**Good News**
Your periodic reminder that bureaucracy is still holding and we still have a LOT of people higher up in the ‘pillars’ standing up to this administration..
– Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has refused to resign from her post in the wake of a termination letter signed by the president that was made public on Monday. She has since sued President Donald Trump citing unproven mortgage claim allegations.
– In a major win for voting rights, an Arizona court tossed a GOP lawsuit that tried to make voting by mail even harder. With nearly 90% of Arizonans casting a mail ballot, the ruling protects voters from being disenfranchised by minor signature mismatches
– A win for Washington voters
The 9th Circuit upheld a fairer map for Yakima Valley, rejecting bad-faith appeals that tried to dilute Latino voting power in Washington state. Latino communities in central Washington will get a real chance to elect candidates of their choice.
– Pennsylvania and Oregon pushed back against the DOJ’s latest efforts to obtain private voter data. Both are the latest states to forcefully reject the DOJ’s effort to obtain private voter data — including voters’ full addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial social security numbers.
– A court dismissed a DOJ lawsuit against every federal district judge in Maryland. The judge, a Trump appointee, called the administration’s efforts to “smear and impugn” the judiciary, “unprecedented.” The lawsuit sought to overturn a court order blocking the government from immediately deporting certain people.
– In a huge win for Pennsylvania voters, the 3rd Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that requires Pennsylvania to count undated or wrongly dated mail-in ballots, finding that a law rejecting these ballots was unconstitutional.
– A Utah judge this week struck down a GOP gerrymandered congressional map. Utah voters demanded fairer maps and politicians must now deliver. It could lead Democrats to gain a seat in the U.S. House!
– Pro-voting groups sued Ohio over proof of citizenship law, warning that a new law requiring proof of citizenship for voters registering at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles threatens to disenfranchise thousands of eligible citizens. The filing highlights how the law will fall hardest on women, older voters and students.
**Great News**
– Major upset in Iowa! Democrat Catelin Drey flipped a deep-red seat in the state Senate and in winning the seat, she BROKE the GOP’s supermajority in the chamber!!
– And deeply encouraging words from Andy Borowitz:
”Don’t say, “There won’t be midterms, because Trump is going to declare martial law and cancel all elections from now on.” That’s a right-wing narrative designed to make you feel hopeless and prevent you from donating, volunteering, and voting. Don’t fall for it!
Instead, let’s do some critical thinking: if there won’t be any midterms, why are Republicans scrambling to gerrymander in states like Texas? I’ll tell you why: they’re terrified of losing control of the House—and with your help, they will.”
Have a great weekend, everyone. We hope to see you on tonight for Scrappy Hour and Monday for our Labor of Love and Solidarity September Kickoff event!
https://indivisibleknoxville.org/events/laboroflove-solidarityseptember-kickoff/