I'm excited as I head to @statesunited.org to continue my work defending democracy. Elated to join that great group and begin this next chapter.

Why Eating Roadkill Makes Roads Safer for People and Animals • Stateline NAMPA, Idaho — It’s taco night at the Lindskoog household in this suburban community 20 miles west of Boise. Nate Lindskoog has seasoned the red meat sizzling in his cast-iron skillet with a mixture o...

I mean, what sort of job lets you eat roadkill stateline.org/2019/03/06/w...

The Tumultuous Life of an Independent Redistricting Commissioner • Stateline TUCSON, Ariz. — A warm breeze blew past Colleen Coyle Mathis and her husband, Christopher, as they lounged on the back porch of their Spanish Colonial Revival-style house one evening earlier this mont...

Profiling the Tucson woman who wanted fairer political representation in Arizona, led the independent redistricting commission and saw her life turn upside down stateline.org/2019/11/26/t...

For Some Native Americans, No Home Address Might Mean No Voting • Stateline SAN JUAN COUNTY, Utah — At the end of a labyrinth of red dirt roads and surrounded by the rusty cliffs of nearby mesas, Marthleen and Shuan Stephenson live on an isolated desert homestead on the spraw...

Heading to the Navajo Nation to see how groups are helping Native Americans add addresses to their homes so they can vote by mail stateline.org/2019/10/04/f...

Gunfire, screams, carnage: As mass shootings proliferate, training gets more realistic • Stateline First responders and law enforcement agents have for decades used simulations to train for mass casualty events such as shootings or natural disasters. But in recent years, as mass shootings have beco...

One of the hardest beats I had was gun violence prevention. In this story, I saw a mass shooting simulation, attempting to see how medical personnel and first responders train for the unimaginable stateline.org/2024/02/05/g...

‘That was my home’ • Stateline As homeless encampments continue to dot urban landscapes — strewn around parks, along sidewalks, lining highways or sometimes abutting schools — many cities have increased their sweeps, some governors...

When I lived in San Diego, I was able to interview and profile my neighbors who were being forcibly removed from their encampments stateline.org/2023/12/22/t...

An Eastern Oregon effort to join Idaho reflects the growing American divide • Stateline Greater Idaho has seen a success that other secessionist movements, regionally and in states such as California and Illinois, never reached. If supporters here achieve their goal, it could mean a para...

Driving 1,000 miles around Eastern Oregon to interview proponents of the Greater Idaho separatist movement stateline.org/2023/09/06/a...

Swing states prepare for a showdown over certifying votes in November • Stateline GRAYLING, Mich. — Clairene Jorella was furious. In the northern stretches of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, the Crawford County Board of Canvassers had just opened its meeting to certify the August prima...

Election denialism is not going away, but there are people fighting it stateline.org/2024/09/03/s...

In small towns, even GOP clerks are targets of election conspiracies • Stateline Michigan's part-time clerks, who are trained every four years and have limited resources in running elections, are at a breaking point.

One of the great passions I’ve developed is giving voice to the folks who run our democracy and often face harassment just for doing their job stateline.org/2024/08/22/i...

Racist slurs and death threats: The dangerous life of a Georgia elections official • Stateline Milton Kidd has a very dangerous job: He is the elections and voter registration director for Douglas County.

After 7 years at @stateline.org, this is my last day. It’s bittersweet to leave a place that provides well-reported state and local policy stories free for any publication. Here are my favorites of the 240+ stories I’ve written for Stateline, many on voting rights: stateline.org/2024/06/24/r...

Noncitizens cannot vote in New York City’s local elections, state high court rules • Stateline New York state’s highest court struck down a New York City’s statute that would have allowed 800,000 noncitizens to vote in mayoral, city council and school board elections.New York City was one of ar...

New York state’s highest court struck down a New York City statute that would have allowed 800,000 noncitizens to vote in mayoral, city council and school board elections.

from @mattvas.bsky.social:
stateline.org/2025/03/25/n...

The federal Voting Rights Act was gutted. States now want their own versions. • Stateline Seeing federal courts slash away at the Voting Rights Act, some states are seeking to resurrect fallen protections for non-white voters with their own versions of the landmark law passed during the he...

Important @stateline.org article on the expanding movement for state Voting Rights Acts -- among new states that may adopt them this year are Maryland and Colorado.
stateline.org/2025/03/21/t...

State VRAs Bring Problems of Their Own Eight states have enacted their own local versions of the federal Voting Rights Act. These laws pose problems of fairness, practicality and constitutionality.

An alternative view (from me) @mattvas.bsky.social

The federal Voting Rights Act was gutted. States now want their own versions. • Stateline Seeing federal courts slash away at the Voting Rights Act, some states are seeking to resurrect fallen protections for non-white voters with their own versions of the landmark law passed during the he...

Arizona is one of seven states where Democratic lawmakers are pushing for a state-level Voting Rights Act, via @mattvas.bsky.social stateline.org/2025/03/21/t...

Red flag laws are increasingly being used to protect gun owners in crisis • Stateline The use of red flag laws is on the rise, offering a powerful tool to prevent gun violence by temporarily removing firearms from people deemed a threat to themselves or others.

Petitions filed across the states with red flag laws jumped by 59% in 2023 over the previous year, according to new data from Everytown for Gun Safety. @everytown.bsky.social

via stateline.org
@amandavhernan.bsky.social @mattvas.bsky.social

stateline.org/2025/03/11/r...

