Friday, January 16

THIS WEEK

Big wins this week in California, Virginia redistricting battles
Supreme Court opens election litigation floodgates
North Carolina state board rejects early voting site at country’s largest Black university

REDISTRICTING

Big wins this week in California, Virginia redistricting battles

We’re only two weeks into the new year, but 2026 is already proving to be almost mind-numbingly overwhelming if you’re trying to stay informed. Fortunately, on the redistricting front at least, there’s a lot of good news to help balance out the unrelenting waves of gloomy developments in, well, most other parts of American political life.

Since President Donald Trump pressured GOP-controlled states to redraw their maps last year to help rig the 2026 midterms, Democrats have fought back to counter his plans, with lawmakers in California and Virginia taking the lead.

This week, a federal court rejected a Republican attempt* to block the California redistricting plan voters resoundingly approved in November. The GOP argued the new map was an illegal racial gerrymander and asked a panel of three federal judges to grant a preliminary injunction. The majority opinion more or less called the GOP claims completely ridiculous, saying voters approved the plan because they were motivated by partisanship, not race. (Remember, partisan gerrymanders are a-okay, according to the U.S. Supreme Court.)

Speaking of which, Republicans are unlikely to find success by appealing to the Supreme Court. Three GOP-appointed justices already wrote in the December decision on Texas redistricting that the California map was a partisan gerrymander.

Republicans had a bad week in Virginia, too. A court rejected their emergency attempt to stop lawmakers from voting on a constitutional amendment allowing them to redistrict in response to redistricting other states.

Virginia Democrats then swiftly passed the amendment in the House of Delegates. The Senate is expected to take it up soon. If it passes, the constitutional amendment next goes to the voters, who will have the final say on whether to fight back against Trump’s gerrymanders. Read more about Virginia redistricting here.

The Elias Law Group (ELG) represents the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), an intervenor defendant in the California case. ELG firm chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.

SCOTUS

Supreme Court opens election litigation floodgates, says any candidate can challenge voting laws

The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled* Wednesday that any candidate for federal office may challenge election laws governing their election – overturning the 7th Circuit Court in the Bost v. Illinois State Board of Election case.

The court’s decision was about whether an Illinois GOP congressman had standing to challenge a state law allowing the counting of mail-in ballots received after election day. By ruling that he did, SCOTUS may have just triggered a deluge of future litigation over the counting and certifying of election results.

For years, courts had held that candidates can only challenge an election law if it could potentially influence the outcome of their race. Now, SCOTUS says it’s open season. Read more about the Bost ruling here.

*The Democratic Party of Illinois, which filed an amicus brief in this case, is represented by the Elias Law Group (ELG). ELG firm chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.

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VOTING

North Carolina election board rejects early voting site at country’s largest Black university

With Black students silently protesting in the front row, North Carolina’s state board of elections this week voted to deny a request to provide a primary election early voting location at North Carolina A&T State University, the largest of the country’s historically Black colleges and universities.

It’s just the latest way Republicans are making it harder to vote in North Carolina since they took over the state election board last May.

Students implored the board to give them a campus polling site, writing in a letter that it would make voting easy and accessible, particularly for students who don’t have cars.

The board rejected the request. Then, for good measure, they also blocked Sunday voting hours in many counties. Read more about North Carolina here.

OPINION

Trump wishes he seized ballots in 2020. What does that mean for 2026?

Trump recently made it very clear that he seriously considered using the military to interfere with vote counting in 2020. And, as Marc wrote this week, if Trump considers it again in 2026, there will be fewer barriers in his way.

“It is not just litigation that will be harder. So will be gaining and holding the public’s attention,” he wrote. Read more here.

NEW EPISODE

J.D. Vance’s dangerous attack on independent media

Marc exposes how the Trump administration and Vice President J.D. Vance are exploiting a tragic ICE killing in Minnesota to spread lies, smear a victim, and justify an alarming crackdown on independent media and free speech. He breaks down why targeting journalists and lawful speech is a direct threat to the First Amendment — and a key step in normalizing authoritarian power. Watch on YouTube here.

What we’re doing

(Courtesy of The New Yorker)