Jonathan Shorman

Ex-Missouri House Speaker John Diehl sentenced to federal prison for fraud "I am deeply ashamed of my actions," Diehl said in court.

"I am deeply ashamed of my actions," Diehl said in court.

Breaking with Democrats, Maine attorney general urges court to oppose ranked-choice voting expansion • Maine Morning Star Attorney General Aaron Frey broke with state Democratic leaders last week when he filed a brief before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court opposing a proposed expansion of ranked-choice voting.  The…

Attorney General Aaron Frey broke with state Democratic leaders last week when he filed a brief before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court opposing a proposed expansion of ranked-choice voting. mainemorningstar.com/2026/03/09/b...

Yet more cold water on the idea that the Senate will, somehow, pass the SAVE Act

Just now: THUNE weighs in on the "talking filibuster," saying leadership has thoroughly examined it (much as Democrats did when they were in charge) and he finds it "very hard to see" it working. "And we can't find a piece of legislation in history that's been passed that way."

Maricopa County pushes back on Trump's viral claim of FBI election records subpoena | Arizona Mirror Maricopa County says it has not received an FBI subpoena for election records, contradicting a claim Trump shared Monday

“Maricopa County runs elections in accordance with the law. We have not received a subpoena at this time but will cooperate if that were to occur.”

story via @jerodmacevoy.com

Idaho Senate committee advances bill allowing potential jurors to serve as poll workers instead  • Idaho Capital Sun Potential jurors may have the option to instead work the election polls under a bill advancing in the Idaho Legislature.

Potential jurors may have the option to instead work the election polls under a bill advancing in the Idaho Legislature, report @idahocapitalsun.com and @statesnewsroom.com

Trump administration subpoenaing Arizona 2020 voting records, as Trump pushes to consolidate election power The administration has also obtained records from Fulton County, Georgia, as Trump continues to focus on the 2020 election he lost.

BREAKING: The Trump administration has subpoenaed Arizona 2020 election records.

It's the latest step the president has taken to relitigate an election he lost.

It's an unusual state of affairs for a grand jury subpoena to be leaked before it's served.

Fuzzy memories and hard facts: An SC accuser's claims against Epstein, Trump examined An alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein gave FBI agents true accounts of her time growing up in SC. Claims she made about Donald Trump remain unsubstantiated.

Breaking: SC newspaper verifies portions of Trump accuser's story. Textbook journalism. Local journalism. Support your local news outlets. www.postandcourier.com/news/epstein...

More pressure from Trump toward the Senate on the SAVE Act, coming after he also pushed the measure during the State of the Union

1999 release, so you know, an obviously perfect movie

(In seriousness, someone should do a survey of the actual clunkers of ‘99, the apparent golden year of cinema)

I’m watching Magnolia right now for probably the first time in a decade.

Maybe it’s just a side effect of One Battle After Another, but it seems like more of the Paul Thomas Anderson back catalog has been on the streamers recently. This is a good thing.

Nevadans gear up to protect election from federal interference • Nevada Current The Trump administration’s threat to take control of elections in several states and its refusal to rule out immigration agents at polling stations not only threatens the integrity of this year’s elections, but also amounts to voter suppression and intimidation, election advocates say. Silver State Voices, the ACLU of Nevada, All Voting is Local, and […]

In Nevada, local voting rights advocates expanding an election observer program amid concerns about the potential for ICE deployments at polling sites:

Missouri House passes bill to give secretary of state election fraud investigation powers The Missouri secretary of state may be given additional subpoena power to investigate complaints of election fraud under a bill that now heads to the state Senate.

The Missouri secretary of state may be given additional subpoena power to investigate complaints of election fraud under a bill that now heads to the state Senate. (@kbianews.bsky.social)

Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction – #63 in United States v. State of California (C.D. Cal., 2:25-cv-10999) – CourtListener.com (IN CHAMBERS)-PLAINTIFF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA'S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION (Dkt. 11, filed on November 25, 2025) by Judge Christina A. Snyder: In accordance with the foregoing, the Court...

