Poli Alert Politics & Civics

Matt Vasilogambros, Pennsylvania Capital-Star The year started out strong for advocates trying to make it easier for people with felony convictions to regain their voting rights. In March, the Democratic-led legislatures in Minnesota and New Mexico enacted measures that cleared a pathway for residents serving prison time for felonies to …

Jake Johnson, Common Dreams Democrats on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee on Monday slammed the Republican leadership’s ongoing attacks on federal nutrition assistance, specifically criticizing members of Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s team for floating eligibility restrictions on top of those already imposed by the bipartisan debt ceiling agreement. “You have seen …

President Joe Biden warmly welcomed the Houston Astros on Monday to honor their 2022 World Series victory. The team, including players, coaches, manager Dusty Baker, and owner Jim Crane, joined the president at the White House to celebrate their achievement. During the event in the East Room, President Biden praised …

Julia Conley, Common Dreams Recent polling in Ohio has shown that a majority of residents disapprove of a proposed measure that will be on ballots across the state in a special election on Tuesday, but abortion rights advocates have spent recent days warning voters that failing to block the proposal …

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was greeted at his home state’s premier political event over the weekend with loud boos and chants of “retire!” as the longtime Republican leader faces increased scrutiny following a series of recent health incidents. As McConnell opened his speech at Kentucky’s annual Fancy Farm picnic, …

Ariana Figueroa, Idaho Capital Sun On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, in which 23 people were murdered, more than 160 religious, civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups called on congressional leaders to denounce lawmakers who use white supremacist, anti-immigrant rhetoric, arguing …

Stanley Dunlap, Georgia Recorder Four Georgia district attorneys filed a lawsuit this week to stop the creation of a new disciplinary committee that has the power to remove county prosecutors from public office. The plaintiffs in the state lawsuit accuse Gov. Brian Kemp and other GOP lawmakers of passing legislation …

Olivia Rosane, Common Dreams Former President Donald Trump lashed out on social media Sunday against the judge who was assigned to try his case in an indictment charging him with conspiring to remain in power after losing the 2020 presidential election. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by …

Ariana Figueroa, Florida Phoenix A federal appeals court last week decided to allow the Biden administration to keep in place a temporary two-year rule that restricts asylum at the U.S. border, while the legal challenges to a lower court’s ruling play out. The decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court …

Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch Former President Donald Trump said in a speech Friday in Alabama that he wears as a “badge of honor” his recent indictment on charges of attempting to subvert the 2020 presidential election. In a nearly hour-long speech at a Montgomery fundraising dinner for the Alabama …

Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., Harvard University What was Donald Trump thinking when he set about trying to maintain the presidency after losing it to Joe Biden? That’s the key question a jury will need to consider in Trump’s federal trial on charges announced Aug. 1, 2023, stemming from Trump’s attempts …

A U.S. federal appellate court on Friday ruled that a Jim Crow-era Mississippi law permanently disenfranchising people with certain felony convictions is unconstitutional. In a decision that can be appealed to the full U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, a three-judge panel of the tribunal ruled 2-1 that Section 241 …

Dozens of House Democrats on Thursday urged the policy-setting body of the federal judiciary to authorize live broadcasts of former President Donald Trump’s upcoming court proceedings as he faces charges stemming from his effort to overturn the 2020 election. Cameras are usually barred from federal courtrooms, but 38 House Democrats …

Tennessee Representatives Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who along with state Rep. Gloria Johnson were dubbed the “Tennessee Three,” regained their seats in the state legislature after being expelled for participating in a gun control protest on the House floor. They were previously reinstated on an interim basis by local …

Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams The Republican-controlled Florida Board of Education on Thursday effectively banned Advanced Placement Psychology by notifying school district superintendents that teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity—key subjects in college-level psychology curricula—is prohibited under the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law. That means class schedules …