Falling Into Election Season

This Week in Democracy??

• Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith on Thursday filed an extensive brief in the federal election interference case. The brief, currently under seal, reportedly contains new evidence against Donald Trump. Judge Tanya Chutkan will decide whether the evidence will be made public. Chutkan set an Oct. 17 deadline for Trump’s team to reply.? ?

?? READ: The latest indictment, explained? ?

• Rudy Giuliani was permanently disbarred in Washington, D.C. After losing his New York law license in July for promoting lies about the 2020 presidential election, the D.C. Court of Appeals ordered him to explain why he shouldn’t lose his D.C. license, too. The court stripped Giuliani of his license on Thursday after he didn’t respond.? ?

• Nebraska State Sen. Mike McDonnell announced that he would not support a Trump-backed plan to change how the state’s electoral votes are awarded, effectively ending its chances of succeeding. “Elections should be an opportunity for all voters to be heard, no matter who they are, where they live, or what party they support,” McDonnell said in a statement. “After deep consideration, it is clear to me that right now, 43 days from Election Day, is not the moment to make this change.”? ?

• The man accused of plotting to kill Donald Trump was indicted by a Miami grand jury on Tuesday. The indictment charges the man with three counts, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.? ?

• Smartmatic, a voting machine manufacturer, settled its defamation lawsuit against Newsmax, a right-wing cable news network. Smartmatic sued the network for airing false claims that its machines rigged the 2020 election. The terms of the settlement were not made public. Smartmatic settled a similar case in April with One America News Network.? ?

State of the States??

In Arizona, the state supreme court ruled that voters affected by an administrative error will still be able to vote in federal and state races in November. The case was brought by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, whose office originally discovered the error. Richer notified Gov. Katie Hobbs, who worked with the state’s transportation department to fix it. Richer worked with Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to bring the case quickly and resolve the error so that Arizona election officials’ preparations for November will remain on schedule. Arizona voters will begin casting their ballots on Oct. 9.??

In the News?

• Civil Beat: The Sunshine Blog: The Landscape Of Election Denial In America Includes Hawaii?

Fortunately, Joanna Lydgate of the nonprofit, nonpartisan States United [Action] told the panel audience about its website that maps out “The Landscape of Election Denial in America.” Election deniers hold statewide office in 26 states, 14 are on the ballot this fall and 172 are members of the current Congress.? ?

• Rolling Stone: Trump Ramps Up Election Fraud Lies as Early Voting Opens?

• ?The Washington Post: Latest strategy in fighting election skepticism: Radical transparency ? ?

• The Associated Press: Several states are making late changes to election rules, even as voting is set to begin? ?

• CNN: Election experts raise fresh alarms about vote counting delays – and chaos – in battleground states? ?
• Bloomberg: Threats to Local US Election Officials Are Rising, and More Workers Are Quitting? ?

• States Newsroom via Colorado Newsline: Postal chief insists to Congress that mail-in ballots will get delivered in time? ?

• Axios: Half of U.S. states seek to crack down on AI in elections?

• ?The Associated Press: Wisconsin district attorney pursuing investigation into mayor’s removal of absentee ballot drop box? ?

• WRDW: Ga. elections chief joins others in fighting hand-counts of ballots?

• USA Today (Opinion): I asked election officials from six swing states what worries them most this year?

Recommended Reading (and Viewing)?

TIME Magazine highlighted 11 “Democracy Defenders” who are each working to prepare for the November election, make it easier to vote, and combat misinformation about elections. You can read about each of them at this link or watch a video by clicking on the image below.?

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