Noble Ingram

What we know, final edition—in 2 parts.

1. Progressives oust 3 Dems who were helping GOP in NC.
2. Dems flip legislative seat in AR.
3. Al Green + Dan Crenshaw down big.
4. #TXSen? Talarico up. GOP runoff.
5. Right holds supreme court seat in AR, but no blowout.
6. TX far-right generally strong.

JUST IN: Democrat Alex Holladay has flipped a GOP-held seat in the Arkansas state House.

The Republican governor had initially called the special election in June, but a court moved up the contest.

RESULT: Martin Moore has won the Democratic primary for district attorney in Buncombe County, North Carolina, home to the liberal enclave of Asheville. No Republican filed for this office, so he is poised to be the next DA.

Happy election day to those who celebrate!

The guide you need: boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...

The thread you need:

Opposition to Mega Prison Project Shapes a Local Election in Rural Arkansas - Bolts Incarceration has become a central issue in Western Arkansas, where the governor wants to build a new prison that has angered and mobilized residents.

Before Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders announced a megaprison a mile from his house, Colt Shelby hadn’t voted in 15 years.

Now he says he won't miss another election.

Ahead of Tuesday's special election, I took a look at how incarceration has become the race's biggest issue in a deeply red district.

In an Intense Election Year, New Post Office Rules Could Trip Up Voter Registration A change in how mail is postmarked could lead some voters to miss key deadlines, including voter registration. Advocates worry the people most affected will be those already facing voting barriers.

“Any mail that’s getting dropped into a blue box is not getting postmarked on the same day, and likely not on the day after either,” says the leader of a postal workers’ union.

This could have tremendous implications for voting:

Our Ode to Independent Media Flipboard is making a concerted effort to support independent publishers. Here are some we've recently onboarded

"Flipboard has been a terrific resource for the Bolts team. Its editors have helped ensure that our election guides and local politics coverage reach a wide audience that's hungry for our brand of independent journalism," says @boltsmag.org's @nobleingram.bsky.social.

flip.it/SvE7.K

A majority of the 16 U.S. states under total Democratic control now ban 287(g) partnerships with ICE. Maryland and New Mexico just joined that list, following Maine in January.

I wrote about this landscape and these new reforms in @boltsmag.org:

boltsmag.org/maryland-new...

The Feds Targeted Charlotte. Now a Local Democrat Who Helped ICE Faces Voters. - Bolts North Carolina lawmaker Carla Cunningham voted to mandate compliance with ICE, and derided immigrants on the House floor. The Democrat faces an intense March primary.

And read it in English, here:

boltsmag.org/north-caroli...

I’m so excited to see @boltsmag.org reporting in Spanish, published by the fantastic folks at @enlacelatinonc.bsky.social.

Don’t miss this story, which previews a North Carolina primary election in which one Democratic lawmaker’s support for working with ICE has raised concerns among local Dems:

"We're able to do this work, finding and bringing you stories that aren’t reported elsewhere, because of our stellar team of journalists across the country who are energized to unearth them. Thanks to their work, we’ve published critical reporting from all over since 2022: I’m proud to say Bolts has produced meaningful stories devoted to all 50 states. Just over the last year, we’ve covered the prosecution of an American Samoan community in Alaska, threats to voting rights in North Dakota, jail deaths in Texas, a state supreme court in Hawaii pushing back against the erosion of civil rights, immigration enforcement in California’s East Bay, the construction of a mega prison in Arkansas, an embattled sheriff’s office in downstate Illinois—plus much, much more."

The email we sent out today celebrating our 4th birthday at @boltsmag.org ! 🎂🎂🎂🎂

mailchi.mp/boltsmag/fou...

As I wrote later on: "Thank you for trusting us and reading us. It blows my mind every day that there are so many of you—and today your support feels very special indeed."

Inside ICE’s Only Contract with a Blue State - Bolts Luis Perez waited 53 and a half years to be freed from prison. When his day finally came, on Jan. 16, 2025, he could practically feel the warmth and quiet... Read More

Massachusetts is the only state run by Democrats that still partners with ICE. I dug into this and found that it’s had profound and very troubling consequences: at least 164 people funneled straight from state prisons to ICE since 2023 alone.

New in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/massachusett...

Support Bolts We are a nonprofit publication that covers the nuts and bolts of political change, from the local up, and we need reader support to build our journalism.

Today is Bolts’ 4th birthday! We’re proud to continue sharing our independent journalism on criminal justice, voting rights, and local politics with you all.

Want to send us a birthday present? Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by donations from readers:

A California DA charges student protesters with felonies Plus, the elections to watch in February

In this week's newsletter: California DAs charging student protesters with felonies, elections we're watching in February, and an upset in a Texas state Senate race. Plus a lot more:

mailchi.mp/boltsmag/...]

