866OurVote is a national non-partisan election protection coalition working year round to ensure that voters have an equal opportunity to vote and have that vote count. We provide Americans from coast to coast with comprehensive information and assistance at all stages of voting – from registration to absentee and early voting, to casting a vote at the polls, to overcoming obstacles to their participation. Our volunteers provide voter information, document problems they encounter when voting and work with partners and volunteers on the ground to identify and remove barriers to voting.
ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge’s mission is to foster civic culture and institutionalize democratic engagement activities and programs at colleges and universities, making them a defining feature of campus life. By recognizing colleges and universities for their commitment to increasing student voting rates, through its national awards program, ALL IN encourages higher education institutions to help students form the habits of active and informed citizenship, make democratic participation a core value on their campus, and cultivate generations of engaged citizens who are essential to a healthy democracy.
Anti-Defamation League is a leading anti-hate organization. Founded in 1913 in response to an escalating climate of anti-Semitism and bigotry, its timeless mission is to protect the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all. Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of hate with the same vigor and passion. ADL is a global leader in exposing extremism and delivering anti-bias education, and is a leading organization in training law enforcement. ADL is the first call when acts of anti-Semitism occur. ADL’s ultimate goal is a world in which no group or individual suffers from bias, discrimination or hate.
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that seeks to improve our systems of democracy and justice. We work to hold our political institutions and laws accountable to the twin American ideals of democracy and equal justice for all. The Center’s work ranges from voting rights to campaign finance reform, from ending mass incarceration to preserving Constitutional protection in the fight against terrorism.
The California Center for Civic Participation is a non-partisan, non-profit civic education organization, engaging high school students by sparking their interest with exposure to real excitement of the democratic process. We believe that youth hold so much untapped and unlimited power to change their communities and their world and we exist to expose and nurture that power.
Learn more about the California Center for Civic Participation and volunteer opportunities.
The Center’s mission is to promote an enlightened and responsible citizenry committed to democratic principles and actively engaged in the practice of democracy. The Center has reached more than 30 million students and their teachers since 1965.
The Center for Civic Education helps students develop (1) an increased understanding of the institutions of constitutional democracy and the fundamental principles and values upon which they are founded, (2) the skills necessary to participate as competent and responsible citizens, and (3) the willingness to use democratic procedures for making decisions and managing conflict.
The Center for Common Ground empowers under-represented voters through non-partisan voter registration and Get Out the Vote. It provide voter information through door knock canvassing, texting, phone-banking. It also provide free rides to the polls on Election Day.
Learn more about the Center for Common Ground and volunteer opportunities.
Center for Election Innovation & Research engages in cutting-edge work to build voter trust, increase voter participation, and improve the efficiency of election administration. Their work helps elections officials maintain accurate and complete voter lists and secure election technology infrastructure.
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to ensure open, honest, and accountable government; to promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and to empower all people to make their voices heard as equals in the political process. Common cause works across four major issue areas: voting and elections; money and politics; ethics, transparency and government accountability; and media and democracy.
Learn more about Common Cause and the Common Cause Education Fund.
Democracy North Carolina is a nonpartisan organization that uses research, organizing, and advocacy to strengthen democratic structures, build power among disenfranchised communities, and inspire confidence in a transformed political process that works for all.
ElectionDay.Org engages businesses to provide resources and tools to promote voting within their organizations including information on how to register, voting methods, and relevant deadlines.
Equal Justice Works creates opportunities for lawyers to transform their passion for equal justice into a lifelong commitment to public service. Equal Justice Works is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization and is the nation’s largest facilitator of opportunities in public interest law. Equal Justice Works brings together an extensive network of law students, lawyers, legal services organizations, and supporters to promote a lifelong commitment to public service and equal justice. The organization believes that a community of lawyers committed to public service can fulfill our nation’s promise of equal justice for all. Following their Fellowships, more than 85% of Equal Justice Works Fellows remain in public service positions, continuing to pursue equal justice for underserved communities.
Learn more about Equal Justice Works and available volunteer opportunities.
The Election Official Legal Defense Network (EOLDN) is a project of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research. EOLDN connects licensed, qualified, pro bono attorneys with election administrators who need advice or assistance. Election workers from all over the country, at the state and local level, can contact EOLDN via this website or by phone (1-877-313-5210) at any time, to request to be connected to a lawyer who can help them, at no cost. This service is available regardless of the election official’s political affiliation, or whether they work in a blue or red state or county.
Learn more about Election Official Legal Defense Network and available volunteer opportunities.
FairVote is a nonpartisan organization seeking better elections for all. They research and advance voting reforms that make democracy more functional and representative for every American. FairVote has a proven record since 1992 as a nonpartisan trailblazer that advances and wins electoral reforms at the local, state and national level through strategic research, communications and collaboration. Today, we are the driving force behind advancing ranked choice voting and fair representation in multi-winner legislative districts that will open up our elections to better choices, fairer representation and more civil campaigns.
HeadCount is a non-partisan organization that uses the power of music to register voters and promote participation in democracy. HeadCount uses a grassroots approach to reach young people and music fans at concerts and online to inform and empower. Like music and democracy? Come work (or volunteer) with us!
Learn about how to be involved at a concert or event near you.
Indivisible is committed to providing civic education, policy resources, strategic guidance, and targeted trainings for groups across the country. It educates and empowers civic leaders at the community level across the country.
Learn more about Indivisible and volunteer opportunities available in several states.
Leaders We Deserve is a grassroots organization dedicated to electing young progressives to Congress and State Legislatures across the country to help defeat the far-right agenda and advance a progressive vision for the future.
The League of Women Voters of the United States encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
The Lincoln Project is a leading pro-democracy organization in the United States — dedicated to the preservation, protection, and defense of democracy. The Lincoln Project launched with two stated objectives. The first was to defeat Donald Trump at the ballot box. The second was to ensure Trumpism failed alongside him. As we have seen, our fight against Trumpism is only beginning. We must combat these forces everywhere and at all times. Our democracy depends on it.
