Bolts staff writer Alex Burness explains how Southern states ignored a Reconstruction-era law and manipulated the criminal legal system to prevent Black people from voting. This year, that has finally caught up with one state: Virginia.
Noble Ingram
@nobleingram.bsky.social
audience engagement editor at @boltsmag.org he/him
Five states are holding their primaries today—Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, and Washington. Our guide walks you through dozens of intriguing elections you should know about.
110 Elections to Watch This August - Bolts
A string of high-profile Senate and governor primaries will headline August and set the stage for November. They include the rushed special primary to replace the late Lindsey Graham in... Read More
boltsmag.org
NEW: We're about to enter an extremely busy stretch of elections; in August, I'm watching elections across 17 states! Referendums could overhaul election law. Liberals want to take back school boards. The far-right is targeting GOP lawmakers. And more. Enter my new guide to August elections:
110 Elections to Watch This August - Bolts
A string of high-profile Senate and governor primaries will headline August and set the stage for November. They include the rushed special primary to replace the late Lindsey Graham in... Read More
boltsmag.org
Bolts staff writer @pascalsabino.bsky.social explains how law enforcement agencies across the country have installed Flock surveillance cameras in exchange for access to the company’s database, and how some local governments are now ending their contracts with the tech company.
🔔 We want to hear from you: What do you want to know about the shifting rules on mail ballots, changes at the USPS, and how this could all affect elections this year? Let us know by this Friday.
Mail and the Midterms: Send Us Your Questions - Bolts
What do you want to know about the shifting rules on mail ballots, changes at the USPS, and how this could all affect elections this year?
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
Do you have questions about how changing rules on mail voting and new USPS policies could affect the midterms? Share them with us and we will do our best to give you some answers: 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
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
Do you have questions about how changing rules on mail voting and new USPS policies could affect the midterms? Share them with us and we will do our best to give you some answers: 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
Elections to watch in July, in my new elections guide, include: —a fake Trump elector trying a comeback —Arizona's far-right aims at utility regulators, again —local elections waged around ICE & data centers —an incumbent governor in primary trouble and more! boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...
The 25 Elections to Watch This July - Bolts
After a busy stretch in May and June, the elections calendar is quieting down. Only one state is holding its regular primaries in July. It just so happens that this... Read More
boltsmag.org
What a month! 🎉 It’s been such a nice experience to work with so many local newsrooms recently. These stories are really worth your time.
Michael Barajas@michaelbarajas.bsky.social · last mo.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 🧵
Aaaaaaaah, SCOTUS cited a Bolts article today... in a case that held for a defendant's rights, and to show how far prosecutors can go if left to their own devices, no less!?!?!?
If you haven’t filled out our reader survey yet, there is still time! If you’re a fan of Bolts, responding to the survey is a really great way to support our work. ⬇️
Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · 2mo agoto all Bolts readers: We're halfway thru our reader survey. this is our first since 2024. we'd LOVE to hear from you: what we do well (our funders love to know!), what we can do better (we really want to know)! if you have time today, it'd be a huge help: www.surveymonkey.com/r/Bolts2026s...
Thank you to @boltsmag.org and @nobleingram.bsky.social and @taniel.bsky.social for featuring “Your Data Will Be Used Against You.” Q&A on police surveillance — one of the most important issues of our day. 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
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
Could we ask you for a favor? Our new reader survey gives you an opportunity to share your thoughts about our journalism. It should only take about 10 minutes (or less!) and your responses will be super helpful as we scope out our plans for the future: www.surveymonkey.com...]
After a Wisconsin town did this, the mayor said: “The fact that they didn’t take the cameras down shows that we are the product. They were never really selling to us in the first place. They're selling to much bigger agencies the ability to spy on a ton of people.” (via boltsmag.org/verona-wisco...)
Jason Koebler@jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 2mo agoNew: Regretful cities are literally covering their Flock cameras with black trash bags because they cannot figure out how to immediately exit their surveillance contracts or get the cameras taken down: www.404media.co/cities-are-c...
NEW: A California DA was prosecuting Stanford students for felonies over pro-Palestine protests. Bolts reported back in February that he was fundraising off these cases. Learning this, defense attorneys dug more, & filed a motion to force Rosen off the case for bias. A judge just removed him:
This DA Tried to Punish Stanford Protesters Again, Until Judge Pulled Him from Case - Bolts
Defendants had asked for Santa Clara DA Jeff Rosen to be recused after evidence emerged that he was using the ongoing prosecution to fundraise for his reelection bid on June 2.
boltsmag.org
This week, we published a Spanish translation of @pascalsabino.bsky.social’s story on Whittier, the SoCal city where local immigrant organizing led to big progressive wins in recent elections. Glad we could publish this with our friends at @lapublicpress.bsky.social. boltsmag.org/inmigrantes-...
