2 days ago · In 2024, Politics Is Local. Bolts covers the nuts and bolts of power and political change, from the local up. We report on the places, people, and policies that shape public policy. We focus on criminal justice and voting rights, and delve further in …

5 hours ago · T.R. Edwards grew up with stories from his grandmother Kathleen about her struggle to vote as a Black woman in Wisconsin: A child of the Jim Crow south, she’d moved to Madison in the 1970s, and then to Milwaukee, with no birth certificate, which made it hard to prove her identity for government purposes, including voter registration.

Bolts is the new home of “What’s on the Ballot,” a platform that since 2018 has offered cheatsheets and databases to organize the chaos of U.S. democracy. “What’s on the Ballot” is now continuing to help readers follow elections small and big, local and national, by producing more cheatsheets and information.

Jan 17, 2025 · 1. Will a redistricting case out of Louisiana weaken the VRA?. Conservatives are pursuing a multi-pronged attack to eliminate what is left of the Voting Rights Act. Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions in 2023, conservatives have objected with renewed vigor to the longstanding approach of considering race in redistricting to create minority-majority ...

2 days ago · Florida Republicans spent weeks squabbling over rival immigration bills. Their conflict wasn’t over significant policy differences: They agreed on diverting hundreds of millions in state funds toward assisting federal immigration enforcement, mandating that local governments cooperate with ICE, and punishing officials who don’t comply.

Nov 22, 2024 · Who Runs Our Elections? Our Bolts resources compile, state-by-state, the local and state offices responsible for administering elections, and those responsible for counting and certifying results.These sleepy offices hold a great deal of discretion over our democracy.

Oct 11, 2024 · November is fast approaching, and with it a myriad of state and local elections. We published a guide last week to more than 500 races, and why they matter, to help you navigate it.. But we also wanted to hear from you. For “Ask Bolts,” our ongoing series in which we tackle reader questions, we asked you what you wanted to know about these upcoming elections.

Feb 5, 2025 · In 1999, Dawn Jackson took a plea deal and was sentenced to 30 years in a New Jersey prison for killing her step-grandfather, Robert McBride. As told in the New York Times Metro section that summer, Jackson, then 27, stabbed him in the chest and stole money to buy cocaine.. But over the next 25 years, Jackson told her side of the story, which was not as clear-cut as it once had seemed.

Oct 29, 2024 · Amber Smith thought she’d never be allowed to cast a ballot in her home state of New Mexico. Thirty years ago, when Smith was 18, she was convicted of a marijuana-related felony and sentenced to three-and-a-half years probation.

Oct 23, 2024 · Our team at Bolts has spent much of the last year reporting on the stakes of the 2024 elections. Then last month, we turned the mic over to you: As part of our series “Ask Bolts,” we invited you to send us your questions about what is brewing in November. I answered six of your questions in the first part of our mailbag two weeks …