Learn more about The Lincoln Project and available volunteer opportunities.
People For the American Way Foundation conducts research, legal, and education work on behalf of First Amendment freedoms and democratic values; monitors, exposes, and challenges the Religious Right movement and its political allies; identifies, trains, and supports the next generation of progressive leaders through its Young People For youth leadership programs and its Young Elected Officials Network; and carries out nonpartisan voter education, registration, civic participation, and election protection activities.
Project Vote is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded on the belief that an organized, diverse electorate is the key to a better America. Project Vote’s mission is to build an electorate that accurately represents the diversity of this nation’s citizenry, and to ensure that every eligible citizen can register, vote, and cast a ballot that counts.
Project Vote Smart offers services and programs for political journalists to enhance their coverage of politics and elections. The Project partners with more than 300 national, state, and local news organizations, all endorsing Project programs. In addition to comprehensive databases on more than 40,000 candidates and incumbents, the Project provides journalists with special research services and publications. We devote considerable effort to researching information about all candidates for presidential, congressional, gubernatorial and state legislative office and elected officials. Voters thus have access to unbiased information on candidates as well as those serving in elected positions.
Learn more about Project Vote Smart and available volunteer opportunities.
The Public Citizen Foundation supports Public Citizen’s education, litigation, research, and public information activities. Public Citizen is a national consumer advocacy organization founded in 1971 to represent consumer interests in Congress, the executive branch and the courts. Public Citizen fights for openness and democratic accountability in government, for the right of consumers to seek redress in the courts; for clean, safe and sustainable energy sources; for social and economic justice in trade policies; for strong health, safety and environmental protections; and for safe, effective and affordable prescription drugs and health care.
Learn more about Public Citizen and available opportunities.
Rideshare2Vote was created to increase the voice and power of people by expanding their civic engagement and voting rights. We have created a voter touch outreach field program that includes our transportation service specifically for Democratic and progressive voters. Rideshare2Vote focuses our work in disenfranchised communities; voting for the first time; who are not voting in every election; that are disabled; living in poverty and who are elderly.
Learn more about Rideshare2Vote and available volunteer opportunities.
Fusing pop culture, politics, and technology, Rock the Vote works to mobilize the millennial voting bloc and the youth vote, protect voting rights, and advocate for an electoral process and voting system that works for the 21st century electorate. For almost 25 years, Rock the Vote has pioneered ways to make voting easier by simplifying and demystifying voter registration and elections for young adults.
Learn more about Rock the Vote and available volunteer opportunities.
The Andrew Goodman Foundation makes young voices and votes a powerful force in democracy. Our ability to spark their passion — today — will result in change, tomorrow. The Andrew Goodman Foundation supports youth leadership development, voting accessibility, and social justice initiatives on campuses across the country with mini-grants to select institutions of higher learning and other financial assistance to students.
Our vision is that young people will become active, engaged citizens who ensure a just democracy and sustainable future. Join us during this critical time for American democracy and help shape the next generation of civic leaders.
Learn more about The Andrew Goodman Foundation and available volunteer opportunities.
The Center for Public Integrity is dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern. The mission of the Center for Public Integrity is to protect democracy and inspire change using investigative reporting that exposes betrayals of the public trust by powerful interests. To pursue its mission, the Center generates high-quality, accessible investigative reports, databases, and contextual analysis on issues of public importance; disseminates work to journalists, policymakers, scholars, and citizens using a combination of digital, electronic, and print media; and educates, engages, and empowers citizens with the tools and skills they need to hold government and other private institutions accountable.
The Civics Center is dedicated to building the foundations of youth civic engagement and voter participation in high schools through education, organizing, and advocacy. We support student-led, peer-to-peer voter registration and pre-registration efforts in high school communities.
Learn more about The Civics Center and available volunteer opportunities.
TurnUp is non-profit organization and mobile app that comprises the largest youth-led voter registration and turnout initiative. TurnUp’s 2024 election engagement plans include four integrated programs that work together to increase youth voter registration and turnout: physical registration and turnout drives; relational registration and turnout drives; grassroots organizing; and digital campaigns. TurnUp has Volunteer and Internship positions for high school, college, and recent graduates.
VoteRiders is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with a mission to ensure that all citizens are able to exercise their freedom to vote. VoteRiders informs and helps citizens to secure their voter ID as well as inspires and supports organizations, local volunteers, and communities to sustain voter ID education and assistance efforts. VoteRiders offers a variety of volunteer options including virtual and on the ground positions.
When We All Vote is a leading national, nonpartisan initiative on a mission to change the culture around voting and to increase participation in each and every election by helping to close the race and age gap. Created by Michelle Obama, When We All Vote brings together individuals, institutions, brands, and organizations to register new voters across the country and advance civic education for the entire family and voters of every age to build an informed and engaged electorate for today and generations to come. We empower our supporters and volunteers to take action through voting, advocating for their rights, and holding their elected officials accountable.
Learn more about When We All Vote and available volunteer opportunities.
Resources
Defending our values through knowledge and action.
Dear Friend,
If you missed today’s program featuring Steven Cash in conversation with Larry Mantle, you can watch the program at THIS PAST EVENTS LINK. The program will post a few hours after it ends. Starting Thursday morning, you can listen AT THIS PODCAST LINK. You can read daily posts from Cash and The Stead State on Substack at THIS LINK.
Next Wednesday, November 19 at 5 PM Pacific, we welcome Mark Joseph Stern, who will be in conversation with Larry Mantle (see bios below) on the topic: “COURTS IN THE CROSSHAIRS: WHAT’S NEXT FOR JUSTICE IN AMERICA” (Register Here)
Mark Joseph Stern is an American journalist and commentator. He is a senior writer covering the US Supreme Court, Appellate Courts and the law, for Slate. Slate is a digital magazine and podcast network known for its sharp provocative, and often contrarian takes on politics, law, culture, and current event. Founded in 1996, it was one of the first major online-only news outlets. Stern frequently appears on television, especially on MSNBC, and in podcasts, commenting on legal and social issues.
