Matt Cohen
@mattdcohen.bsky.social
1.3K followers 510 following 450 posts
Senior Reporter @DemocracyDocket.com, covering voting rights, far-right extremism and threats to democracy (lol). Collector of records, plants, tattoos, horror movies.
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mattdcohen.bsky.social
i really dug 2018 Halloween, thought Kills was fun but bad, but man, Ends is just a really good, fascinating film, man.
mattdcohen.bsky.social
the whole movie just came so out of left field that it’s really taken me multiple viewings and years to appreciate what it’s doing. just such wild swings for a storied franchise, even one with a history of some wild swings.
mattdcohen.bsky.social
spooky szn double feature tonight c/o @jmrivera.bsky.social: Halloween Ends and John Carpenter’s Christine. surprisingly good and thematically on point pairing!
Reposted by Matt Cohen
mattdcohen.bsky.social
Been on a bit of a social media break the past few days, but some crucial updates in Utah redistricting for y'all:

On Monday, Utah GOP passed a new, gerrymandered map that almost certainly won't clear the hurdle of the state's anti-gerrymandering law: www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Utah GOP Passes Gerrymandered Map, While Handcuffing Courts
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
Reposted by Matt Cohen
jenrice.bsky.social
here's my latest today from the TX redistricting hearing in el paso:
democracydocket.com
NEW: This year, Texas handed the keys to its congressional map over to Washington. The Republican Party’s top mapmaker testified Wednesday he received directions only from the White House, as well as requests from the Texas GOP congressional delegation.

www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Top GOP Mapmaker Describes a Texas Gerrymander Ordered Up By Washington
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
mattdcohen.bsky.social
It's an uphill battle for the GOP — only once in 20 years has a justice lost a retention election — but should just two justices fail to gain enough votes for another term, it could flip the PA Supreme Court, right before the next presidential election.

www.democracydocket.com/analysis/why...
Why Anti-Voting Activists Are Using the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Election to Spread Disinformation
Read about the fight for democracy from activists, elected officials, legal experts and others.
www.democracydocket.com
mattdcohen.bsky.social
NEW: My latest feature looks at the upcoming retention elections for three PA Supreme Court justices — and why the GOP is launching a massive, well-funded disinformation campaign to convince voters to deny them another term.
democracydocket.com
NEW: Few states hold elections with such national prominence as Pennsylvania — and this year is no exception. With three of the state’s Supreme Court justices up for retention, the GOP could have an opening to control a court that influences the state’s elections.
Why Anti-Voting Activists Are Using the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Election to Spread Disinformation
Read about the fight for democracy from activists, elected officials, legal experts and others.
www.democracydocket.com
mattdcohen.bsky.social
gen z Dishwalla: “tell me all your thoughts. on god.”
mattdcohen.bsky.social
"i was counting blue cars and then, well, idk what happened!"
mattdcohen.bsky.social
See, I'd swap Goos and the Blossoms: idk if I wanna be married to the band that's crooning, "And if you don't expect too much from me/ You might not be let down."

My dudes, we're married! I expect a lot out of this marriage!!!
mattdcohen.bsky.social
@totalvibration.bsky.social damn, this is a tough one
josie.zone
Okay here's a REAL prompt

Fuck/Marry/Kill:

-Gin Blossoms
-Goo Goo Dolls
-Collective Soul
mattdcohen.bsky.social
So now it's in the hands of a Utah judge, who'll hash this whole thing out within the next month, I suspect. Stay tuned.
mattdcohen.bsky.social
Pro-voting groups asked a court to block the new bill, SB 1011, which they say violates the state constitution and Prop 4, the state's anti-gerrymandering law. In the legal filing, they say the new map passed by the legislature “unduly favors Republicans.”

www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Utah Map ‘Unduly Favors Republicans,’ Claims New Filing Challenging GOP’s Two-Pronged Gerrymander Scheme
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
mattdcohen.bsky.social
Gotta say, it's a pretty diabolical scheme to usurp a voter-approved law to prevent gerrymandering. The bill is quite complicated but the TL:DR is that it essentially reverse-engineers the standards for testing to see if a map was drawn with partisan intent, so that those standards favor the GOP.
mattdcohen.bsky.social
As a workaround, the GOP also passed a new bill that essentially limits judicial review of any new map the legislature passes. Voting rights advocates said the scheme essentially guts Prop 4, the state's voter-approved anti-gerrymandering law: www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Utah GOPers Pass Gerrymandering Scheme, Advance New Map to Retain All the State’s Congressional Seats
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
mattdcohen.bsky.social
Been on a bit of a social media break the past few days, but some crucial updates in Utah redistricting for y'all:

On Monday, Utah GOP passed a new, gerrymandered map that almost certainly won't clear the hurdle of the state's anti-gerrymandering law: www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Utah GOP Passes Gerrymandered Map, While Handcuffing Courts
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
mattdcohen.bsky.social
one of the most consequential voting rights court battles of the year is currently happening in El Paso, where a court will decide if the Trump Texas gerrymander will stand.

my colleague @jenrice.bsky.social is in El Paso and has been covering the hell out of hearing for the past week. follow her 👇
jenrice.bsky.social
NEW: today in court, the TX congressional map-maker said he
-was hired by the RNC, not TX
-reviewed the DOJ letter (urging TX to eliminate some minority districts) before it was sent
-communicated w/the white house using signal messages that autodeleted

www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
RNC-Hired Mapmaker Denies Using Racial Data in Texas Gerrymander, Sparks Debate
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
Reposted by Matt Cohen
marcelias.bsky.social
Democracy Docket has a reporter in the courtroom covering the Texas redistricting hearing every single day. Meanwhile, the big legacy media is nowhere to be found.

At stake are 5 congressional seats. If this matters more than both sides journalism, become a DD subscriber today. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
Reposted by Matt Cohen
jmrivera.bsky.social
I wrote a little comic for my brother and asked @ramonvillalobos.bsky.social to help make it real. Sharing it in case you get something out of it too.
Reposted by Matt Cohen
jenrice.bsky.social
hi from EL PASO 🫡 excited to be here so i can keep you posted on a major hearing in federal court to decide whether TX can use its new gerrymandered congressional map in next year's election. here's my day 1 recap:

www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Minority Voters Argue Texas Gerrymander Driven By Race as Hearing Kicks Off
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com