Quite the eventful way to be welcomed into Washington state. So far we are safe. www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...

Fast-moving West Plains jumps Spokane River amid historic weather warning

A new fire with "very high spread potential" broke out in the Airway Heights area just after noon on Saturday, spurring mandatory evacuations, quickly spreading into Riverside State Park and jumping t...

spokesman.com

On birth certificates: the design varies from state to state, and I bet it would be required to show that one's certificate is "official," meaning it has to be apostilled by each state authority. Apostilles are date stamped, so I also bet it will be required to apostille every election cycle.

This is called a data void, and these candidates are addressing it by filling the info environment with information voters needs to know. LLMs will pick up those sources instead of making it up, or drawing from low hanging quality sources.

Amanda Litman@amandalitman.bsky.social · 2w ago

In the NYT today: How CampSight is helping candidates better inform voters by helping candidates know & change what LLMs are saying about them. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/19/u...

You know what are the true threats to our democracy? Not in ranking order: 1. Gerrymandering 2. Unregulated campaign finance 3. Disinformation 4. Defunding CISA 5. Firing EAC commissioners 6. Asking states' unredacted voter roll data

How insulting to the whole election community who works so hard for Americans to exercise their right to vote freely and securely.

National Intelligence Council 2021 report directly contradicts Trump's lies about alleged Chinese interference: “We assess that China did not deploy interference efforts and considered but did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the US presidential election"

substack.com/home/post/p-...

Setting the Record Straight: Ten Reasons Why the 2020 Election Was Fair and Accurately Decided.

For the past five and a half years, President Donald Trump has contended that the 2020 election was stolen from him by massive fraud.

substack.com

This is such a tragedy. The EAC has zero regulatory authority, but it provides tremendous support to election officials across the country. Thank you for your service, Commissioners.

Instant follow and on my reading list for Fall teaching.

Petter Törnberg@pettertornberg.com · 4w ago

‘Polarization’ has become the master concept for diagnosing our current democratic crisis. But this is not polarization. It is the radicalization of the political right. By misdiagnosing it, we risk becoming complicit in the crisis. 🧵 Just out in Perspectives on Politics doi.org/10.1017/S153...

Today's NYT jobs report coverage (left) compared to exactly 2 years ago under Biden (right). Notice the numbers.

@npr don't use the term election officials really dislike: purges. It's routine list maintenance, and removal of ineligible voters. Yes, it is governed by federal law, and yes many times eligible voters are impacted. But "purge" is not a term used in election admin. share.google/Emh143cjwreY...

A federal law bans late voter roll purges. Republicans are pushing to reinterpret it

There's a ban on most states systematically purging voter rolls within 90 days before Election Day. Republicans are pushing courts to reinterpret that longstanding protection for eligible voters.

share.google

Election Day means the day when voters cast their vote, not the day when vote counting is completed. States govern election rules. it's wrong to punish voters who went through all the hoops to cast a legal vote, because of factors beyond their control (postal delays).

Major journal desk rejecting paper on voting rights claiming that topic is too narrow. Sure.

Threats to the information environment are rapidly evolving and we need to know how to slow them down. In my latest post for @cdt.org, I talk about algorithmic poisoning and how it can affect the 2026 midterm cycle. cdt.org/insights/whe...

When the Algorithmic Odds are Not in your Favor: Algorithmic Poisoning and the 2026 U.S. Midterms

Looking aheadon-ecosystem">Poisoning an already vulnerable election information ecosystemgorithmic poisoning?eaways from the 2024 election year, which was termed “the year of AI elections,” was the ab...

cdt.org

Beautiful piece by @ashtonpittman.bsky.social on Mississippi's racist history - and present. Color blindness is inherently problematic. It erases all context and history of racial struggles and politics.

Mississippi Free Press@mississippifreepress.org · 2mo ago

EDITOR'S NOTE: "We did not wind up in a situation in Mississippi where something like 90% to 95% of Black voters vote for Democrats and 80% to 85% of white voters vote for Republicans by accident," Ashton Pittman writes.