Larry Mantle, recipient of countless awards for his excellence in broadcast journalism, has been the host of AirTalk with Larry Mantle on NPR-member station LAist (Formerly KPCC) 89.3 FM, since April 1st, 1985. AirTalk is the longest-running daily talk show in Southern California.
NY Times/Opinion
David French
November 9, 2025
Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, must be confused.
Last month, he turned to the most reliable move in the Republican crisis-management playbook, and it didn’t work. On Oct. 30, three days after his friend Tucker Carlson released a softball interview with Nick Fuentes, a Holocaust denier and perhaps the most notorious fan of Adolf Hitler in American public life, Roberts posted a video online that decried cancel culture.
“We will always defend truth,” Roberts said. “We will always defend America, and we will always defend our friends against the slander of bad actors who serve someone else’s agenda.”
“That includes Tucker Carlson,” Roberts continued, “who remains — and as I have said before — always will be a close friend of the Heritage Foundation. The venomous coalition attacking him are sowing division. Their attempt to cancel him will fail.”
It’s hard to overstate how much this approach tends to work in the modern Republican Party. The hatred of the left — and of conservatives who are critical of Donald Trump — is so overwhelming that even the most basic acts of moral hygiene are considered weak or woke, or worse.
Even if you are uncomfortable with the words or actions of your fellow Republicans, there is relentless pressure to swallow your tongue. There should be no enemies to your right. The left is the true existential threat to the United States.
When Roberts, who was also a guiding force of Project 2025, recorded his video, he could be forgiven for thinking that neither Carlson nor Fuentes was particularly toxic on the right. After all, Carlson spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention and at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, and he hosts one of the top rated podcasts in the nation…
(To read the entire column click here)
NY Times/Opinion
Bret Stephens
November 11, 2025
Meet the New Antisemites, Same as the Old Antisemites
The good news from the recent donnybrook over Tucker Carlson’s interview with Nick Fuentes, the Hitler fanboy with a sizable social-media following, is that it has at last forced conservatives to reckon with the sewer pipe of antisemitism bursting through their walls.
Better news: Many have risen to the occasion. That includes Senator Ted Cruz, who called out his fellow Republicans for being too timid to condemn Carlson; The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, which denounced “this poison in their own ranks”; and Heritage Foundation people who resigned in disgust after Kevin Roberts, the organization’s president, offered a lickspittle apologia for Carlson. Even Roberts felt compelled to disavow his own performance, though he persisted in describing Carlson as “my friend.”
The bad news is that none of this is going away anytime soon. If ever.
Antisemitism was supposedly banished twice from the conservative universe: first in the 1950s, when William F. Buckley Jr. decreed that nobody on the masthead of the antisemitic American Mercury would appear in the pages of his own National Review; second in the 1990s, when he said it was “impossible to defend” Pat Buchanan from charges of antisemitism. Such was Buckley’s prestige on the right that none other than Carlson issued his own denunciation of Buchanan: “I’m not hysterical on the subject,” he said on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” in 1999, “but I do believe that there is a pattern with Pat Buchanan of needling the Jews.”
Now the Heritage Foundation and various conservative publications are pressing the Trump administration to award an unrepentant Buchanan the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The notion that Winston Churchill, not the German Führer, was the villain in World War II — another of Buchanan’s hobbyhorses — is again gaining ground on the right. Buchanan’s obsessive loathing of Israel, along with his conviction that the pro-Israel lobby dictates U.S. foreign policy, is also gaining ground — a mirror image of the views of the anti-Israel left and a reminder of the French aphorism “Les extrêmes se touchent.” Extremes meet.
How did this happen? …
(To read the entire column click here)
Dear Friend,
This Wednesday, November 12 at 5 PM Pacific, we welcome Steven Cash, who will be in conversation with Larry Mantle (see bios below) on the topic: “THE RISE OF AUTHORITARIANISM IN AMERICA: THE PERSPECTIVE OF FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICALS” (Register Here)
Steven Cash is the Executive Director of The Steady State, a non-profit advocacy organization whose members are former senior national security officials, drawn from across the intelligence, diplomatic, homeland security and defense communities. Cash served in government at the CIA and at the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence & Analysis. He concurrently served Deputy Chief Intelligence Officer and Acting Executive Director of the Intelligence Enterprise Program Office
Larry Mantle, recipient of countless awards for his excellence in broadcast journalism, has been the host of AirTalk with Larry Mantle on NPR-member station LAist (Formerly KPCC) 89.3 FM, since April 1st, 1985. AirTalk is the longest-running daily talk show in Southern California.
The Steady State/Substack
October 16, 2025
Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics:
Assessment of Democratic Decline
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This assessment, Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics: Assessment of Democratic Decline, authored by members of The Steady State, all of whom are former U.S. Intelligence Community officers with analytic responsibilities,[1] applies the analytic tradecraft of the U.S. Intelligence Community to conditions inside the United States. It concludes—with moderate to high confidence—that the cumulative effect of multiple reinforcing dynamics is placing the nation on a trajectory toward competitive authoritarianism: a system in which elections, courts, and other democratic institutions persist in form but are systematically manipulated to entrench executive control.
The analysis identifies five interrelated trends driving this process. Executive overreach is being consolidated through governance by decree and weaponization of the state, combining sweeping executive orders and expansive emergency claims with politicized control of the civil service and oversight bodies, the targeting of perceived opponents via justice and intelligence functions, and preferential protection of allies. Erosion of judicial independence has advanced not only through partisan appointments, but through strategic reliance on the Supreme Court’s “shadow docket,” efforts to curtail judicial remedies and intimidate the legal profession, and selective compliance with court rulings. Legislative weakness and abdication have diminished Congress’s capacity to serve as a coequal branch, as delegation, obstruction, and polarization undermine effective oversight. The electoral system is being reshaped not only through structural biases like gerrymandering and voting restrictions, but through partisan control of administration, intimidation of election officials, and efforts to contest certified results—undermining the expectation that elections will be fairly run and their outcomes accepted. Finally, the undermining of public trust, knowledge, and civil society through attacks on the press, academia, watchdog institutions, and dissenting voices has weakened democratic culture and civic resilience.
