Reporter for @boltsmag.org covering voting rights, democracy, and criminal justice at the local and state levels. Previously @denverpost.com. Support local journalism. Signal: burness.02
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Analysis by @boltsmag.org shows "how rarely elected prosecutors face any contestation at all—a trend Bolts has covered for years, which neither the rise of “progressive prosecutors” nor any pushback has changed" Only 15 of the 66 prosecutor races we ID'ed are contested! boltsmag.org/2025-prosecu...
Among the proposed changes in this conservative-backed Maine ballot measure: limiting towns/cities to 1 ballot dropbox apiece and banning them covering postage costs for people returning ballots in the mail. Much more here on a measure that deserves your attention: boltsmag.org/maine-questi...
Question 1’s leading backers have openly said that their mission is to elect Republicans. Unclear that this ballot measure would help them do that: many in Maine expect the measure would making voter harder for rural folks and for those 65+, who overwhelmingly (61% last year) prefer to vote by mail.
Essential deep dive into an under-the-radar, but important, election this fall in Maine.
Maine has the oldest population of any state and a high rate of disability. Question 1, on the November ballot, figures to make voting (especially by mail) much harder for many, and particularly for older folks and people with disabilities. New in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/maine-questi...
The scariest thing about this @vermontgmg.bsky.social post is how sober and un-hyperbolic it is. All points of fact are supported with links to reporting. No claims are exaggerated or twisted to meet his thesis. He just lays out where we are and what this country looks like right now.
I decided to look at all 66 prosecutor elections this fall. Why? Prosecutors have huge power over sentencing, charging, second chances, and even immigration implications. Here's everything you need to know, from East to West Coast. New from me:
NEW in Bolts: An Alabama teen was shot alongside his friend, then prosecuted for his killing. His case highlights a particularly harsh doctrine in American criminal punishment: felony murder. boltsmag.org/alabama...
I had fun answering questions from @boltsmag.org readers about what is going on in Texas - and Texas’ long history of drawing gerrymandered and racially discriminatory maps. #txlege boltsmag.org/a-new-cycle-...
NEW: July was quiet but election schedule picks up in August! There are four legislative districts that have some potential of flipping in special elections; mayoral elections galore from Detroit to Seattle; a major prosecutor race; and more. My guide to 20 August elections you should know about:
A widespread data-sharing program with ICE supports local and state budgets nationwide—even in so-called sanctuary cities and states that forbid certain law enforcement cooperation and information sharing with ICE. Learn more: boltsmag.org/alameda...
Virginia Democrats, if you haven’t heard, are very proudly contesting every single state House district this year. But the party’s approach to local sheriff races, which are hugely important to immigration enforcement policy and a lot else, could not be more different: boltsmag.org/chesapeake-s...
A wild story, new in @boltsmag.org: In a city of 250K people that Harris and Biden both won, Democrats not only failed to run a candidate for sheriff but are now enthusiastically endorsing “Detain ‘Em Dave Rosado,” who just last month signed a contract with ICE. boltsmag.org/chesapeake-s...
Colorado makes voting much easier than most other places do, but still has big access gaps. For example: 100K+ voters there don’t speak English well, and often can’t get ballots in their native languages. I wrote about the state’s gradual move to close this gap: boltsmag.org/colorado-lan...
Trump has wanted a police state with himself sitting at the top as its undisputed boss since his first administration. The standoff in L.A. shows how truly eager he is to turn America’s vast warmaking powers inward on his domestic foes and critics. Story: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Facing community outrage at a police killing, the city council in Aurora, Colorado—home to many, many instances of police violence, famously including the killing of Elijah McClain—responds by moving its meetings online and ending public comment. @denverpost.com: www.denverpost.com/2025/06/11/a...
As of June 1, nearly 25% of the people arrested by ICE in the interior and sent to detention had NO CRIMINAL RECORD. Data from the last six years, including 1.5 years of Trump's first term, reveals how this is completely unprecedented. It also helps explain the growing backlash.
Seriously wild story: Louisiana officials called “justices of the peace” can pad their own wallets by allowing evictions to proceed. @delaneynolan.bsky.social mentions one guy who made *$255,000* in a single year mostly off eviction fees. boltsmag.org/louisiana-ju...
