“Democratic Texas lawmaker passes 24-hour mark on state House floor after refusing GOP demand for law enforcement escort”
Democratic Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier has now spent over 24 hours on the Texas House floor in protest after refusing a Republican demand to be placed under the watch of the state Department of Public Safety.
When Texas House Democrats returned to the Capitol in Austin on Monday, after having fled the state earlier this month in order to prevent a vote on a controversial Republican redistricting plan, House Speaker Dustin Burrows put constraints on their movements.
Burrows announced that the Democrats could only leave the House floor if they received written permission and agreed to be under law enforcement escort until the chamber reconvenes on Wednesday morning.
The Democrats who skipped out on previous attempts to meet quorum for a special session to approve the redrawn congressional maps will have an around-the-clock DPS escort to ensure their presence when the House convenes Wednesday, a legislative aide told CNN….
“California Republicans File Suit Seeking to Block Newsom Redistricting Plan”
Republican lawmakers in California have filed a lawsuit asking the State Supreme Court to stop Democrats from moving ahead this week with a plan to redraw congressional districts.
It was the latest move in an escalating national battle over redistricting that began this summer when President Trump asked Texas leaders to help Republicans maintain control of the House of Representatives by reshaping congressional districts and delivering five additional seats for their party.
California Democrats responded on Monday by introducing a package of bills to create new district boundaries that could help Democrats flip five seats in their state. Democratic state lawmakers, who control more than two-thirds of the California Legislature, plan to pass the bills on Thursday and put the proposal before voters in a Nov. 4 special election.
The emergency petition, filed by four Republican state legislators, argues that the State Constitution prohibits the Legislature from acting on the redistricting bills until Sept. 18 because new legislation requires a 30-day review period. The lawmakers said that more time was needed for the public to review the proposal, which would change the way some Asian American and Hispanic communities are represented….
At issue is a technical question of whether a bill is “introduced” at the time it is first assigned a bill number and drafted with preliminary language, or whether it must be fleshed out in full to begin the 30-day clock in the State Constitution. The state’s Constitution also has a rule that requires the final text of a bill be published for 72 hours before lawmakers can vote on it.
In the final weeks of the legislative session, California lawmakers for decades have rewritten bills, top to bottom, in a process colloquially referred to as “gut and amend.”…
The 72-hour rule is a more recent requirement, intended to ensure that such last-minute bills receive at least three days of review. To adhere to that rule, the full Assembly and Senate are waiting until Thursday to vote on the redistricting bills that were introduced on Monday.
Democrats cannot afford to wait beyond this week because of the preparation time that elections officials need for a special election in November….
MORE from At the Lectern.
New Section 2 Lawsuit Filed in Montana
On August 14, 2025, the Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation and two Native voters filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana challenging Chouteau County’s unfair, at-large voting system for the Board of County Commissioners. The suit alleges the system unlawfully dilutes the voting strength of Native voters and has denied them any representation on the county commission for more than a decade.
Under the current at-large system, all voters in Chouteau County cast ballots for all three commissioners, instead of electing commissioners by district. As a result, Native voters — who now make up approximately one-third of the county’s voting-age population — have consistently been unable to elect a candidate of their choice. The three current commissioners have all been elected and re-elected under this system since at least 2010.
“We’re filing this lawsuit because Choteau County continues to hold elections in which the Native votes don’t count,” said Chippewa Cree Tribe Chairman Harlan Gopher. “The Chippewa Cree Tribe filed this lawsuit to prevent this local government from trampling on the civil rights of our people. A fair redistricting process must respect the boundaries and voice of our Nation.” …
“Can Federalism Protect Subnational Liberal Democracy from Central Authoritarianism?”
Jim Gardner has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Liberal democracy is eroding rapidly around the globe, including in the United States, raising alarming questions about whether American democratic institutions will endure. Nevertheless, some have speculated that federalism may protect liberal democracy at the subnational level when the central government turns authoritarian. This article argues that such optimism is premature: there is no a priori basis on which to predict the effect of central democratic backsliding on the quality of subnational democracy. Federal theory does suggest that internal heterogeneity in basic political commitments is likely to produce an escalating pattern of severe and possibly intractable intergovernmental conflict. Empirical evidence bears this out: while subnational governments often resist nationally authoritarian policies, authoritarian central governments tend to punish and suppress this resistance. Nevertheless, although successful subnational resistance in particular cases cannot be ruled out, the most likely outcome of central democratic backsliding appears to be some kind of competitive authoritarianism regardless of whether the state is federal or unitary. Thus, federalism may offer little meaningful protection against long-term democratic backsliding. Additional research is needed to reach firmer conclusions.
Looking forward to reading this!
“Trump vows to change how elections are run. The US Constitution doesn’t give him that power”
“Republicans say they’ll sue to block California redistricting plan. Do they have a case?”
Bob Egelko for the SF Chronicle:
“By concocting this partisan redistricting scam, Gavin Newsom and Democrat politicians are openly violating the California Constitution and their oath of office,” DeMaio said in a news release. “Any vote … on this… Continue reading
ELB Book Corner: Karen Sebold: “The Foxes Are Guarding the Henhouse: How Elected Officials Weakened the Federal Election Commission”
I am pleased to welcome Karen Sebold to ELB Book Corner, writing about her new book, Evaluating Campaign Finance Oversight: An Assessment of the Federal Election Commission. (Use that link with code LXFANDF30 for a 30 percent discount). Here is… Continue reading
California Democrats’ Proposed Retaliatory Gerrymander Against Texas Could Be Triggered if Another Democratic State Engages in Its Own Partisan Gerrymander
California Democratic leaders are preparing to put a measure before voters that would temporarily suspend congressional redistricting maps drawn by an independent commission for the rest of the decade as retaliation for Texas (or other Republican) states engaging in their… Continue reading
“The collapse of Common Cause’s vision for US democracy”
Steven Hill:
No organization has led the effort for redistricting reform more than Common Cause. I have known many Common Cause leaders, both nationally and in California where I live. They have all been good and admirable people who… Continue reading
Q & A with Me in New York Magazine: “The Supreme Court Could Supercharge the GOP’s Redistricting Power Grab”
I spoke with New York’s Intelligencer‘s Nia Prater:
What are the potential ramifications if the Court weakens Section Two or ultimately does away with it?
First of all, it would be a huge blow for minority representation. A big… Continue reading
“Newsmax pays $67 million to settle defamation case linked to 2020 election coverage”
NPR:
Newsmax will pay $67 million to settle one of the last outstanding defamation lawsuits against a news organization for airing false claims that the 2020 election was rigged.
Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems – the same voting-technology company that… Continue reading
No, President Trump Can’t Ban Mail in Ballots or Voting Machines, as His Truth Social Post Suggests He Might Try to Do
This morning President Trump put out a post on Truth Social that shares some of his usual and debunked conspiracy theories about voter fraud in elections. Part of the post says that he will “lead a movement” to get rid… Continue reading
DOJ increases pressure to vacuum up voter files
A month ago, I noted that the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division had sent demands to a bunch of states for copies of the voter files. These letters were pretty unusual. I didn’t think DOJ’s ostensible rationale for demanding the files… Continue reading