Together, these trends indicate a restructuring of the constitutional order around personal loyalty rather than adherence to law. Data from international indices—including V-Dem, Freedom House, and Bright Line Watch—corroborate measurable declines in rule of law, checks and balances, and tolerance for pluralism.
Absent organized resistance by institutions, civil society, and the public, the United States is likely to continue along a path of accelerating democratic erosion, risking further consolidation of executive dominance and a loss of credibility as a model of democracy abroad.
(To read the entire report click here)
Haaretz
Joshua Leifer
November 5, 2025
Current section
Benjamin Netanyahu and Ron Dermer failed to account for a white supremacist takeover of their cherished MAGA evangelical base. Now, Israel’s fate lies with an American right that increasingly embraces antisemitism
In late October, Tucker Carlson, the right-wing podcaster, hosted the white supremacist social media figure Nick Fuentes on his show. It was only a matter of time before Carlson would reach the bottom of the gutter where Fuentes dwells. Anyone who has followed him over the last several years could see that this was the general angle of his trajectory.
Carlson has interviewed Darryl Cooper, a well-known Nazi apologist who claimed that Winston Churchill, not Adolf Hitler, was “the chief villain of the Second World War.” Last August, he interviewed Mother Agapia Stephanopoulos, an American Orthodox nun living in the West Bank, who reprised centuries-old Christian anti-Jewish rhetoric and supersessionist arguments about the Jews’ obstinate adherence to the law and rejection of Jesus as the messiah. Carlson nodded along, his mouth half open in a pose of fake shock, in response to each of her ever-more outrageous claims.
A former Fox News host, Carlson is a product of the very mainstream media apparatus against which he now rails. Fuentes is an entirely different creature.
His own path to white nationalism, which he mapped out phase-by-phase in the October 27 interview, began in netherworld of online libertarianism, where supporters of Ron Paul, who ran for president in 2008, debated the precepts of Austrian economics and old far-right obsessions like the correlation between race and IQ. He became famous on the internet as a rambunctious college-student supporter of Donald Trump, with whom he grew disappointed when the president failed to be adequately Hitlerian.
(To continue reading click here)
Dear Friend,
If you missed today’s program featuring Rick Hasen in conversation with Larry Mantle, you can watch the program at THIS PAST EVENTS LINK. The program will post a few hours after it ends. Starting Thursday morning, you can listen AT THIS PODCAST LINK
Next Wednesday, November 12 at 5 PM Pacific, we welcome Steven Cash, who will be in conversation with Larry Mantle (see bios below) on the topic: “THE RISE OF AUTHORITARIANISM IN AMERICA: THE PERSPECTIVE OF FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICALS” (Register Here)
Steven Cash is the Executive Director of The Steady State, a non-profit advocacy organization whose members are former senior national security officials, drawn from across the intelligence, diplomatic, homeland security and defense communities. Cash served in government at the CIA and at the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence & Analysis. He concurrently served Deputy Chief Intelligence Officer and Acting Executive Director of the Intelligence Enterprise Program Office
Larry Mantle, recipient of countless awards for his excellence in broadcast journalism, has been the host of AirTalk with Larry Mantle on NPR-member station LAist (Formerly KPCC) 89.3 FM, since April 1st, 1985. AirTalk is the longest-running daily talk show in Southern California
Washington Post
Opinion
Max Boot
November 3, 2025
Why is Trump Politicizing the Military? Ask the Fired Generals.
Why are so many generals getting fired? Congress should summon them to find out.
There are too many scandals to count in the Trump administration, but one of the most significant isn’t getting the attention it deserves. I refer to efforts by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to politicize the armed forces and to turn them into instruments of their MAGA agenda.
Hegseth and Trump keep giving blatantly political speeches in front of military audiences, even though military regulations (upheld by the Supreme Court) forbid uniformed personnel from taking part in partisan activities. Just last week, speaking aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in Japan, Trump repeatedly attacked his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden. (Trump falsely said that Biden had claimed to be a pilot and added, “He wasn’t a pilot. Wasn’t much of a president, either.”)
A month earlier, speaking at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Trump told the nation’s most senior generals (who sat stony-faced) that he intends to mobilize the military against “the enemy from within” and to use U.S. cities “as training grounds for our military.” In Japan last week, he threatened to “send more than the National Guard” to U.S. cities. Trump boasted: “I could send the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, I can send anybody I wanted.”…
(To continue reading click here)
Bloomberg
November 5, 2025
Ron Brownstein
Election Day Sent an Unmistakable Warning to Republicans
With resounding wins in Tuesday’s Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races, Democrats substantially repaired the most important cracks that President Donald Trump made in their coalition in the 2024 election. That gives Democrats reason for optimism — though not yet certainty — that they are on track for a solid recovery in the 2026 midterm election.
Democrats Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia regained significant ground among two groups where Trump made noteworthy advances last year: working-class people of color and young people, according to both media exit polls and county-by-county election results. The two Democrats also improved among college-educated voters, essentially matching the party’s 2024 showing with White voters and improving among non-White voters with a four-year degree, according to the Voter Poll conducted by SRSS for a consortium of media organizations. All those groups also provided huge margins for Proposition 50, the redistricting ballot initiative backed by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, which passed convincingly in California.
Even the most optimistic Democrats don’t contend that Tuesday’s results prove the party has solved its problems with those voting blocs. Since the 1970s, New Jersey and Virginia have almost always elected governors from the party that lost the presidential race the previous year. And Trump’s 2024 gains among blue-collar minority voters were concentrated among irregular voters who are the least likely to show up for an odd-year election.
