DOJ Hunts for Voter Rolls, Arizona’s Secretary of State Race, and Redistricting Continues
It’s Friday, July 24, 2026, and time for your Democracy in the States’ Weekly Roundup.
This week, the fight over who runs elections escalated on multiple fronts: the House passed the SAVE America Act’s anti-voting measures in a reconciliation package, and Trump urged the Senate to follow suit during a rally in Georgia while the Justice Department kept pressing state officials for voter roll data. Maryland, meanwhile, moved toward its own special session on mid-cycle redistricting.
We’re covering these developments and more state-level changes to election administration, redistricting, judicial independence, and election reform below.
Voting Restrictions & Data Access
Congress and the administration moved in parallel this week to influence how states run elections: the House folded new voting restrictions into a must-pass reconciliation bill, and the Justice Department kept pressing states for voter roll data. Still, early voting turnout is running high in two states, and Congress got a renewed push to expand ballot access nationally.
NATIONAL: House passes SAVE America Act anti-voting measures in budget reconciliation, stock trading bills (Democracy Docket).
NATIONAL: Georgia Secretary of State’s office responds to Trump DOJ threats, defends voting policies (Democracy Docket).
IOWA: Ryan Peterman seeks secretary of state records on voter data shared with DOJ (Iowa Capital Dispatch).
OREGON: ‘Not about improving elections’: Oregon secretary of state slams new Trump election threats (Oregon Capital Chronicle).
NEW JERSEY: NJ Republicans target two laws as they seek probe into non-citizen voting reveal (New Jersey Monitor).
NORTH CAROLINA: NC elections board vote makes it easier to throw out mail-in ballots (North Carolina Newsline).
KANSAS: Kansas elections chief launches legal full-court press against mail ballot grace periods (Democracy Docket).
MISSOURI: Missouri early voting period opens with a rush that points to high primary turnout (Missouri Independent).
TENNESSEE: 75K voters cast ballots in strong start for Tennessee early voting (Tennessee Lookout).
NATIONAL: With Voting Rights Under Attack by Trump, Pressley, Welch Reintroduce Bill to Expand Right to Vote and End Felony Disenfranchisement (Campaign Legal Center).
ARIZONA: GOP picks election denier Alexander Kolodin to challenge Adrian Fontes for secretary of state (Arizona Mirror).
ARIZONA: Neil DeSanti, GOP candidate who pushed election fraud claims, indicted for voting illegally (Arizona Mirror).
Redistricting Continues
Mid-cycle redistricting is back, with Maryland’s governor formally calling a special session to amend the state constitution’s map-drawing rules.
MARYLAND: Moore issues executive order officially calling special session (Maryland Matters).
MISSOURI: Uncertain congressional map hangs over Missouri’s crowded 5th District GOP primary (Missouri Independent).
INDIANA: Braun grew reelection cash while joining others in bankrolling redistricting revenge (Indiana Capital Chronicle).
Ranked-Choice Voting Wave Keeps Building
Two more cities are putting ranked-choice voting on the ballot this November and a fresh look at how DC’s primary played out under RCV shows what’s at stake.
NATIONAL: Honolulu will vote on ranked choice voting in November (FairVote).
NATIONAL: Longmont, CO set to vote on ranked choice voting in November (FairVote).
NATIONAL: Analyzing Washington, DC’s primary results: most voters ranked 2+ candidates, and what RCV tells us about the electorate (FairVote).
In case you missed it…
Lisa Rice: Washington D.C.’s Democracy Renovation Hero, by Danielle Allen, July 23, 2026
Civic Education News Roundup: Student Voting and the State of the Field of Civic Thought., by Joanna Kenty, July 20, 2026
250 Years In: The Civic Education Story America Needs to Remember, by Michael Blauw, July 18, 2026