Fort Worth Sheriff Bill Waybourn claims he “can’t keep people from having bad diets and 30 years of heroin use” amid a surge in deaths in his jail and accusations of neglect. His critics say they’ll keep pushing for accountability following his reelection. https://boltsmag.org/a-scandal-plagued-sheriff-wins-another-term-in-north-texas/

It’s often said that states are laboratories of democracy. This is arguably no more true anywhere than Montana: it’s the only state that regularly asks its citizens to actively choose whether to amend — or even overhaul — their local government structures. https://boltsmag.org/montana-housing-organizers-government-study-commission/

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Arizona Republicans placed a slew of constitutional amendments on the ballot this fall to limit the recourse available to voters to hold politicians and courts accountable and to take matters into their own hands. Arizonans on Tuesday rejected all of them. https://boltsmag.org/arizona-results-of-democracy-measures-prop-134-136-and-137/

RESULT: Voters in Washington, D.C. have approved Initiative 83, establishing ranked-choice voting and allowing independents to vote in primaries.

Ranked-choice voting could grow today—Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and D.C., are deciding whether to adopt it for their elections. But Alaskans may take the reverse step.
https://boltsmag.org/whats-on-the-ballot/your-guide-to-the-elections-in-november-2024/

When New Mexico adopted a law last year to restore voting rights to anyone who is not presently in prison, it was cause for celebration for voting rights groups. But they then kept running into people who told them they were being denied registration. https://boltsmag.org/voting-rights-restoration-reform-in-new-mexico/

Conservatives in Arizona are pushing to send unhoused people into compulsory treatment programs. But Will Knight of the National Homelessness Law Center warns that “mental illness does not cause homelessness,” it’s just “a real easy myth to sell.” https://boltsmag.org/arizona-prop-312-unhoused-ballot-measure/

On the ballot next Tuesday, Issue 1 would create a new 15-member citizen commission to redraw Ohio’s district maps fairly — ending the partisan control that’s led to skewed maps. https://boltsmag.org/ohio-issue-1-gerrrymandering-misleading-language/

When Ohioans vote on Issue 1, many don’t expect ballot language describing independent redistricting as “required gerrymandering.” But that’s what they’ll see — a GOP-written summary that critics say distorts a reform meant to end partisan map-drawing. https://boltsmag.org/ohio-issue-1-gerrrymandering-misleading-language/

Tens of thousands of Nebraskans who’d been blocked for months from registering to vote regained ballot access on Wednesday, but with little time to act. The deadline to register to vote online is just hours away.
https://boltsmag.org/nebraska-voting-rights-supreme-court-rules/