But the Democratic wins do signal that exuberant Republican predictions after 2024 — that Trump had engineered a durable realignment, particularly among working-class Hispanic, Black and Asian American voters — were premature. Instead, Tuesday’s results signal that …
(To read the entire article, click here)
Dear Friend,
This Wednesday, November 5 at 5 PM Pacific, we welcome Rick Hasen, who will be in conversation with Larry Mantle (see bios below) on the topic: “CAN DEMOCRACY HOLD? THE 2026 MIDTERM CHALLENGE” (Register Here)
Rick Hasen is an American legal scholar and expert in legislation, election law and campaign finance. He is currently a professor of law at UCLA Law and the Director of UCLA Law’s Safeguarding Democracy Project. Hasen was one of the founding co-editors of the quarterly Election Law Journal, a peer reviewed publication on election law. He also runs Election Law Blog, focusing on election law, campaign finance, voting rights, initiatives, redistricting, and other legal issues.
Larry Mantle , recipient of countless awards for his excellence in broadcast journalism, has been the host of AirTalk with Larry Mantle on NPR-member station LAist (Formerly KPCC) 89.3 FM, since April 1st, 1985. AirTalk is the longest-running daily talk show in Southern California
NY Times
Guest Opinion Essay
Rick Hasen
August 20, 2025
Would You Trust This Man With Your Elections?
With Republicans potentially losing their current seven-vote majority in the House in next year’s midterm elections (or, less likely, their six-vote majority in the Senate), President Trump has been sending clear signals of his intent to interfere with the fairness and integrity of those elections.
After saying in a social media post on Monday that “DEMOCRATS … CHEAT AT LEVELS NOT SEEN BEFORE,” he promised to sign an executive order aimed at “MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD” in order “to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 midterms.” Mr. Trump also promised to “lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN ballots and also, while we’re at it, Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial Voting Machines.” He also claimed that the United States is the only country using mail-in balloting. (In fact, it is used in Canada, Britain and many other countries.) Mr. Trump’s claim that “the States are merely an ‘agent’ of the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes” is as legally wrong as it is politically dangerous. That can also be said about his plans to issue an executive order interfering with how states run their elections.
Mr. Trump wants his supporters to believe that Democrats can win only by cheating…
(To continue reading click here)
The Atlantic
October 28, 2025
David A. Graham
Donald Trump’s Plan to Subvert the Midterms Is Already Under Way
Our election system is reaching a breaking point.
Imagine for a moment that it’s late on Election Day, November 3, 2026. Republicans have kept their majority in the Senate, but too many House races are still uncalled to tell who has won that chamber. Control seems like it will come down to two districts in Maricopa County, Arizona. ICE agents and National Guardsmen have been deployed there since that summer, ostensibly in response to criminal immigrants, though crime has been dropping for several years. The county is almost one-third Hispanic or Latino. Voting-rights advocates say the armed presence has depressed turnout, but nonetheless, the races are close. By that evening, the Republican candidates have small leads, but thousands of mail and provisional ballots remain uncounted.
Donald Trump calls the press into the Oval Office and announces that the GOP has held the House—but he warns that Democrats will try to steal the election, and announces plans to send a legal team to Arizona to root out fraud. He spends the rest of the night posting threats and allegations on Truth Social. In the morning, Republican lawyers file to stop vote counting, arguing that any votes counted after Election Day are illegal under federal law. Attorney General Pam Bondi sends a letter to Adrian Fontes, Arizona’s Democratic secretary of state, and the county board of supervisors, instructing them to retain all documents and warning that the Department of Justice may intervene if it suspects anything untoward. On X, FBI Director Kash Patel reposts false rumors about fraud and announces plans to lead a group of agents to Phoenix. Meanwhile, Democratic candidates have pulled ahead in both races by Wednesday afternoon, but the margin is just 143 votes in the Eighth District, with many votes still not tallied…
(To read the entire post, click here)
Dear Friend,
If you missed today’s program featuring Joyce Vance in conversation with Patt Morrison, you can watch the program at THIS PAST EVENTS LINK. The program will post a few hours after it ends. Starting Thursday morning, you can listen AT THIS PODCAST LINK.
And, here is the link to Patt Morrison’s podcast, Smoglandia,
Next Wednesday, November 5 at 5 PM Pacific, we welcome Rick Hasen, who will be in conversation with Larry Mantle (see bios below) on the topic: “CAN DEMOCRACY HOLD? THE 2026 MIDTERM CHALLENGE” (Register Here)
Rick Hasen is an American legal scholar and expert in legislation, election law and campaign finance. He is currently a professor of law at UCLA Law and the Director of UCLA Law’s Safeguarding Democracy Project. Hasen was one of the founding co-editors of the quarterly Election Law Journal, a peer reviewed publication on election law. He also runs Election Law Blog, focusing on election law, campaign finance, voting rights, initiatives, redistricting, and other legal issues. He is the author of six critically acclaimed books including his latest, A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy.
Larry Mantle , recipient of countless awards for his excellence in broadcast journalism, has been the host of AirTalk with Larry Mantle on NPR-member station LAist (Formerly KPCC) 89.3 FM, since April 1st, 1985. AirTalk is the longest-running daily talk show in Southern California.
NY Times
Guest Opinion Essay
Rick Hasen
August 20, 2025
Would You Trust This Man With Your Elections?
With Republicans potentially losing their current seven-vote majority in the House in next year’s midterm elections (or, less likely, their six-vote majority in the Senate), President Trump has been sending clear signals of his intent to interfere with the fairness and integrity of those elections.
After saying in a social media post on Monday that “DEMOCRATS … CHEAT AT LEVELS NOT SEEN BEFORE,” he promised to sign an executive order aimed at “MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD” in order “to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 midterms.” Mr. Trump also promised to “lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN ballots and also, while we’re at it, Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial Voting Machines.” He also claimed that the United States is the only country using mail-in balloting. (In fact, it is used in Canada, Britain and many other countries.) Mr. Trump’s claim that “the States are merely an ‘agent’ of the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes” is as legally wrong as it is politically dangerous. That can also be said about his plans to issue an executive order interfering with how states run their elections.
