From Marc

Once Again The Courts Protected Democracy

A new Democracy Docket report shows that 2023 was another year in which pro-voting litigation groups played an outsized role in protecting voting rights.

By Marc Elias

January 19, 2024

Blue background with map of the United States that is partially shaded in a lighter shade of blue and red and three main states highlighted: Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania. On the left side of the map is a judge holding a gavel.

Three Years After Jan. 6 Trump Is Even More Dangerous

The America that emerges on Jan. 7, 2025, will be different from the one in place four years earlier or even today.

By Marc Elias

January 5, 2024

Red background with images of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection faded into the background and surrounding a black and white toned image of Donald Trump speaking in front of a podium with the presidential seal.

What I’m Watching on the Docket

As we begin a consequential election year, here are a few of the most important cases I am watching.

By Marc Elias

January 3, 2024

Blue background with collage of blue and red toned images of court documents in various voting rights cases in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, as well as Trump's Washington D.C. federal indictment. There are also images of Trump, the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and someone holding a mail-in ballot.

Democracy Was on the Docket in 2023, and It Won

As it was in previous years, one of the main story lines in 2023 is the staggering record of losses Republican lawyers had in court.

By Marc Elias

December 14, 2023

Blue background with images of Donald Trump, a mail-in ballot envelope, a map of Alabama, and snippet of the Voting Rights Act faded into the background. On the top left is a case name "LULAC OF IOWA VS PAUL PATE ET AL OTHER ORDER," to the bottom right is the case name "MOORE V. HARPER" and in the center is a large blue gavel.

Donald Trump’s Plot Against America

Donald Trump is plotting to overthrow American democracy. It is not a secret, and he is not subtle.

By Marc Elias

December 6, 2023

Red background with American flag faded and Donald Trump standing with his arm stretched out and his supporters holding up MAGA signs behind him.

Here’s What I’m Thankful for This Year

If Allen was the only VRA victory of the year, it would be a good year. But the impact of this landmark decision didn’t extend just to Alabama.

By Marc Elias

November 22, 2023

Pink background with black and white toned images of President Lyndon B. Johnson meeting with MLK, Whitney Young, and James Farmer in the Oval Office and another image of people protesting outside the U.S. Supreme Court surrounding a blue-toned image of hands clapping together, a copy of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with Johnson's signature, and text from court opinions that read "About a year later, the Supreme Court resolved the Alabama case. We now apply the Court's reasoning to the Louisiana redistricting." and "We held, and the Supreme Court agreed, that the required remedy is the creation of a second district where Black Alabamians, like everyone else, have a fair and reasonable opportunity to elect their preferred candidates" and "But unfortunately, as to districts 9 and 15, those efforts did not go far enough to comply with Section 2."

A “Big Lie” Ring Leader Becomes Speaker of the House

The newly elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is no ordinary Republican election denier.

By Marc Elias

October 30, 2023

Red background with the petition from the Texas v. Pennsylvania case laid into the background and now Speaker of the House Mike Johnson holding a gavel standing next to Trump.

A Dangerous Legal Theory Returns for 2024

You may recall that last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the fringe right-wing independent state legislature (ISL) theory.

By Marc Elias

October 24, 2023

Red background with black and white toned image of Frankenstein's monster with "ISL" printed on his forehead and the complaint from a recent lawsuit in Michigan folded into the background.

The Lesson of Alabama

Republican-controlled legislatures are ignoring the law because they have decided that defiance is good politics.

By Marc Elias

October 9, 2023

Red background with blue image of the Voting Rights Act with the red flag of the state of Alabama (with a big red "X") laid over the law document.

The Growing Threat of Republican Election Vigilantes

States need to act urgently to enact clear laws that forbid private voter challenges.

By Marc Elias

September 14, 2023

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