In Virginia’s two biggest cities, both of which went for Harris in the fall, Republican sheriffs are running for election right now with no Democratic or independent opponents. This fits into a broad trend and carries particularly high stakes for local-ICE cooperation: boltsmag.org/sheriff-elec...
In Southeast Virginia, a Republican sheriff who calls himself “Detain ’Em Dave” is facing a primary challenge - from the right, by a GOP challenger who wants *more*immigration enforcement. New from @burness.bsky.social: boltsmag.org/sheriff-elec...
For @newyorker.com I wrote about a topic many people are concerned about -- could civilians be deputized and how might that happen? Read more www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
Chesapeake is far from the only place where Ds aren’t putting up any fight in a sheriff race. For one, VA Beach, the 43rd biggest U.S. city, went for Harris in the fall and today has an R sheriff running uncontested. An important trend to watch now + moving forward: boltsmag.org/sheriff-elec...
Uncontested sheriff races are way more common than you might think—most sheriff races, in fact, feature just 1 candidate. Incumbents rarely lose. Republicans benefit from this status quo, as the vast majority of sheriffs are conservative and pro-Trump: www.themarshallproject.org/2022/10/18/w...
Chesapeake Democrats say they’ve found no one willing to run for sheriff. Immigrant rights advocates are very frustrated that in this big city, which is winnable for Democrats, in this of all moments, there is no remotely pro-immigrant choice on the ballot. boltsmag.org/sheriff-elec...
With no Democratic or independent candidate in Chesapeake’s sheriff race, there are only two options for voters, both Republican: 1. Current Sheriff Dave Rosado, who calls himself “Detain ‘Em Dave” 2. Wallace Chadwick, a local police lieutenant who claims he’s even more pro-ICE than Rosado
Chesapeake is the 2nd biggest city in the Virginia and one of the country’s 100 most populous. It’s purple: many Rs elected locally, but went for Harris, Biden, and Obama 2X. It has a sheriff election right now. No Democrat is running so far. No independent either. boltsmag.org/sheriff-elec...
Sheriffs are hugely important to Trump’s mass deportation plan. They’ve lately been rushing to partner with ICE. So we really should talk about ways in which Democrats are *not* fighting back against growing sheriff-ICE cooperation. I have a story out today on this: boltsmag.org/sheriff-elec...
I've got a new piece out on the astounding abuse of power from Missouri's AG and GOP lawmakers right now, all to try to undo the abortion rights constitutional amendment voters approved months ago—and also, how this should be a reality check on the tactic of "putting abortion on the ballot":
“Our dream is not more books in confinement but an end to torture, not more programs in prisons and jails but an end to mass incarceration and perpetual punishment.” inquest.org/free-books/
A West Virginia prosecutor says if miscarriage patients want to avoid criminal charges, they should “call 911” “Call your doctor. Call law enforcement, or 911, and just say, ‘I miscarried. I want you to know.’” jessica.substack.com/p/west-virgi...
NEW: Federal judge protects trans care for federal prisoners, blocking Trump order for now. Disputing Trump's oft-repeated "gender ideology" claims, Judge Lamberth wrote that "the plaintiffs do not seem interested in propagating any particular 'ideology.'" This afternoon, at Law Dork —>
It can seem like NYC has "ended solitary confinement" 10x by now, yet the practice persists. This is part language games, part implementation problems, &most recently active stonewalling by Eric Adams, who's for 10months blocked a solitary ban passed by the city council: boltsmag.org/new-york-rik...
The Republican state legislative playbook for many years has been: 1) Gerrymander the districts after taking power 2) Pass burdensome restrictions to suppress voters 3) Restrict ballot initiatives so voters can’t use them to undo 1 and 2 or pass progressive policies
Troopers in Central Florida appear to have been given direction not to wear their name tags during ICE operations.
NEW: The primaries for NYC mayor and New Jersey governor may be grabbing the headlines, but there are dozens of other critical battles in June—from zoning in Virginia to libraries in California. Bolts guides you through the 40 elections to watch. boltsmag.org/whats-o...
The 2022 NYT headline that said Elon Musk’s politics are “not so simple” is understandably dunked on more often, but I’d argue this gem from 2018 has aged about as well.
