweindling.bsky.social · last mo.

Right now it looks like DeGette is gonna lose, Hickenlooper is gonna win, and Bennett is gonna lose. Good luck threading one anti-establishment narrative through that. Warning to all politics writers: this is not a progressive mandate despite some good results, and Colorado politics remains weird.

Amanda Gonzalez, tonight’s D primary winner for Colorado SOS, was instrumental in making Colorado the first state to require polling places in every jail. That’s been a transformative policy change and an example for other states, where the bar for jail voting access generally couldn’t be lower.

Amanda Litman@amandalitman.bsky.social · last mo.

Extremely excited for @runforsomething.net alum Amanda Gonzalez to be the Dem nominee for CO Secretary of State. She has done incredible work as the Jefferson Co Clerk & Recorder - one of the most principled and voter-focused election admins around.

To this day, one of the most unbelievable facts we’ve ever published in @boltsmag.org: Over a 40-year period, *80* percent of death row convictions in Louisiana have ended up getting reversed.

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · last mo.

Big in Louisiana today: State Supreme Court upheld decision vacating the conviction of Chris Duncan, who spent 26 years on death row claiming innocence. Context: 80% of people on Louisiana death row have been exonerated; this conviction hinged on discredited doctors. We reported on case here:

Grace periods for mail ballots, which were uncontroversial until Trump decreed that they’re bad, narrowly survived SCOTUS. But Republicans continue going after mail voting, and aren’t waiting on SCOTUS orders to do so: 4 red states recently banned their grace periods after Trump told them to.

Supreme Court Upholds Grace Periods For Mail Ballots Postmarked by Election Day - Bolts

SCOTUS allows states to keep accepting ballots that arrive after Election Day, even as conservatives on the court continue to cast doubt on mail voting.

boltsmag.org

🔍 INVESTIGATION W/ @boltsmag.org: Colorado passed a law to curb solitary confinement for people with mental illness. Years later, it's failing. Our reporting found judges almost never deny requests to exceed the law's limits. #Boulder County led in requests. boulderreportinglab.org/2026/06/23/c...

Colorado limited solitary confinement for people with mental illness. Boulder County keeps using it.

Despite a Colorado law meant to limit solitary confinement, judges almost always approve requests to isolate people with serious mental illness in the Boulder County Jail and other Colorado jails.

boulderreportinglab.org

working w/ other journalism startups has been key to our work since launching @boltsmag.org but wow June has been big for us. nearly every story we published this month was a collaboration w/ a local newsroom. i think many of these punch far above the weight of our small orgs bc we combined forces 🧵

In our new “Ask Bolts” Q&A, @profferguson.bsky.social answers reader-submitted questions about digital surveillance and policing. It’s a fascinating conversation about just how commonplace surveillance tech has become. Don’t miss it ⬇️ boltsmag.org/everything-e...

“Everything, Everywhere, All at Once Surveillance”: Your Questions Answered - Bolts

Technology that tracks personal information, including one’s location, interests, and online behaviors, has become commonplace. It’s as ubiquitous as the GPS in a car or a home security camera. But......

boltsmag.org

Journalists aren’t some special class of people, but their role is unique. It’s supposed to be non-engaged with any party on the ground. Just documenting. When they get injured or arrested, it illustrates the intensity of violence being deployed by the state against everyone else.