Mr. Trump wants his supporters to believe that Democrats can win only by cheating…
(To continue reading click here)
Note: In connection with our November 19th Program with Steve Cash of The Steady State, an organization of former US Intelligence leaders concerned about our democracy. Bill Piekney is a member of The Steady State.
COULD IT COME DOWN TO THE GENERALS?
The event the last of the guard rails collapse, as hard as it is to consider, it is conceivable that it might fall to the Generals and Admirals to save the Republic.
BILL PIEKNEY Lt. Commander (ret) US Navy & decorated (fmr) CIA leader
October 27, 2025
The erosion, or in some cases the full destruction of guardrails that were drafted into the constitution and built into government over the life of the American Experiment, is swallowing large gulps of our democratic processes. Akin to what was intended to be the equivalent of natural immunity, once those guardrails begin to break down the body politic becomes defenseless in the face of an insistent tyrant and his compliant enablers. The most important guardrails at the top of the federal bureaucracy are crumbling and the country’s top generals and admirals, along with the rest of us, are watching nervously from their posts here and overseas.
As they ponder what is to come, there must be more than a few who have silently reviewed in their darker reflections what role fate might force upon them, either musing alone or in catches of highly discreet consultation.
[The post proceeds to analyze the issue from the perspective of the DOJ, FBI, DHS and DOD, following which is this concluding paragraph:
So it would probably not be an overstatement to presume that in the case of such unthinkable events described above at the hands of the president, this unfolding and troubled chapter in the course of our history could be written to some considerable extent based on what two or three dozen four star officers choose to do, how they explain that conduct, and what elements of government they salvage, wreck or strengthen in their wake.
(To read the entire post, click here)
Read more posts at The Steady State substack.
Dear Friend,
THIS Wednesday, October 29 at 5 PM Pacific, we welcome Joyce Vance, who will be in conversation with Patt Morrison (see bios below) on the topic: “THE AMERICAN JUSTICE SYSTEM PART II: STILL TESTING THE LIMITS” (Register Here)
Joyce Vance former US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, is a legal analyst for NBC and MSNBC. Author of the popular Civil Discourse newsletter on Substack, Vance is also the cohost of two podcasts, #SistersInLaw and The Insider. She is a Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law and a Senior Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice of the NYU School of Law.
Vance’s #1 recently released book, Giving Up is Unforgivable:A Manual for Keeping a Democracy, is described as “A galvanizing civic-manifesto that blends legal history and personal insight to urge Americans to defend democratic norms in our current crisis.”
Patt Morrison has a share of two Pulitzer Prizes as a longtime Los Angeles Times writer and columnist. As a public television and radio broadcaster, she has won six Emmys and a dozen Golden Mike awards.
New York TImes
Opinion Commentary
Ben Rhodes
October 26, 2025
The Thread Tying Together Everything Trump Does
As world leaders arrived at the recent summit in Sharm el Sheikh, an Egyptian resort town on the shores of the Red Sea, they passed billboards depicting President Trump and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt under the words TOGETHER IN PEACE. What kind of peace were they hashing out and who is it for?
For Mr. Trump, the common thread weaving together so much of what he does — at home and abroad — is power. Whether he is seeking a cease-fire in Gaza or Ukraine, bombing boats off the coast of Venezuela or deploying troops to American cities, the desired result is his personal aggrandizement and the empowerment of his presidency. When he pursues peace, it is personalized — a deal made with other strongmen rarely addresses underlying causes of conflict. When he makes war, it is also personalized — there is no expectation, for instance, that Congress must authorize his actions.
Of course, exhalation was in order earlier this month, when the remaining Israeli hostages were returned to their families, hundreds of imprisoned Palestinians were released and some aid began to move into Gaza. Mr. Trump deserves credit for applying more pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel than Joe Biden ever did. Yet there was little clarity coming out of the summit in Sharm el Sheikh about who would administer Gaza, how Hamas would disarm, or whether Israel would refrain from resuming its onslaught or annexing the West Bank. It felt more like a victory lap than a beginning…
(To continue reading click here)
Dear Friend,
If you missed today’s program featuring Linda Greenhouse in conversation with Patt Morrison, you can watch the program at THIS PAST EVENTS LINK. The program will post a few hours after it ends. Starting Thursday morning, you can listen AT THIS PODCAST LINK
Next Wednesday, October 29 at 5 PM Pacific, we welcome Joyce Vance, who will be in conversation with Patt Morrison (see bios below) on the topic: “THE AMERICAN JUSTICE SYSTEM PART II: STILL TESTING THE LIMITS” (Register Here)
Joyce Vance former US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, is a legal analyst for NBC and MSNBC. Author of the popular Civil Discourse newsletter on Substack, Vance is also the cohost of two podcasts, #SistersInLaw and The Insider. She is a Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law and a Senior Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice of the NYU School of Law.
Vance’s #1 recently released book, Giving Up is Unforgivable:A Manual for Keeping a Democracy, is described as “A galvanizing civic-manifesto that blends legal history and personal insight to urge Americans to defend democratic norms in our current crisis.”
Patt Morrison has a share of two Pulitzer Prizes as a longtime Los Angeles Times writer and columnist. As a public television and radio broadcaster, she has won six Emmys and a dozen Golden Mike awards.
Wall Street Journal
Guest Opinion Commentary
Elisha Wiesel, Chair, Elie Wiesel Foundation
October 21, 2025
A Mamdani Mayoralty Threatens New York’s Jews
By propagating lies about ‘occupation,’ ‘apartheid’ and ‘genocide,’ he helps promote antisemitism.
An Irishman and a Jew walk into a Japanese restaurant. It sounds like a joke setup, but there was nothing funny about this near-terminal event for our longstanding friendship—this vignette of being a Jewish New Yorker in 2025. The stark choice we’d each be making between Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo, divisiveness or unity, loomed throughout.