70% of lawyers have left DOJ Civil Rights Division & voting section down from 30 lawyers to just 3, dropping all major voting rights cases Trump has completely decimated crown jewel of DOJ & now weaponizing it to advance his extreme voter suppression plans www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
The Alameda County Sheriff claims a no-contact policy with ICE: "We are not sharing information.” But the sheriff received over $1 million in federal money last year, in exchange for sensitive info on undocumented people held at the jail. My latest @boltsmag.org boltsmag.org/alameda-coun...
“I was a victim of domestic violence. I was silent for years because I did not have the courage to ask the police for help, for fear they will work with ICE and detain me." From a 2023 @boltsmag.org story: boltsmag.org/colorado-imm...
This tragedy underscores how local law enforcement cooperation with ICE can really undermine public safety: Many people, including witnesses to or victims of serious crimes, won’t report emergencies for fear of arrest/deportation. www.wsmv.com/2025/05/22/t...
The pro-crime safety-net cuts in the House bill are, as usual, backed by the “tough-on-crime” Republican Party.
Good time to read up on how Medicaid cuts increase crime rates: boltsmag.org/medicaid-cov...
Coverage of the "progressive prosecutor" movement has often focused on its setbacks. ...Meanwhile, Larry Krasner just crushed his opponent in Philly. And, writes @taniel.bsky.social, reformers have lately racked up other big wins, incl. in MN, TX, MI, VT, FL, VA, CO. boltsmag.org/larry-krasne...
NEW: Today, Philadelphia voters approved the creation of an independent body to investigate the dangerous conditions that have long plagued the city’s deadly jails. Local advocates hope this will bolster oversight, Bolts had reported: boltsmag.org/philade...
The top three vote-getters in the 22-person field are all members of the progressive slate. Doesn’t particularly count for anything, since all that matters is getting into the top eight, but notable that reform-minded candidates lead this very crowded pack.
It’s primary day in Pennsylvania. @boltsmag.org has you covered on some major storylines: - Jail oversight on the ballot in Philly: boltsmag.org/philadelphia... - Important judge race in Pittsburgh: boltsmag.org/allegheny-co... - More: boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...
"In Knox County, Tennessee, for example, the number of assaults between inmates increased by about 10 incidents per month after in-person visitation was banned." More info: drive.google.com/file/d/1H4Jd... Note: Knox County, TN in-person visits were banned in 2014. Because capitalism.
We cover this stuff around the country, so feel free to DM/Signal me if you care to share what you’re seeing!
The jail in Boulder hasn’t allowed visitors in FIVE YEARS. You might think this is relatively NBD because people spend only short periods in jail, but no—some folks have been held in that facility since even before the pandemic. Must-read from Boulder Weekly: boulderweekly.com/news/jail-vi...
Update: Journalism has been purchased by a hedge fund which announced multiple amputations
In the background of Omaha's election is an important felony disenfranchisement angle: This was the first cycle in Nebraska since voting rights for people with felony records were thrown into chaos by a GOP attempt to block many thousands from registering. More on that: boltsmag.org/nebraska-vot...
Omaha was one of the biggest cities in the country with a Republican mayor. Not anymore. Ewing becomes Omaha’s first Black mayor and the first Democrat to win this office in 16 years.
A very under-the-radar election next week that you should know about: A group of progressive lawyers with backgrounds underrepresented in the judiciary, including public defenders, are running for judgeships in the Pittsburgh area. New by me in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/allegheny-co...
Attacks on the ballot initiative process are a mainstay in the GOP playbook. But what is so jarring about Florida's new law is that it criminalizes direct democracy, turning ordinary political activity into a felony: boltsmag.org/florida-new-...
Huge blow to Boulder in this Colorado Supreme Court dissent.
Volunteers with Florida's League of Women Voters are often seen at farmers markets, book clubs, and parades, collecting petitions for a ballot measure. But a new Florida law turns common tactics the League uses to gather signatures into a criminal offense. boltsmag.org/florida...
Always worth saying: the ongoing choice to make SCOTUS opaque and hieratic rather than democratically accessible is a deeply ideological one, meant to create the false impression the country's most important decisions are made via oracular revelation rather than by nine human beings like you and me.
Now that Jefferson Griffin has vowed to stop trying to overturn NC’s court race, do not miss that Republicans have already, since Election Day, passed major election administration reforms designed specifically to prevent future Democratic wins. boltsmag.org/north-caroli...
