2025 was just as busy as 2024, so we’ll forgive you if you missed some of our articles at @boltsmag.org! Our team chose just 10 of our favorite pieces of the year. It was very hard to choose—but these are articles I'd love for you to not miss. (And: thank you for reading us!) 🧵

We've entered the final hours of our fundraising drive. If you value Bolts—if you read us to understand the forces shaping the country, or rely on our election night cheat sheets—this is your chance: Support us today to sustain us into 2026!

Thanks to all those who’ve helped Bolts over the last few days! I just checked, and we’re now at roughly 93% of the goal we set… with 3 days of year-end push to go. We’re excited to enter 2026 with such a strong bedrock!

“Grace periods” for late-arriving mail ballots were not controversial until very recently. (Kansas lawmakers voted *163-1* for a grace period in 2017!) But Trump wants them banned, so red states have lately rushed to help him. Ohio just joined the list: boltsmag.org/ohio-ends-gr...

The Florida supreme court today rejected challenges to a recent law that allows death sentences by split juries. Nearly all other states with the death penalty require juries to be unanimous. flcourts-media.flcou...

A quite startling overperformance for Democrats in tonight's special election for a state Senate seat in Kentucky: Democrat Gary Clemons won 72% to 25%. He was defending a Dem-held seat where Kamala Harris beat Trump by 5% last year.

Last week, our newsletter covered a citizen commission’s struggle to address police misconduct in Illinois, a recap of major Democratic victories in state legislatures and results from recent elections in Miami, Albuquerque and elsewhere. Stay tuned for this week’s! mailchi.mp/boltsmag/new...

Bolts reporting on the results of state legislative elections this year was featured yesterday on MS NOW @arimelber.bsky.social. Watch the full video: www.ms.now/the-beat-... And read more in our reporting: boltsmag.org/legisla...

The Massey Commission was established after Sonya Massey was killed by a sheriff's deputy in her own home. I followed along for 9 months as its members tried to enact real policing & mental health reforms – & grappled w/ the limits of these commissions to effect change: boltsmag.org/sonya-massey...

CONFIRMED: Eileen Higgins, a Democrat, will be the new mayor of Miami. She'll be the city's first Democratic mayor since the 1990s. She flipped the office from Republicans, and does so easily. She leads the DeSantis-endorsed Emilio González 59/41 right now with most ballots counted.

The police killing of Sonya Massey ignited protests throughout the country. In Illinois, a civilian commission met over the last year to debate changes—holding tense, difficult meetings. This story follows the commission for months—and captures just how agonizing these processes can be. NEW:

Folks, this redistricting landscape is as confusing as it is outrageous. The VRA case. CA. TX. UT. FL. VA. IN. NC. MD... So, at Bolts we're doing a reader Q&A to answer some of your questions. But to do that, we need to know what's perplexing you most, what you're left wondering. Let me know! (↓)

📣 Super unique opportunity here: All you have to do is follow @boltsmag.org and you’ll be providing real financial support for our independent journalism. These funds will go a long way in helping us cover the people and policies shaping local politics in 2026.

Do you have questions about states that are redistricting and how new voting maps could affect midterm elections next year? If so, we want to hear from you. Share your Qs with us and we will answer as many as we can. ⬇️ boltsmag.org/how-is-mid-d...

So, you know how people say stuff like, "just repost this & you'll have supported journalism"? But this time... it's literally true! Russ has offered to donate to Bolts for each repost this ⬇️ gets or each follow @boltsmag.org gets—up to a sum way higher than we're at. let's make this go viral!

We’re thrilled to announce that @ethanscorey.bsky.social has joined Bolts as our research editor. He has contributed to Bolts in the past, and will now be taking charge of the fact-checking process for our stories: We take the importance of getting it right very seriously. Welcome, Ethan!

You can help Bolts continue to provide crucial coverage of local elections. Here's how: - Repost this = I donate $1. - Follow @boltsmag.org = I donate $1. - Donate (link below) + tell me how much = I match your donation. (Donate monthly = I match a year's worth)

JUST IN: Democrats have flipped the mayor's office in Roswell, Georgia, in tonight's runoff. GOP Mayor Kurt Wilson conceded earlier tonight to Mary Robichaux, the Dem challenging him. (This is a city in the Atlanta suburbs, the 9th most populous city in Georgia.)

a Black Friday deal: it’s a great day to support our independent journalism at Bolts We want to prepare for 2026 on as strong a foot as possible, and we’d love to grow our supporter count (at any level!) by 50 people today. If you can—jump onboard and help us cover local politics and civil rights!

Thrilled to share that Chris Duncan, whose conviction was vacated in April, was just granted bail today, after spending over 25 years on Louisiana's death row. It's so rare to get good news when you're covering capital punishment, but this is one very real light in the darkness

The Supreme Court will soon decide the fate of the Voting Rights Act. If the justices weaken it further, it could have huge effects on local governments in Tennessee and across the country. Don’t miss our new collaboration with @mlk50.com: boltsmag.org/voting-right...