But the takeaway is that, despite many academic commentators saying that mask bans are destined to lose, the federal district court found that they are actually constitutional so long as they apply to all levels of government and do not discriminate against the federal government. 3/

Faced with more lawsuits, Utah lawmakers move to change their new ‘constitutional court’ • Utah News Dispatch Facing lawsuits, Utah lawmakers are moving to change the law they just passed creating a judicial panel to hear constitutional cases.

Utah lawmakers are running into legal challenges as they try to sidestep the normal court system that has struck down some of their high-profile laws, report @utahnewsdispatch.com and @statesnewsroom.com

Alaska officials stonewall state legislators on justification for handing voter data to feds The head of the Alaska Division of Elections will not share legal advice that led to the state’s decision to send an extended voter list to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Interesting story out of Alaska...

State officials not turning over legal advice to lawmakers that preceded decision to turn over sensitive state voter data to DOJ

www.newsfromthestates.com/article/alas...

Don't miss health care reporter @nhassanein.bsky.social of @stateline.org on a Reporters' Roundtable segment of “Conversations on Health Care” with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

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US House also rejects restraint on Trump’s war power in Iran WASHINGTON — House Republicans and a handful of Democrats followed the Senate in blocking a measure Thursday to stop President Donald Trump from furthering the war in Iran without authorization from C...

BREAKING from @ashleymurray.bsky.social

House Republicans and a handful of Democrats followed the Senate in blocking a measure Thursday to stop President Donald Trump from furthering the war in Iran without authorization from Congress.

www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-h...

Kristi Noem out as DHS secretary; Trump to nominate Oklahoma Sen. Mullin WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump Thursday said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will be leaving the post for a job as a special envoy, following an appearance before a U.S. Senate panel this...

Kristi Noem out as DHS secretary; Trump to nominate Oklahoma Sen. Mullin. Updated @statesnewsroom.com story by @arianalfigueroa.bsky.social

The Trump administration has indicated DOJ is sharing voter data with DHS. Oklahoma has been sued by DOJ for not turning over its full voter data.

Homeland Security under Noem refashioned the SAVE program into a citizenship verification tool and have been urging states to feed their voter rolls into it. What Mullin has to say about that (if anything) is something I'll be watching.

If Mullin became DHS Secretary shortly, the (Republican) governor would appoint his (Republican) successor.

Mullin would also presumably drop his reelection campaign this year; the filing deadline is next month.

There it is: Noem out, Mullin in

Paxton floats exiting Senate runoff if GOP passes voter ID President Donald Trump, who was neutral in the first round, said he would endorse “soon” in the runoff between Paxton and GOP incumbent John Cornyn and would expect the candidate he did not endorse to...

New: Attorney General Ken Paxton said Thursday he would consider dropping out of the U.S. Senate race if Senate GOP leaders agreed to abolish the filibuster and pass a bill that require people to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote.

Breaking:

WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 20 states sue over new global tariffs Trump imposed after Supreme Court loss.

Federal law already prohibits armed federal personnel at polling places. Some Democratic state lawmakers, citing Trump's calls to "nationalize" elections and rhetoric by his allies, don't want to take any chances and are pushing state-level bans on immigration enforcement near the polls

Blue states push to ban ICE at the polls amid federal voter intimidation fears • Stateline Several Democratic states are moving to bar federal immigration agents from being near polling places and other election sites, amid persistent worries that President Donald Trump will use federal law enforcement or the military to disrupt the midterm elections. Measures to restrict federal agents from operating at or near election-related locations have been offered in […]

Several Democratic states are moving to bar federal immigration agents from being near polling places and other election sites, Jonathan Shorman reports.

https://stateline.org/2026/03/05/blue-states-push-to-ban-ice-at-the-polls-amid-federal-voter-intimidation-fears/