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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 8m

The GOP hopes to flip two swing districts in Washington's state Senate in November. In the first round in August, Democrats finished narrowly ahead of GOP opponents but margins were narrow.

All part of our guide of the races to watch this fall.

Your Cheat Sheet to the 2025 General Elections - Bolts

Four contests have come to largely define the 2025 elections this fall: the elections to lead New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City, plus California’s redistricting measure. But there’s so... Read More

boltsmag.org

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 1h

Pennsylvania Republicans are mounting an unusual effort to oust three Democratic state supreme court justices and deprive Democrats of the court majority they’ve enjoyed for the last decade.

Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court

The GOP is making an expensive push to end Democrats’ majority on a court at the center of election lawsuits, sparking a fledging campaign season with little precedent or template.

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 3h

Experts say that the Cook County unit designed to right wrongful convictions needs major changes to serve its purpose. “If it was an independent commission that was really well funded and had lots of power, then maybe it could be really effective.”

Exonerations Grind to a Halt Under Chicago’s New Prosecutor

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has weakened her office’s already broken system for freeing the innocent, even as allegations of coercion mount against a former Chicago detective.

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 16h

Chicago launched a program this year that lets police file felony gun charges without getting a prosecutor’s approval. Two of the police officers who have overseen many cases under this program have 59 misconduct complaints between them.

New Chicago Prosecutor Empowers Police to File More Charges Without Review

In a predominantly Black area of Chicago, police can now directly file gun charges without a prosecutor’s approval. The new program rolls back a process that serves to check misconduct.

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 18h

“We were so far, and we had done so much work, and we were so hopeful, because it looked good,” says a survivor of domestic violence who was convicted of helping kill her abusive husband. “But the climate right now is for punishment.”

For Third Year, California Kills Bill to Help Incarcerated Domestic Violence Survivors

Advocates in California have pushed for relief for people convicted of harming their abuser, hoping to build on states across the political spectrum that have adopted such reforms.

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 19h

“My NIMBY stance was for my family property in the beginning. Now it’s for my whole state. I say no, we don’t want a prison. We don’t want this mega prison in this state,” says a resident of Franklin County, Arkansas.

The Prison Next Door

How Arkansas’ secretive plan for a new state lockup angered people in a deep red corner of rural America—and changed how some see incarceration.

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 21h

A key election next month will determine whether three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices can stay on the bench. Party operatives say there’s not much awareness. “Even informed voters—they just don’t know.”

Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court

The GOP is making an expensive push to end Democrats’ majority on a court at the center of election lawsuits, sparking a fledging campaign season with little precedent or template.

boltsmag.org

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 22h

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If you enjoy our state-by-state guides and voting cheat sheets, and want to support more of this in the future, then consider making a donation:

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.

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Reposted by Bolts

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 23h

A rare poll of Pennsylvania's supreme court races!

Among likely voters, a new F&M poll finds... a lot of uncertainty, though "yes" to retention is ahead for all 3 Dem justices.

The yes leads the no 39/29, 39/22, and 38/25. But that's a ton of voters who say they don't know for each one.

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Reposted by Bolts

Alex Burness @burness.bsky.social · 23h

ICYMI, my deep dive on these elections: boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 1d

In her 2021 campaign, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu called for eliminating the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, which shares data between local and federal law enforcement. By 2023, however, she supported increasing funds for it.

Bid to Renew Federal Grant Sparks Concern Boston May Help Trump’s DHS on Immigration

The grant helps fund a law enforcement center that’s drawn criticism over privacy and over data-sharing with ICE. It would also come with new strings to spend money on border control.

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 1d

A federal appeals court ruled that Mississippi had to redraw its legislative maps. As a result, 14 districts affected by the new boundaries are hosting special elections this November. Democrats may flip several.

Your Cheat Sheet to the 2025 General Elections - Bolts

Four contests have come to largely define the 2025 elections this fall: the elections to lead New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City, plus California’s redistricting measure. But there’s so... Read More

boltsmag.org

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 1d

The charge of “felony murder” allows defendants to be charged with the death of an accomplice, even when the killing was committed by someone else. Between 2009 and 2017, 83 percent of people charged with felony murder in Alabama were Black.

A Friend’s Death to Mourn, and to Serve Time for

An Alabama teen was shot alongside his friend, then prosecuted for his killing. His case highlights a particularly harsh doctrine in American criminal punishment: felony murder.

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 1d

The battle for Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court this fall is already one of the most expensive retention elections in U.S. history. Some experts think it may break the national record by Election Day.

Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court

The GOP is making an expensive push to end Democrats’ majority on a court at the center of election lawsuits, sparking a fledging campaign season with little precedent or template.

boltsmag.org

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 1d

The Hawaii Supreme Court’s ruling means that law enforcement in the state will now be required to record all interrogations inside police stations. They will also be required to record all interrogations outside stations “when feasible.”

Hawaii Supreme Court Expands Rights of Defendants, and Once Again Rebukes SCOTUS

The justices ruled that Hawaii’s constitution requires police to record interrogations. And they vowed to protect due process for Hawaii residents—unlike, they said, the Roberts Court.

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 1d

Under the new Cook County State’s Attorney, exonerations have gone from infrequent to nonexistent. 113 people were exonerated in 2022 — mostly related to the same police corruption scandal. In 2025, no one has been exonerated.

Exonerations Grind to a Halt Under Chicago’s New Prosecutor

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has weakened her office’s already broken system for freeing the innocent, even as allegations of coercion mount against a former Chicago detective.

boltsmag.org

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 1d

“If we can’t use the citizen-led initiative petition process, we’re done, we’re cooked. We don’t even have the ability to do a petition to get the initiative petition process back,” says the president of the League of Women Voters Missouri.

Under this GOP Measure, All of Missouri’s Recent Popular Initiatives Would Have Failed

Lawmakers just advanced a constitutional amendment to drastically raise the bar for approving citizen ballot measures. Voters get to weigh in on the scheme next year.

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 1d

In Pennsylvania next month, three Democratic justices are up for retention—Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht—meaning voters will decide, in a simple yes-or-no vote, whether or not to keep them on the bench.

Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court

The GOP is making an expensive push to end Democrats’ majority on a court at the center of election lawsuits, sparking a fledging campaign season with little precedent or template.

boltsmag.org

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Reposted by Bolts

Alex Burness @burness.bsky.social · 2d

Dispatch from Pennsylvania on a highly unusual state Supreme Court election—one of the few most consequential matters on the ballot anywhere in the country next month. New from me in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...

Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania's Supreme Court - Bolts

The GOP is making an expensive push to end Democrats’ majority on a court at the center of election lawsuits, sparking a fledging campaign season with little precedent or template.

boltsmag.org

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 2d

“The problems facing these county jails are the problems that are facing county jails throughout the state of New York,” says an Erie County prisoners’ rights advocate. “County jails are their own fiefdom run by the sheriffs.”

There’s a New Sheriff in Town. But Buffalo Area Jails Remain as Dangerous as Ever.

Despite federal oversight, elections, and promises of reform from a new sheriff, little has changed for people detained in Erie County, New York, jails.

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 2d

Kwaneta Harris, an incarcerated writer, explains how she felt herself decline while in solitary confinement.

“I will never be the same person I was before. I still have nightmares that I’m back in there.”

“Designed to Break You:” Two Incarcerated Writers on the Heavy Toll of Solitary Confinement

The authors of a new book on solitary answer your questions about their experiences with isolation and the movement to end the tortuous practice.

boltsmag.org

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Reposted by Bolts

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 2d

JUST IN: The Republican Mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska’s second biggest city, lost re-election last night to a Democrat.

Mayor David Pruhs is a conservative who fought protections for LGBTQ+ residents; he made comments this year drew condemnation this year from Alaska Natives. He lost to Mindy O'Neall.

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 2d

There are three legislative chambers where the majority is on the line in November: Virginia’s House and New Jersey’s Assembly, where every seat is on the ballot, but also the Minnesota Senate, which is hosting a pair of special elections.

Your Cheat Sheet to the 2025 General Elections - Bolts

Four contests have come to largely define the 2025 elections this fall: the elections to lead New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City, plus California’s redistricting measure. But there’s so... Read More

boltsmag.org

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 2d

Don Sosebee had never thought much about prisons, but that changed when Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced a new mega prison in his rural community. “They’re not taking care of us.”

The Prison Next Door

How Arkansas’ secretive plan for a new state lockup angered people in a deep red corner of rural America—and changed how some see incarceration.

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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 2d

In 2023, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray oversaw a purge of voter rolls that removed over 80,000 names. If anyone was purged by mistake, they’ll now have to meet Wyoming’s more restrictive requirements to reregister.

Wyoming Is Now Requiring Would-be Voters to Document Their Citizenship

The rules were pushed by Wyoming’s ultraconservative secretary of state despite no pattern of noncitizen voting. A lawsuit warns it risks tripping up eligible citizens who wish to register.

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