Eyeing a friendly Supreme Court, Republicans push for the Ten Commandments in schools • Stateline Testing constitutional limits, Republicans in at least 15 states have introduced legislation this year that would require the Ten Commandments be displayed in public school classrooms.

Testing constitutional limits, Republicans in at least 15 states have introduced legislation this year that would require the Ten Commandments be displayed in public school classrooms.

@mattvas.bsky.social reports:

stateline.org/2025/02/27/e...

Election officials blast Trump’s ‘retreat’ from protecting voting against foreign threats The Trump administration has begun dismantling the nation’s defenses against foreign interference in voting, a sweeping retreat that has alarmed state and local election officials

Federal programs that assist state and local election officials have been gutted

via @mattvas.bsky.social/@stateline.org

Election officials blast Trump's ‘retreat’ from protecting voting against foreign threats • Stateline The Trump administration has begun dismantling the nation’s defenses against foreign interference in voting, a sweeping retreat that has alarmed state and local election officials.

President & CEO Pam Smith on CISA and election security cuts:
“It is a retreat and it’s a really ill-advised one. It’s a little bit like saying the bank has a slow day on Tuesday, we’re going to let our security guards go home.”
stateline.org/2025/02/20/e... @stateline.org @mattvas.bsky.social

Blue states fear invasion by red-state National Guard troops for deportations • Stateline There’s an emerging blue-state nightmare: Inspired by President Donald Trump’s call to round up immigrants who are in the country illegally, red-state governors might start sending their National Guar...

“The Trump administration has made it quite clear that they intend to use the military to assist with immigration enforcement. States who are opposed to that would be wise to take what measures they can to protect themselves and their states.” stateline.org/2025/02/05/b...

Blue states fear invasion by red-state National Guard troops for deportations • Stateline There’s an emerging blue-state nightmare: Inspired by President Donald Trump’s call to round up immigrants who are in the country illegally, red-state governors might start sending their National Guar...

Inspired by President Donald Trump’s call to round up immigrants who are in the country illegally, red-state governors might start sending their National Guardsmen into blue states without their permission.

@mattvas.bsky.social reports:
stateline.org/2025/02/05/b...

In times of crisis, states have few tools to fight misinformation • Stateline While officials in Southern California fought fire and falsehoods, Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — announced it would eliminate its fact-checking program in the name of free expr...

In times of crisis, states have few tools to fight misinformation

In times of crisis, states have few tools to fight misinformation • Stateline While officials in Southern California fought fire and falsehoods, Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — announced it would eliminate its fact-checking program in the name of free expr...

From AI images of the famous Hollywood sign surrounded by fire, to rumors that firefighters are using women’s handbags full of water to douse the flames, LA wildfire misinformation has been rampant. What can states do about social media falsehoods? stateline.org/2025/01/23/i...

In times of crisis, states have few tools to fight misinformation • Stateline While officials in Southern California fought fire and falsehoods, Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — announced it would eliminate its fact-checking program in the name of free expr...

Social media companies have fought efforts from the few states that have sought to regulate online speech in recent years, while courts have been skeptical of the legality of those limits.

@mattvas.bsky.social reports:
stateline.org/2025/01/23/i...

I really wanna have some background calls with experts who have their ears to the ground on local #healthcare challenges, as well as researchers looking at healthcare costs, access to medicine, and social determinants of health, and equity. Who should I talk to? #medicine #businessofhealthcare

Librarians gain protections in some states as book bans soar • Stateline Amid a national rise in book bans in school libraries and new laws in some red states that threaten criminal penalties against librarians, a growing number of blue states are taking the opposite appro...

New Jersey joined at least five other states — California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington — that have passed legislation within the past two years that aims to preserve access to reading materials that deal with racial and sexual themes. My latest: stateline.org/2025/01/07/l...

Librarians gain protections in some states as book bans soar Karen Grant and fellow school librarians throughout New Jersey have heard an increasingly loud chorus of parents and conservative activists demanding that certain books — often about race, gender and ...

California is one of six states that have enacted laws to fight against book bans.

via @stateline.org @mattvas.bsky.social
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/libr...

Librarians gain protections in some states as book bans soar • Stateline Amid a national rise in book bans in school libraries and new laws in some red states that threaten criminal penalties against librarians, a growing number of blue states are taking the opposite appro...

New Jersey joined at last five other states that have passed legislation that aim to slow the surging tide of censoring reading materials that deal with racial and sexual themes, including those about the LGBTQ community. @mattvas.bsky.social reports:

stateline.org/2025/01/07/l...

Some scenes from this summer’s visit to the Carter presidential library

This morning, @missouriindependent.com published a months-long investigation by Clara Bates into the case of Kurtis Watkins, who has served a decade in prison for a crime he swears he didn’t commit. #moleg #mogov (1/6)

Judges topple gun control laws as courts chart an uncertain path forward • Alabama Reflector Lower courts are still figuring out the limits of a historical test for gun regulations and have not yet come to a broad agreement on key gun-related laws.

Via @mattvas.bsky.social and @stateline.org: Lower courts are still figuring out the limits of a historical test the U.S. Supreme Court created for gun regulations in 2022 and have not yet come to a broad agreement on key gun-related laws.