We talked and laughed about travel, cycling and our loved ones. Then he asked: “Isn’t it terrible where we’ve ended up in the Middle East?”
I was still elated from the Israeli hostages’ release the previous day, and it took me a minute to realize he didn’t share my relief. “It’s been a terrible war,” I agreed, “but I’m optimistic. Thank God President Trump stood with Israel and took out the Iranian nuclear facilities. The Abraham Accords will grow from here.”
“But who’s going to force Israel to make peace?” he asked. “They’re as bad as Hamas.”
We’ve discussed world affairs for 30 years, and I know he reads Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky. But this was the first time I wondered if I had misheard him.
“Are you really both-sides-ing this conflict?” I asked, incredulous. “Are you suggesting the rape, murder and kidnapping by Hamas on Oct. 7—with Gazan civilian participation—is equivalent to Israel’s defensive war?”
Mr. Mamdani’s messaging has made class war and hatred of Jews great again.
(To continue reading click here)
Bloomberg/Opinion
Barbara McQuade, Columnist, prof @ Univ. of Michigan Law school, fmr US Attorney
October 22, 2025
Trump Demanding Money from the DOJ Is a Bid to Rewrite History
President Donald Trump’s effort to rewrite history continues, and the latest installment could cost taxpayers as much as $230 million.
According to the New York Times, Trump is demanding that the Department of Justice pay him that astonishing amount for allegedly violating his rights through federal investigations targeting him.
The Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported Tuesday that the president filed an administrative claim for damages in 2023 over the special counsel’s investigation into alleged connections between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign. The story also said that Trump filed a second claim in 2024, accusing the DOJ of malicious prosecution and invasion of privacy in connection with the search of his Mar-a-Lago home and his subsequent indictment under the Espionage Act.
(To continue reading click here)
Dear Friend,
Tomorrow, October 22 at 5 PM Pacific, we welcome Linda Greenhouse, who will be in conversation with Patt Morrison (see bios below) on the topic: “LAW, POLITICS, AND POWER.: PERSPECTIVES ON THE SUPREME COURT”
New York Times/Opinion
By Linda Greenhouse
July 14, 2025
We Will Regret Not Standing Up to This Venomous Cruelty
Fifteen years ago, when Arizona enacted a notorious anti-immigrant “show me your papers” law, I wrote an essay in The Times that began: “I’m glad I’ve already seen the Grand Canyon. Because I’m not going back to Arizona as long as it remains a police state, which is what the appalling anti-immigrant bill that Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law last week has turned it into.”
The essay provoked a variety of reactions, most supportive but some vituperatively negative. One angry reader, noting that the newspaper identified me as teaching at Yale Law School, wrote to the school’s dean to demand that he fire me. The dean and I had a good laugh over that letter. But rather than dismiss it as the product of an eccentric crank, I realize now that I should have understood the letter as a window on the toxic brew of anti-immigrant sentiment that led a state to pass such a law.
The Obama administration challenged Arizona’s law, and after the Supreme Court invalidated most of it in 2012, the harsh anti-immigrant wave subsided. But now my letter writer and like-minded people have a friend in the White House. Or friends, actually — among them, Stephen Miller, a deputy chief of staff, who appears to be giving President Trump his marching orders for the arrests and deportations now shredding the civic fabric of communities across the country.
(To continue reading click here)
Dear Friend,
THIS Wednesday, October 22 at 5 PM Pacific, we welcome Linda Greenhouse, who will be in conversation with Patt Morrison (see bios below) on the topic: “LAW, POLITICS, AND POWER.: PERSPECTIVES ON THE SUPREME COURT” (Register Here)
Linda Greenhouse is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American legal journalist who covered the United States Supreme Court for three decades for The New York Times. She is the Knight Distinguished Journalist in Residence and Joseph M. Goldstein Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School. Greenhouse has received, among many other awards, the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism from Harvard’s Kennedy School. The books that Greenhouse has written or co-written include “Before Roe v. Wade: Voices That Shaped the Abortion Debate Before the Supreme Court’s Ruling,” “The Burger Court and the Rise of the Judicial Right,” and her latest book, “Justice on the Brink: A Requiem for the Supreme Court.”
Patt Morrison has a share of two Pulitzer Prizes as a longtime Los Angeles Times writer and columnist. As a public television and radio broadcaster, she has won six Emmys and a dozen Golden Mike awards. Her first book, “Rio LA,” about the Los Angeles River, was a bestseller. Her most recent book is “Don’t Stop the Presses! Truth, Justice, and the American Newspaper.”
New York Times/Opinion
By Dana Stroul of The Washington Institute
October 17, 2025
The Real Trump Factor in the Gaza Deal
Praise for President Trump’s diplomacy in brokering a cease-fire in Gaza has mostly focused on how he persuaded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to accept a deal. Many assume that Mr. Trump threatened to withdraw U.S. support from Israel, or otherwise pressured the Israeli leader into capitulating.
But there is a more convincing explanation for Mr. Trump’s success. Far from merely menacing Mr. Netanyahu with consequences, the American president’s key intervention was to give a political lifeline to the deeply unpopular Israeli leader. The secret of Mr. Trump’s success with Mr. Netanyahu was offering carrots on domestic politics — not sticks on foreign policy.
There were, of course, important external factors that laid the groundwork for the deal….
(To continue reading click here)
WaPo/Opinion
David Ignatius
October 15, 2025
Trump’s war on ‘the enemy within’ keeps running into a legal buzzsaw
Lower courts are rejecting the president’s claims of rebellion to use the military on U.S. soil.
President Donald Trump claims a right to send troops into U.S. cities to battle what he calls “the enemy within.” But three federal judges have savaged his Justice Department’s arguments in recent rulings, and their scornful language sends a message that the lower courts, at least, won’t tolerate what they see as illegal presidential behavior.