Cómo la organización de los inmigrantes transformó la ciudad de origen de Nixon - Bolts
This story was originally published in English. Read it here. Esta historia fue traducida como una colaboración entre Bolts y LA Public Press. Cuando los residentes de Whittier, un suburbio de... Read...
boltsmag.org
"This is a type of voter suppression" - @pascalsabino.bsky.social of @boltsmag.org highlights how off-cycle local elections drive down voter turnout Listen to the @msignorile.bsky.social show at Signorile.com
North Carolina's last governor started reviewing sentences of people condemned to die in prison for crimes they committed as children. But that pathway to freedom has closed as politics in the state is now once again dominated by tough-on-crime rhetoric and harsh punishment.
North Carolina Governor Denies Nearly All Juvenile Lifers Seeking Clemency - Bolts
After the state’s previous governor created a board to consider clemency for people sentenced to lengthy prison terms as minors, a new administration closes their pathway to freedom.
boltsmag.org
happy election day to those who celebrate:
Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · 3mo agoMore elections in just two days, in Nebraska and West Virginia What should you be watching? ➡️ Dem's Senate primary in NE: all about whether the nominee will drop out. ➡️ Two supreme court seats in play in West Virginia. ➡️ Other House + statewide primaries. Details: boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...
NEW: In this majority-Latino city in California, the GOP had long maintained an iron grip on local government. But that all changed this spring: Anger toward ICE raids, immigrant organizing, and surging turnout for local elections, it all made for a Dem sweep—& flip. Check out the story:
How Immigrant Organizing Flipped Nixon’s Hometown - Bolts
The California city of Whittier swung to Democrats this spring, spurred by ICE raids and by anger toward election rules that long dampened turnout among Latinos and kept them out of city government.
boltsmag.org
Subscribe to Bolts for more of this quick response to readers' inquiries. @boltsmag.org
Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · 3mo agoNEW: Last week, we asked you to send us any questions you have about Callais and what it means for the VRA. We got so many great questions. We turned to two redistricting and civil rights experts, & asked them to answer you. The result was this fascinating & at times head-turning conversation:
The @boltsmag.org team is digging into the Supreme Court’s Callais decision and what it could mean for voting rights. Let them know your questions and follow their reporting on Flipboard: flipboard.com/@BoltsMag
Bolts (@BoltsMag) on Flipboard
We cover the nuts and bolts of power and political change, from the local up.
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Bolts@boltsmag.org · 3mo agoWhat questions do you have about the Supreme Court's Callais decision and the fate of the Voting Rights Act? Let us know by noon ET tomorrow:
NEW: We want to hear from you at Bolts. SCOTUS just dealt a major blow to the VRA, though lot of questions remain on what states and courts (can) do. So: what are you wondering about? Let us know here and our team will answer with help from election law experts!: boltsmag.org/scotus-calla...
"The Demolition of the Voting Rights Act": Send Us Your Questions - Bolts
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a decision in Callais vs. Louisiana that even further weakens the landmark Voting Rights Act—to a point where experts warn that the cornerstone... Read More
boltsmag.org
Across the country, ICE is converting warehouses into immigrant detention centers. This story is a great look at how locals are using environmental regulations and land use restrictions to stop them. boltsmag.org/ice-warehous...
ICE Bought a Warehouse in a Conservative New Jersey Town. Locals Are Now Fighting Back. - Bolts
On Christmas Eve, residents of Roxbury, New Jersey, a township 50 miles west of Manhattan, learned from a Washington Post article that the Department of Homeland Security had plans to... Read More
boltsmag.org
Exciting Bolts news: @burness.bsky.social's amazing, distressing, infuriating article on how Alaska is prosecuting a community of American Samoans for voting, is a finalist for an "Breaking Barriers" award from the Institute of Nonprofit News. Don't miss it, if you haven't had time to read it:
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
for anyone who missed this yesterday... check out my new story on *all state supreme court races* happening this year, with 60+ seats up, and you can also bookmark it to it as a resource through the fall!
Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · 4mo agoI decided to write about at each & every one of the 32 states with supreme court elections this year. Why? On abortion, redistricting, death penalty, & more, these institutions & their elections remain so critical. So here's everything you need to know. NEW from me:
Are you concerned about your personal data and the growth of digital surveillance? Don't miss this opportunity to ask a question to an expert:
Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · 4mo agoNEW: Andrew Ferguson, a law professor, wrote a new book on digital surveillance and policing — & how the police track & exploit your personal data. He's agreed to answer questions on this sent by Bolts readers. Check out more info below, & you can drop a question in the form!