Don’t look away. This is what Libya’s migrant detention facilities look like. This is what Trump is doing. Amnesty International called Libya’s migrant detention centers a “hellscape,” where beatings and sexual violence are rampant and there are many reports of trafficking and even slavery.
Regular reminder that scheduling elections off-cycle tends to majorly depress turnout and skew electorates whiter and wealthier. Election timing is an underrated, super important factor in determining your non-federal representation. Wrote about this a while back: boltsmag.org/even-year-lo...
This—from a Trump appointee—really sums up why it’s so wild, and dangerous to democracy, that the NC Supreme Court has dragged on this long: Voters in NC voted *according to the election rules at the time* and it’s a very slippery slope to entertain tossing ballots that were lawfully cast.
Lots of info in this recent @boltsmag.org piece on the red states rushing to end “grace periods” for mail ballots: bsky.app/profile/burn...
North Dakota is the latest red state to move to toss mail ballots that arrive after polls close, even if they were postmarked on or before Election Day. This is a big Trump priority. ND governor last week signed the bill covered here by @northdakotamonitor.com: northdakotamonitor.com/2025/04/22/l...
To save runaways from slavery who were trying to make lives in the North “illegally,” local Vigilance Committees formed. They kept watch for slave catchers, secreted away those in danger, and posted placards that outed slave catchers, sometimes hounding them till they left town.
The anti-democratic turn in our politics has been cultivated and studiously fomented at the state level.
NEW: Australia is requiring that voters to show up at the polls tomorrow. So we talked to an Australian scholar who lays out the genesis of 'compulsory voting' and how it’s shaped the nation’s politics. Read our Q&A heading into tomorrow's elections: boltsmag.org/compuls...
Trump is now housing hundreds of immigrants in notorious federal prisons. I collected accounts from detainees who report: Moldy food; shortages of food and toilet paper; given used underwear + bloodstained clothes; no medical care; filthy cells; cut off from family; some missing their ICE hearings
Republicans today seized control of North Carolina's elections board, upending 124 years of precedent in the state. The purpose of this power grab, NC's former House speaker has admitted, is to give the GOP even greater advantage in NC. Background in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/north-caroli...
*All* of DC’s prison population is actually incarcerated in other states. The closest DC prisoners are over 100 miles from home. Exiling people from their communities is a longstanding carceral practice in a system designed to harm people.
NEW: We're entering a crowded month of elections.... so do you know what to track in May?! We've prepared our guide: 25 elections you should watch this coming month. On the menu: JD Vance’s half-brother; a DA who's clashed with Elon Musk; conservative school board takeovers, and a lot more.
A *quarter* of Hawaii’s prison population is actually incarcerated in Arizona, thousands of miles from home. Trump’s current prison partnership with El Salvador did not come out of thin air and should be understood as an escalation of practices that already go on every day in this country.
The French government is considering establishing 'fees' that incarcerated people must pay for being incarcerated, i.e. some sort of 'room and board'. A read on how disastrous this is in the U.S.: boltsmag.org/jail-debt-an...
Hard to overstate what censorious bullshit this is. CBS would have 1A protection even if it had edited the interview in a "biased" way. But there was nothing biased or misleading about it. This is about intimidation -- and forcing future compliance with Trump's demands.
ICMYI, my look at a would-be landmark immigrant rights reform killed by Maryland Democratic lawmakers:
My latest out today on @boltsmag.org. I had the chance to talk with several members of @uniondelbarrio.bsky.social to discuss the org’s community patrol program, and how they are taking matters into their own hands to inform San Diego residents of ICE activity. boltsmag.org/how-voluntee...
Huge, huge news: after spending 26+ years on Angola death row, maintaining his innocence throughout, Chris Duncan's conviction has been overturned by a Louisiana judge. He told me he was in shock & called his lawyers heroes. "I'm scared to have full joy." boltsmag.org/chris-duncan...
Republican sheriffs in Maryland (and elsewhere) are rushing to sign new contracts to assist ICE. Maryland’s legislature, with its Democratic supermajorities, just killed a plan to ban those contracts. New by me in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/maryland-287...
