Survivors of domestic violence who went to prison for crimes related to their abuse have for years asked California lawmakers to make courts take that abuse into consideration. For the third year, California killed such a reform.

Coming up in six weeks — two opportunities for Georgia Dems to gain their first statewide offices IN A LONG TIME.

A Maine ballot measure restricting mail voting could have an outsize effect on older folks. “We’re not even a voting rights advocacy organization, but we’ve had to become one,” says the director of the Maine Council on Aging.

In the last two weeks in Kentucky's most populous county, the 81-year-old county clerk and the 86-year-old sheriff have died. Both were first elected in 1998.

At Bolts, our ambition is to cover local and state politics in depth, but I have a confession: there's been one state about which we've never done a standalone, in-depth article. That's getting resolved tomorrow—I'm happy we'll finally have robust stories from each state, plus DC!

The best part: "Sliwa warned that if he receives one more such offer, he will begin revealing names of the wealthy New Yorkers who have made them." www.cnbc.com/2025/09/24/c...

Absolutely insane how domestic violence VICTIMS are charged and imprisoned for fighting back against their abusers. Even more insane is that this bill died when it would've been a slam dunk politically.

Hawaii's chief justice has to retire this month because he is hitting the mandatory retirement age of 70. He isn't happy. www.civilbeat.org/2025/05/chie...

Georgia is a voter suppression state. Vote accordingly. The entire article in comments..it’s worth reading. #gapol

This is the eternal non-sense issue. Of course, I'm following NYC as much as anyone. Yes, it's huge. But should it get one million times as much attention on national media as Pennsylvania's supreme court seats on the ballot this fall? Or all other mayoral races combined?

my colleague @nobleingram.bsky.social did great work bringing this article together —  make sure to give him a follow... and read the piece!

"David, who is gay, was wearing a rainbow Pride wristband as he says he was simply trying to pee when he was arrested." New from @gwynnefitz.bsky.social / @thecity.nyc:

A must-read: ICE opened a new prison in tiny California City, Calif. The small desert city's municipal government is not equipped to handle everything that's come with it. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Changes to curtail the will of the people are happening all over. Here is an example of legislation moving through Missouri that could greatly limit people's power by putting a premium on boundaries from @boltsmag.org

I had missed this: In a small, rural Iowa county, Floyd County, a Democrat won one of the three seats on the county's board of supervisors tonight. He ousted the Republican who'd been appointed to replace the Republican supervisor who passed away.

for Californians who missed this when I posted it this morning:

RESULT: Adelita Grijalva is heading to Congress. The Democrat has won the #AZ07 special election very easily, and she will replace her father Raúl Grijalva. AP just called it. Among other things, Grijalva is expected to be the 218th person to sign the Epstein discharge position.

We have (many) votes counted from Arizona's special election: Adelita Grijalva, the Democrat, leads by a huge margin of 71% to 28%. That's with 75% of the vote reporting. Harris won the district 61/39. (This is the race to replace her father Raúl Grijalva.)

Tonight's Georgia special got a huge amount of attention, though it was in quite a red district (Trump +33%). GOP retained it, though it shifted by 10% since 2024. But did you know there are 2 STATEWIDE races in Georgia, in 6 weeks? If Dems manage to replicate that sort of swing, that's 2 flips.

Folks, if you've enjoyed this coverage of the Alabama election... ... consider supporting @boltsmag.org, where we try to explain the importance of these local contests and local democracy! For one, sign up for our newsletter (you can always get off if it's not your thing): boltsmag.org/newsletter

JUST IN: Spiro Cheriogotis will be the next mayor of Mobile, Alabama, per the call from local station WKRG. He's ahead of Barbara Drummond, a Democratic lawmaker, 51.4% to 48.6%. He'll replace Republican Sandy Stimpson, who endorsed him.

if you're not following the election in Mobile right now, well, you should be

Republicans have defended a state Senate seat in Georgia in a special election tonight. (This was a red seat that Trump won 67/33. I'll post again when we have the final result; it's looking likely that the margin will have shifted toward Dems compared to last year.)

why people should follow @boltsmag.org :)

Returns are coming in from the election in Mobile. Barbara Drummond, the Democrat, leads 60% to 40% with roughly one-fifth in. BUT: I am unable to see where the results are coming from. Voting in Alabama tends to be very segregated (even by national standards), so things can swing considerably.

