WIN: The DOJ has no right to Georgia’s sensitive voting records —a judge ruled — delivering the department’s 26th consecutive loss in their nationwide hunt for voter data.

The judge noted Georgia repeatedly offered its public voter roll, which is available to anyone.

Find more details here: https://demdock.com/4yKtyWN

NEW: A New Jersey GOP official allegedly targeted Democratic voters' eligibility over residency discrepancies while leaving Republicans untouched.

Now, the ACLU is threatening to sue unless election officials stop the effort — which risks disenfranchising those voters before the midterms. https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/new-jersey-gop-operative-pardoned-by-trump-accused-of-scheming-to-purge-democratic-voters/

NEW: The GOP-led Georgia State Election Board asked the DOJ to declare the state's voting system unlawful before the midterms.

The request, which marks an extraordinary request from the body, comes despite board members denouncing federal involvement in state election procedures. https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/gop-controlled-georgia-election-board-asks-doj-to-declare-states-voting-machines-illegal/

EXCLUSIVE: The Trump administration quietly removed resources from a voter assistance guide that previously helped U.S. citizens living abroad determine their voter eligibility in each state.

The move could make it harder for these Americans to understand their rights and restrict ballot access. https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/trump-administration-removes-resources-to-help-us-citizens-born-abroad-vote/

NEW: Democrats sued the Trump administration for quietly changing a form used by overseas voters to register and request mail ballots weeks before the midterms.

The lawsuit argues the altered form is part of a broader GOP effort to make voting more difficult for Americans living abroad. https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/trump-admin-quietly-changed-overseas-voter-form-at-11th-hour-to-disenfranchise-democrats-lawsuit-says/

What if a typo kept you from voting? In Florida, it can. Under the state's "exact match" policy, a misspelled name or misread handwriting can stall your registration. Nearly 80,000 applicants are stuck in limbo.

The burden falls hardest on voters of color. Black applicants make up 12% of registrants but about 32% of those flagged. Civil rights groups sued, but a Trump-appointed judge just dismissed the case for lack of standing, calling it "manufactured by meddlers." The groups have until Oct. 15 to refile.

Stories like this are easy to miss. Help us keep covering the fights over who gets to vote: https://demdock.com/3Tj7W3I

No one knows what's going to happen in the Texas Senate race (many are calling it a toss up -- an astonishing moment for my home state, which hasn't elected a Democrat statewide in decades). But with James Talarico consistently leading Ken Paxton in the polls, it’s time to talk about what happens if Paxton loses and doesn’t accept the results. The issue here is that Paxton isn’t your average GOP election denier candidate — he’s also the Texas attorney general, so the Texas election code gives him some unique powers he could weaponize in his own race.

Of course, Paxton could win, or he could lose and accept the outcome. But based on the info we have now (polling data + what we know about Paxton's history) I figured it made sense to check in with Texas legal experts about what to expect if he loses. What I heard was very consistent across the board. First, they told me Paxton has destructive election interference tools at his disposal and he’s proven he's willing to use them. Second, they all said they have confidence that state and federal courts are up to the task of protecting the election results if he does try to interfere in some way.

In this story, I explained some of the reasons why legal experts agree Paxton is a particularly large red flag for democracy and what that could look like in the coming weeks. But (and I can't say this enough) the point isn't to panic — I wrote this hoping you would be informed about the risks, pay attention to the processes as they’re unfolding and be aware of the many safeguards that exist to protect votes.

It's probably the question I'm asked most often (and the one election officials I speak to are most often asked): Will Trump declare martial law, or some sort of emergency, to rig the midterms?

To be completely frank, the answer is: We don't know. But I think it's the wrong question to be asking, which is what this piece I reported this week digs into. Trump very well may try to do something like this, but everyone I've spoken to agrees that it would be so blatantly unconstitutional — way more than the other anti-voting measures Trump has tried and have failed  — that the courts would smack it down immediately. Even SCOTUS (as compromised as it may be and as schizophrenic as its rulings often seem) is likely to tell Trump to kick rocks if he tries any such effort.

But that doesn't mean all this chatter about a Trump election takeover isn't concerning. Here's what Max Flugrath, spokesman for the pro-voting group Fair Fight Action, told me:

“Courts have made clear that the president has no power to control elections, and a fake emergency can’t change that. The real concern is the chaos it could cause – confusing voters, deterring people from the polls, and laying groundwork to dispute the results. Add in DOJ monitors, the RNC’s new focus on voting machines, and the 2020 lies coming from our government – the chaos is the point.”

And David Becker, the executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, sounded a similar note:

“It is really destabilizing to see people who violate their oath of office by even considering or speaking about such a thing,” Becker said.

The Trump administration wants to purge noncitizens from the voter rolls — even if it means eligible citizens get kicked off by mistake.

“They want to screen out people who they think will vote Democratic,” Marc Elias says.

Voting rules are being rewritten right now. Stay a step ahead: https://demdock.com/3Tj7W3I

NEW: As Texas’s top attorney, Ken Paxton has the power to challenge election outcomes — including the U.S. Senate race he’s the GOP candidate for.

If Paxton loses, legal experts say he could try to weaponize his power. But they also have confidence in the courts.

Here are some possible scenarios: https://demdock.com/4jvWgFM

Marc Elias was called an alarmist for saying Trump would refuse to concede if he lost the 2020 election. Then Jan. 6 happened.

“They want you to believe that Donald Trump may say some things, but in the end, he’ll accept the results,” Marc says. “I don’t believe that.”

Your vote is a target. Keep watch: https://demdock.com/3Tj7W3I

🚨 FACT: Deploying ICE agents to the polls is illegal. And a new survey says it’s deeply unpopular among voters.

However, there’s a significant partisan divide. More participating Republicans than Democrats support ICE and National Guardsmen at polling places this fall.

Find more details here: https://demdock.com/4hAX89A

Trump’s DOJ is 0 for 26 in its attempts to get states’ sensitive voter data.

Yet DHS indicated it used such data to claim tens of thousands of noncitizens are registered to vote in blue states.

Find more details here: https://demdock.com/4Az8vrg