Lots of background on the Republican power-grab at issue in North Carolina in this @boltsmag.org piece: boltsmag.org/north-caroli...
Quoth Josh Stein’s lawyer, unbelievably:
I post a lot about this but it’s worth repeating that most people in American jails are eligible to vote but never told of their rights or given ballots. It’s an overlooked, longstanding mass-disenfranchisement. A few places are trying to fix this, though. For example: boltsmag.org/jail-voting-...
Prison voting in Australia looks a lot like jail voting in America: Lots of people are eligible to vote, but almost no one actually does because they are functionally blocked. www.sbs.com.au/news/article...
Vermont, under this bill, would be the first state to pay incarcerated workers minimum wage. The average *daily* wage for prison labor in this country is 86 cents. @filtermag.bsky.social: filtermag.org/vermont-pris...
Two months before Calvin Alexander’s parole hearing date, he was told he was no longer eligible. Why? An algorithm had deemed the nearly blind 70-year-old, who uses a wheelchair, a “moderate risk,” barring him from speaking to the parole board. By @richardawebster.bsky.social, w/ @veritenews.org
Today of all days, I will remind people that a lot of publications you might like are nonprofit, too — & they need your support!
THREAD: As trans people in Wisconsin rushed to update their IDs after Trump’s reelection, a 167-year-old name change law stopped them in their tracks. People must publish their old and new names in the local paper for 3 consecutive weeks, it said. 1/
I look at close to 100 stories a week and even more outside of work. I’ve done this ten years. This is among the most horrific things I’ve ever read — testimony from dying children whose access to medicine has been cut off by the Trump administration. www.npr.org/sections/goa...
We should not, as a nation, throw people away. Because life is very long, and humans grow, and this piece is beautiful. boltsmag.org/north-caroli...
The student paper at the college at which I teach reports a "tsunami of takedown requests" from international students terrified of being targeted for innocuous, legitimate op-eds & opinions.. Many ask in person--leave no trace in writing. Reminds me of my father's account of studying in the USSR.
this isn't meant to downplay the danger of this moment! but we can’t forget that for millions of people in cages across the country, constitutional rights have long been optional. this moment isn’t the beginning, it’s an escalation
An incarcerated journalist explains how journalists reporting from prisons nationwide face relentless retaliation for speaking truth to power and are systemically obstructed from seeking recourse from the courts.
This is right. The fact that they’re doing this to “innocent people” is not irrelevant, but it’s ultimately not the point. People convicted of crimes have rights too. And you can be damn sure that if they want to convict them - or me, or you - of something, they will.
I just want to reiterate that the White House Press Secretary — predictably but notably — lied through her teeth about this when asked.
The SAVE Act is the single biggest attack on voting rights in American history. Full stop. Me and @jaknutson.bsky.social talked to a bunch of voting rights historians and scholars about why this is bill is a five-alarm fire for voting rights. www.democracydocket.com/analysis/the...
New: Conservatives are moving quickly to reject more ballots by ending "grace periods" for vote-by-mail. In the last few weeks alone, we've seen movement on this in Kansas, Utah, West Virginia, at the 5th Circuit, and through Trump's EO. boltsmag.org/restrictions...
teens in Newark pushed to extend the voting age to 16 in school board elections, and now for the first time young ppl are gearing up to vote and holding candidate forums to talk about their experiences w/ education very cool new story by @laurengill.bsky.social boltsmag.org/newark-teens...
I talked to the Democracy Works podcast at Penn State about felony disenfranchisement, jail voting, changes to state election laws. You can listen here: www.democracyworkspodcast.com/episodes/ale...
NC is just an incredible laboratory of anti-democracy, especially this year. (In addition to Riggs/Griffin, see this: boltsmag.org/north-caroli...)
Formerly incarcerated people are almost 10x more likely to be homeless than the general public. Does this look like a society that cares about “reform” and reentry?
I spoke to a South Carolina woman today who is miscarrying - her fetus has no heartbeat - but the state's ban is preventing doctors from taking action. She has to walk around with a dead fetus for another week so she can get a FOURTH ultrasound. This is what bans do.
Liberals are now set up to control Wisconsin’s supreme court for at least the next three years—and in that period they could actually grow their majority to 5-2 or even 6-1. boltsmag.org/wisconsin-su...