Jen reports on threats to democracy in states across the country. She previously covered elections and local government at the Houston Chronicle and at Houston’s NPR station. She loves voting early on Halloween.
After Missouri’s year-long fight over a gerrymandered congressional map, local election officials are scrambling to finalize ballots after the legal battle blew past deadlines for them to be done.
Missouri Republicans are once again asking a federal court to rule against their redistricting opponents — even after the GOP already struck out at the Missouri Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, and even as local election officials prepare to send out ballots to voters later this week.
Election officials and pro-voting advocates heaved a tremendous sigh of relief late Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to keep in place a block on President Donald Trump’s mail voting restrictions for the midterms.
The Texas Supreme Court blocked Galveston County Republicans from switching local voting maps between the primary and November election, rejecting an unprecedented strategy to maximize partisan advantage at voters’ expense.
Secretary of State Denny Hoskins quickly changed his tune after being grilled by judges and being ordered to return for a second appearance Thursday afternoon, issuing a statement shortly after the contempt hearing confirming that he will comply with orders.
A federal judge rejected a last-minute bid from Missouri’s top election official to avoid a state Supreme Court hearing Thursday morning on whether he is in contempt of court for ordering local officials to use a voting map the justices explicitly barred.
The Indiana Supreme Court is set to decide whether a Republican state senator who bucked President Donald Trump’s demand for a gerrymandered map will keep his seat in a race that’s come down to a narrow three-vote margin.
Opponents of Missouri’s GOP gerrymander asked the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to temporarily block a district court order that has thrown elections into last-minute chaos, with local officials overdue to finalize ballots for the 2026 midterms.
Ohio asked the 6th Circuit to pause a lower court ruling that blocked a state law requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Missouri’s top election official asked a federal district court to shield him from a state supreme court order that he explain why he should not be held in contempt of court for telling local officials to use a gerrymandered election map the justices explicitly blocked.