Virginia’s New Governor Ends ICE Program. Local Contracts Remain, For Now. - Bolts Abigail Spanberger left the 287(g) program, which empowered state law enforcement to detain immigrants. Will Democrats also bar local police and sheriffs from the program?

NEW: Abigail Spanberger this afternoon ordered that all state agencies leave ICE's 287(g) program.

This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.

Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.

Happy Election Day to parts of Texas!

“Democrats hold the narrowest of majorities in Maine and Pennsylvania’s state Houses. They now need to defend vacant seats to retain their edge in each through the end of the year.”

That and a bunch more in @taniel.bsky.social’s What’s on the Ballot guide for February:

in ≈20 states this year, sheriffs who have joined ICE's 287(g) program are up for reelection

i found that a small number of sheriffs are actually representing counties that rejected Trump & voted Harris in 2024.

and they're up for reelection in 2026.

Learn more: boltsmag.org/criminal-jus...

Local ICE contracts loom large in 2026 sheriff elections Plus, a pathway out of prison for Massachusetts survivors

This week's newsletter features a preview of the roughly 2,400 elections for prosecutor and sheriff this year and covers a Massachusetts reform that could give abuse survivors a pathway out of prison. Plus, we're watching two elections in Texas this week:

Send Us Your Questions on Local and State Responses to ICE - Bolts The killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and other scenes of violence by ICE and Border Patrol agents this month are startling reminders of the turmoil that... Read More

The @boltsmag.org team wants to hear from you: Do you have questions about how local leaders, state officials and activists on the ground are responding to ICE?

Let us know and we will do our best to answer them.

boltsmag.org/send-us-your...

Americans by Name, Punished for Believing It - Bolts In a small Alaska town, American Samoans face prosecution for voting in the only country they’ve ever known. They live in a limbo, created by colonial expansion, that now confuses even public official...

Eleven American Samoans in Alaska face serious prison time for voting in the only country they’ve ever known. Theirs is a wild story of colonialism, cops, “voter fraud” panic, small-town beef, and family. I spent months on this + am so glad to now be able to share it: boltsmag.org/prosecuted-f...

2025 was just as busy as 2024, so we’ll forgive you if you missed some of our articles at @boltsmag.org!

Our team chose just 10 of our favorite pieces of the year. It was very hard to choose—but these are articles I'd love for you to not miss.

(And: thank you for reading us!) 🧵

Support Bolts We are a nonprofit publication that covers the nuts and bolts of political change, from the local up, and we need reader support to build our journalism.

We've entered the final hours of our fundraising drive. If you value Bolts—if you read us to understand the forces shaping the country, or rely on our election night cheat sheets—this is your chance: Support us today to sustain us into 2026!

Thanks to all those who’ve helped Bolts over the last few days! I just checked, and we’re now at roughly 93% of the goal we set… with 3 days of year-end push to go. We’re excited to enter 2026 with such a strong bedrock!

Ohio Bans Grace Periods for Mail Ballots, Fulfilling Trump’s Wishes - Bolts Ohio is the fourth GOP-run state this year to ban ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but arrive after. A Supreme Court case could force that policy nationwide next year.

“Grace periods” for late-arriving mail ballots were not controversial until very recently. (Kansas lawmakers voted *163-1* for a grace period in 2017!)

But Trump wants them banned, so red states have lately rushed to help him. Ohio just joined the list:

boltsmag.org/ohio-ends-gr...

The Florida supreme court today rejected challenges to a recent law that allows death sentences by split juries.

Nearly all other states with the death penalty require juries to be unanimous.

flcourts-media.flcou...

A quite startling overperformance for Democrats in tonight's special election for a state Senate seat in Kentucky:

Democrat Gary Clemons won 72% to 25%.

He was defending a Dem-held seat where Kamala Harris beat Trump by 5% last year.

A citizen commission struggles to reform its city’s police Plus, Dems flip 25 state legislative seats this year

Last week, our newsletter covered a citizen commission’s struggle to address police misconduct in Illinois, a recap of major Democratic victories in state legislatures and results from recent elections in Miami, Albuquerque and elsewhere.

Stay tuned for this week’s!

mailchi.mp/boltsmag/new...

A screenshot of a segment from The Beat with Ari Melber on December 11, 2025. The text in this image reads: NEW: 2025 STATE-LEVEL ELECTION BREAKDOWN DEMS FLIPPED 25 GOP SEATS GOP FLIPPED 0 DEM SEATS Source: Bolts

Bolts reporting on the results of state legislative elections this year was featured yesterday on MS NOW @arimelber.bsky.social.

Watch the full video: www.ms.now/the-beat-...

And read more in our reporting: boltsmag.org/legisla...