SCOTUS allows Trump to fire FTC commissioner

• The U.S. Supreme Court has for now allowed President Donald Trump to oust Democratic Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter — its latest decision undermining the independence of federal agencies.
  
  
• The decision allows Trump to disregard Slaughter’s reinstatement while the Supreme Court decides whether to formally halt a lower court ruling that found her dismissal unlawful.

… And in another awful decision, SCOTUS blesses use of racial profiling in immigration arrests

• In another unsigned order, SCOTUS allowed the Trump administration to resume immigration stops based on appearance, language, job and location. The court’s order lifts restrictions on raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Los Angeles, removing needed protections against racial profiling.
  
  
• In a fiery dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor blasted the decision as “unconscionably irreconcilable with our nation’s constitutional guarantees.”
  
  
• But in a concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that a person’s ethnicity can be a “relevant factor” for agents to initiate immigration-related stops.

North Carolina is working to share voter data with the Trump administration

• During a meeting of the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) Monday, executive director Sam Hayes confirmed that the board is working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on sharing voter registration list data — after Democracy Docket reported that DHS had reached out to the state about the scheme. Hayes also mentioned lawmakers are crafting legislation to compel data sharing between the state and the Trump administration.
  
  
• Meanwhile, a court approved an agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the NCSBE in a lawsuit that could disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters in state and local elections.

Also in North Carolina: Court upholds discriminatory voter photo ID amendment

• In a loss for voters, a North Carolina court upheld the state’s constitutional amendment requiring a photo ID to vote.
  
  
• Despite arguments that the GOP legislature that proposed the amendment was illegally elected under racial gerrymanders, the court ruled the NAACP didn’t prove discriminatory intent “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Utah Supreme Court agrees to hear request to pause order to redraw congressional map

• The Utah Supreme Court agreed to hear the GOP’s emergency request to pause a district court's order to redraw the state’s congressional map by Sept. 25. The pro-voting group plaintiffs must file their response by tomorrow and the GOP defendants are to reply by Sept. 11. Redrawing the map could give Democrats an additional seat in Congress.
  
  
• Pro-voting groups filed a lawsuit in 2022 challenging Republican legislators' proposed congressional map and repeal of the state’s redistricting reforms. 

Maine rejects DOJ’s demand for voter data… again 

• Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) formally rejected the DOJ’s second demand to access the state’s voter rolls and other sensitive voter data.
  
  
• “The Department of Justice hasn’t shown any good reason for its fishing expedition for sensitive voter information on every American,” Bellows said in a statement. “The federal government has a terrible track record keeping private data safe. Their data demands appear to violate federal privacy laws and complying would put the privacy and data security of nearly 1 million Mainers at risk.”
  
  
• The first time DOJ demanded voter data from Maine, Bellows told the department to “go jump in the Gulf of Maine.”