States who allow electronic delivery of mail ballots to voters, like in MD, should speak out to inform this option to voters. How disappointing that USPS is not a reliable partner any more.

Marc Elias@marcelias.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🚨BREAKING: The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) said in a yet-to-be-published proposed rule Friday that it’s drawing up plans to radically crack down on mail voting by sending ballots only to voters who are registered with the federal government. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

It’s telling that Alabama took 14 years to implement Brown (you MUST desegregate) and < 14 days to implement Callais (you CAN eliminate Black districts if you call them Democratic, but you don’t HAVE to).

Meg Kinnard@megkinnardap.bsky.social · 3mo ago

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers approve a plan for new US House primaries if courts allow different districts.

Elections are worth funding. This lack of listening to election officials is so disappointing.

Arizona Secretary of State@azsecretary.bsky.social · 3mo ago

My statement on the ongoing budget negotiations:

What a headline.

Guardian US@us.theguardian.com · 3mo ago

Lawmakers to convene for special session to redraw state supreme court districts at building with racist history

Back in 2018, I did a ton of interviews with farmers in MS, AL, and LA for an EPA project. Long story short, most of them voted for Trump and despise their customers (people in cities who buy their food). They know subsidies will keep on rolling no matter what. They hold the food supply hostage.

Dr. Sandra Steingraber 🏳️‍🌈@ssteingraber1.bsky.social · 3mo ago

ICYMI: US Farm Bureau reports that 7/10 US farmers can’t afford all the fertilizer they need this year, and 6/10 report worsening finances. Hilarious until you realize they grow your food. Read closely. 73% of the guys making your oatmeal are in trouble. Veggies? 61% www.fb.org/market-intel...

The NVRA's list maintenance provision is next on the chopping block.

I can't help but infer that this SCOTUS decision is punitive. We have evidence since Shelby that removing VRA protections empowered states to pass laws with discriminatory impact. Why would this be different?

Kevin Morris@kevintmorris.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I am unspeakably angry about this turnout gap figure, and it gives insight into the whole ballgame for gutting the VRA. Alito points out that Black turnout exceeded White turnout twice in 5 elections. The argument is garbage 1/x

Mississippi "leaders" are not even discreet about this. What a dark day for America.

Ashton Pittman@ashtonpittman.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A white Mississippi state leader is calling for the elimination of the state’s only majority-Black U.S. House district after the U.S. Supreme Court diminished the Voting Rights Act. "Mississippi might no longer have a district drawn to protect Bennie Thompson," State Auditor Shad White said.

Must buy from my friend @kevintmorris.bsky.social and his rockstar co-author Michael Miller. I was privileged to get a preview of this work a few summers ago. Can't wait to get my copy.

Kevin Morris@kevintmorris.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Cover drop and I'm in love press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

Unpopular opinion? Videos of @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social walking in NYC > puppy videos.

I get the scientific discovery, but I totally object to the "the benefits outweigh the ethical costs" argument.

Carl Schmertmann@cschmert.bsky.social · 4mo ago

"The problem was that the experiment worked too well. Within weeks of her uploading information about the condition, attributed to a fictional author, major artificial-intelligence systems began repeating the invented condition as if it were real." www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Watched Don't Look Up again today and I could not tell whether today's press conference was real life or a movie.

This sounds "fun" but it also reeks of privilege. Who is more likely to get prosecuted for not paying taxes?

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

"Not paying taxes is a scary thing to do. Nevertheless, many war tax resisters never face consequences," writes @claravondrich.bsky.social.

Heartbreaking. Looks like democracy is not worth it for many leaders, and a substantial number of voters across the world feel the same, otherwise we wouldn't be here.

Gabriela Greilinger@gabrielagreilinger.com · 5mo ago

"Autocratization is now truly global. (...) In 2025, Western Europe and North America registers the most notable decline on both country- and population-weighted averages. This is primarily due to the recent developments in the US." V-Dem released its latest report. www.v-dem.net/documents/75...

People commenting on the price of gas: would the outrage be less of gas prices were not impacted?