Missouri Republicans adopted a new congressional map that split Kansas City into three GOP districts. And that’s not all: They advanced a measure that’d force any popular initiative to get a majority in the state’s staunchly conservative regions.

Bolts is a nonprofit news organization and we thrive thanks to our readers' support. Help us continue to publish deeply reported local stories on criminal justice and voting rights by becoming a donor or subscriber. ⬇️

It's time for the first of those! Stay tuned. And if you're worried about missing the result... keep our guide open as it will be updated with results once they're known. (boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...) Or sign up for our newsletter for results in our next edition. (boltsmag.org/newsletter)

Polls close at: 7pm ET in Georgia 7pm local time (8pm ET) in Alabama 7pm local time (10pm ET) in Arizona

Elon Musk wades into the Virginia governor's race, attacking Abigail Spanberger over trans rights. And the GOP's lieutenant governor nominee seems to think it's a good thing for Elon to become a headline in Virginia, of all places.

“But the climate right now is for punishment, not for restoring things or not for looking at what’s right.”

i keep rereading this

“Solitary is very damaging to all humans forced to endure it,” says incarcerated writer Christopher Blackwell. He has co-written a book on the torturous practice, and he answered your questions on what it feels like to be subjected to it.

Isaac Chotiner interviews Cass Sunstein. www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

not getting much attention, but it's a big election in 6 weeks: Mainers will decide a conservative proposal that'd add restrictions to voting, especially mail voting. (If it's approved, it'd be in place by the 2026 midterms and the high-stakes Senate race.) boltsmag.org/maine-questi...

Next up: Kansas. Republicans now looking to gerrymander the state anew to get rid of a Democratic representative. punchbowl.news/article/camp...

NEW: California was on track to pass a law this year that'd bring a path out of prison for some survivors of domestic violence who've been convicted of harming their abuser. But the bill ended up dying in the state Senate as the session drew to a close this summer. Bolts reviews what happened:

There will be no one on the ballot against Boston Mayor Michelle Wu in November. Her main opponent, Kraft, dropped out two weeks ago after a resounding loss in the preliminary round; and we just got confirmation no one will replace him on the ballot: www.bostonherald.com/2025/09/22/w...

In new Suffolk poll, Mamdani has more than his 3 opponents combined: Mamdani 45, Cuomo 25, Sliwa 9, Adams 8. In fact, he has more than six opponents combined as three others combine for 1%.

It’s Election Day tomorrow! 1. Dems favored to win a congressional special in Arizona. 2. A Dem is vying to flip mayorship of Mobile, Alabama; she’d be city’s first Black woman mayor. 3. GOP defends red-leaning state legislative district in Georgia. Details on each: boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...

24 hours ago, it looked like the Utah GOP was complying with a court order to create a competitive district grounded in Salt Lake. But the gamesmanship may have been just around the corner with this new bill GOP unveiled. www.utahpoliticalwatch.news/utah-republi...

An astonishing 80 percent of the Louisiana's death sentences between 1976 and 2015 were later reversed. A judge recently vacated the conviction of Chris Duncan, who had been on the state's death row for decades.

Fantastic, and sobering, read on what it's like to experience solitary confinement, which I again note is considered torture!

A piece from a few years ago that remains just as relevant boltsmag.org/when-state-s...

SCOTUS is going to hear a case on whether to overturn a 1935 decision that blocked presidents from firing independent regulators based on policy (or personal) disagreements alone. This is on top of SCOTUS allowing Trump to fire the FTC commissioner, so you can see where this is going.

This is horrible news: When I look for informative reporting on politics and elections in Washington state, most of what I find and learn from is from Crosscut/Cascade PBS. This will leave a huge void.

Disney just announced it's reinstating the Jimmy Kimmel show. The announcement makes no mention of anything Kimmel would have had to agree to for this: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/b...

Mark your calendars: Republicans in Missouri have placed a referendum on the 2026 ballot that democracy advocates say would kill the state’s ballot initiative process.

""She has encouraged Mr. Mamdani to take mental-health walks, people familiar with their conversations said, and has discussed with him the specter of perpetual death threats." The NYT on the dynamic between Mamdani and AOC: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/n...