We can’t be sure about the ultimate judicial limits on Trump’s power until the Supreme Court rules on one of the cases in which he has asserted extraordinary executive authority. But as we watch this constitutional drama play out, it’s worth studying the harsh initial rulings rejecting what one judge called Trump’s attempt at “creating a national police force with the president as its chief.”
What should worry the public — even people who passionately support strong enforcement of immigration law — is that in each of these three cases the district court judges came close to accusing the Trump administration of making up facts to suit its political purposes.
(To continue reading click here)
New York Times/Opinion
By Linda Greenhouse
July 14, 2025
We Will Regret Not Standing Up to This Venomous Cruelty
Fifteen years ago, when Arizona enacted a notorious anti-immigrant “show me your papers” law, I wrote an essay in The Times that began: “I’m glad I’ve already seen the Grand Canyon. Because I’m not going back to Arizona as long as it remains a police state, which is what the appalling anti-immigrant bill that Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law last week has turned it into.”
The essay provoked a variety of reactions, most supportive but some vituperatively negative. One angry reader, noting that the newspaper identified me as teaching at Yale Law School, wrote to the school’s dean to demand that he fire me. The dean and I had a good laugh over that letter. But rather than dismiss it as the product of an eccentric crank, I realize now that I should have understood the letter as a window on the toxic brew of anti-immigrant sentiment that led a state to pass such a law.
The Obama administration challenged Arizona’s law, and after the Supreme Court invalidated most of it in 2012, the harsh anti-immigrant wave subsided. But now my letter writer and like-minded people have a friend in the White House. Or friends, actually — among them, Stephen Miller, a deputy chief of staff, who appears to be giving President Trump his marching orders for the arrests and deportations now shredding the civic fabric of communities across the country.
(To continue reading click here)
Voting Rights and Empowerment
Immigration and Asylum
Equality - Fighting Hate and Discrimination
Freedom of the Press
Voting Rights and Empowerment
CENTER FOR COMMON GROUND’S RECLAIM OUR VOTE CAMPAIGN
Ongoing voter suppression and voter list purging have been disenfranchising millions of eligible voters — especially voters of color. Reclaim Our Vote works in those voter suppression states. Our volunteers inform and mobilize voters of color to make sure they are registered and they know how to get a ballot and vote. It is a nonpartisan campaign of the nonprofit 501(c)3 Center for Common Ground.
LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
The League of Women Voters of the United States encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
POSTCARDS TO VOTERS
Postcards to Voters are friendly, handwritten reminders from volunteers to targeted voters giving Democrats a winning edge in close, key races coast to coast.
ROCK THE VOTE
In 1990, music executives founded Rock the Vote in response to the censorship of hip-hop and rap artists. Our first partnership, with MTV, promoted the message that “Censorship is Un-American” and activated millions of young people across the country to exercise their rights and represent their interests. For thirty years, we have continuously adapted to the changing landscapes of media, technology and culture to breakthrough and empower each new generation.
VOTE.ORG
Vote.org uses technology to simplify political engagement, increase voter turnout, and strengthen American democracy.
WHEN WE ALL VOTE
When We All Vote is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that is on a mission to increase participation in every election and close the race and age voting gap by changing the culture around voting, harnessing grassroots energy, and through strategic partnerships to reach every American.
Immigration and Asylum
ACLU
For nearly one hundred years, ACLU lawyers have been at the center of one history-making court case after another, participating in more Supreme Court cases than any other private organization. With attorneys nationwide, we handle thousands of cases each year on behalf of clients whose rights have been violated.
Bet Tzedek
Bet Tzedek attorneys and advocates help people of all communities and generations secure life’s necessities. Wherever people are in crisis, Bet Tzedek’s core services and rapid response programs provide stability and hope.
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights
CHIRLA is a California leader with the national impact made of diverse immigrant families and individuals who act as agents of social change to achieve a world with freedom of mobility, full human rights, and true participatory democracy. CHIRLA’s mission is to achieve a just society fully inclusive of immigrants.
HIAS
HIAS works around the world to protect refugees who have been forced to flee their homelands because of who they are, including ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities. For more than 130 years, HIAS has been helping refugees rebuild their lives in safety and dignity.
Public Counsel
Public Counsel is the largest pro bono law firm in the nation. We work with major law firms and corporations to change people’s futures. A staff of 71 attorneys and 50 support staff – including five social workers – along with over 5,000 volunteer lawyers, law students and legal professionals assists over 30,000 children, youth, families, and community organizations every year.
Equality - Fighting Hate and Discrimination
ANTI DEFAMATION LEAGUE
ADL is a leading anti-hate organization. Founded in 1913 in response to an escalating climate of anti-Semitism and bigotry, its timeless mission is to protect the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all. Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of hate with the same vigor and passion. ADL is a global leader in exposing extremism and delivering anti-bias education, and is a leading organization in training law enforcement. ADL is the first call when acts of anti-Semitism occur. ADL’s ultimate goal is a world in which no group or individual suffers from bias, discrimination or hate.
BEND THE ARC
Bend the Arc is a movement of tens of thousands of progressive Jews all across the country. For years, we’ve worked to build a more just society. Now we’re rising up in solidarity with everyone threatened by the Trump agenda to fight for the soul of our nation.
EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE
The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.
INTEGRITY FIRST FOR AMERICA
Integrity First for America (IFA) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to holding those accountable who threaten longstanding principles of our democracy—including our country’s commitment to civil rights and equal justice.
NAACP
Founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. We have over 2,200 units and branches across the nation, along with well over 2M activists. Our mission is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.
Freedom of the Press
ACLU
For nearly one hundred years, ACLU lawyers have been at the center of one history-making court case after another, participating in more Supreme Court cases than any other private organization. With attorneys nationwide, we handle thousands of cases each year on behalf of clients whose rights have been violated.
REPORTERS COMMITTEE FOR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press provides pro bono legal representation, amicus curiae support, and other legal resources to protect First Amendment freedoms and the newsgathering rights of journalists.