Woohoo! We made it to 100K ✨

In our newsletter this week: Illinois prosecutors can object to people with criminal charges or convictions changing their names. Also, takeaways from November’s elections, the DHS deploys federal agents to Charlotte, and more.

So, as you know, we had a big cheat sheet to the elections on Bolts: nearly 200 key contests that we were tracking, & why. The page is now updated with the results of ALL the races that were on it — from judges to mayors to school boards. You can explore! boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...

Just now on MSNBC: a great segment by @chrislhayes.bsky.social on the Bucks County sheriff candidate who ran against ICE’s 287g program. Very proud our attention to how local elections matter to ICE policy at @boltsmag.org is helping put these local stakes in the national discourse. They matter.

NEW: Dems easily flipped the sheriff's office in Pennsylvania's Bucks County, a big swing county in the Philly suburbs. So? The incumbent GOP sheriff had contracted with ICE. His Dem challenger promised to end the contract. Now he wants other swing-state Dems to look at his victory as a lesson:

NEW in Bolts: A populous, swing county in Pennsylvania replaced its GOP sheriff on Tuesday after months of controversy over his joining ICE’s 287(g) program. The Democratic winner promises he’ll end the contract.

It’s worth thinking today of all the elections you *aren’t* hearing about because they were unopposed. In so many sheriff and prosecutor offices in particular, including in blue-ish or even solidly blue areas, “tough-on-crime” folks often reign for many years without ever being challenged.

A reminder that we are currently running our end-of-year fundraising campaign! If you appreciate reading election coverage from Bolts, consider donating. Right now, your gift will be matched!

“Epic Night for Democrats”: Party Wins Races Across the U.S. in Voter Rebuke to Trump

The latest, 11pm: —Prop 50 wins —VA Dems flip Gov, LG, AG; & gain in House —Dems win NJ-Gov —Mamdani wins —PA Dems win supreme court —ME vote-restricting measure loses —Krasner & Bragg win —JD's half-brother loses —GA Dems flip 2 statewide offices + Dem are leading to flip so many local offices.

RESULT: Zohran Mamdani will be the next mayor of New York City. The Democratic nominee, and democratic socialist lawmaker, defeats former Governor Andrew Cuomo for the second time this year, after winning against him in the primary.

Democrat Larry Krasner, a national figurehead for reform prosecutors, has won reelection as Philadelphia’s district attorney.

As we wait for NYC to drop, a plug for @boltsmag.org: If you've enjoyed our work, our journalism at Bolts has no paywall, but it requires a lot of resources. As a nonprofit, we thrive with your support & subscriptions! Right now is the GOLDEN time to make your support multiply, here's why:

RESULT: Democrat Ghazala Hashmi has won the race for Virginia lieutenant governor, the AP calls. She has flipped the office for Democrats, and will replace Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, who has lost the governor’s.

RESULT: Abigail Spanberger has been elected governor of Virginia, the AP has just called. Her win flips this office for Democrats. Virginia’s other statewide elections, for lieutenant governor and attorney general, have not yet been called at this time.

Polls have now closed in a string of states, including: —Virginia: I don't need to tell you why this one matters! —New Hampshire, with its competitive leg special. —some but not all of Georgia, where we're watching the PSC elections.

Today is Election Day! If you’re looking for updates this evening, make sure you’re following @boltsmag.org. We’ll be sharing results on here as they come in. You can also follow along with our guide to 190+ elections across the country that we will be updating live. boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...

NEW: Today is a big day for us at Bolts! From today thru end of 2025, NewsMatch matches any gift you make. In a nutshell: Your gift will be doubled. If you start a monthly subscription, your monthly amount is matched *x12*! If you wish to support independent journalism, you can help us thrive:

Starting today, Bolts is participating in NewsMatch through the end of the year! What does this mean? Any donation you make, up to $1,000, will be doubled. Plus, if you become a new monthly donor, NewsMatch will multiply your contribution 12x!

Most likely don’t have this on the Election Day radar, but felony disenfranchisement is on the ballot next week in Virginia, an unusually harsh state for denying voting rights to people with criminal records. Major reform may be coming there, and Tuesday is pivotal. Here’s what you need to know:

So happy to see this translation! This is such important reporting and publishing it in Spanish helps us reach more people at the center of the story.

"I think had [the reform] actually been implemented, we would have seen tens of thousands of New Yorkers who have been locked out of participating within civic life really pumped to vote, regardless of the election." Read my dispatch in @boltsmag.org on the failed promise of NYC noncitizen voting

"At 5:50, correctional officers opened the curtains of the death chamber to begin the state’s grim orchestration. Before those curtains would close about 37 minutes later, Boyd would gasp for air inside the gas mask more than 225 times." www.treadbylee.com/p/after-just...

This is such an important story by @laurengill.bsky.social. Read more about Boyd’s case and his advocacy for people on death row:

A reminder that @boltsmag.org is here to bring you independent news about the state of our democracy and civil rights from the local up, with deeply-reported journalism you won't find elsewhere. Sign-up to our newsletter! boltsmag.org/newsletter

Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents. I did it because the government isn’t. This is what I found.

NEW: Alabama is executing a man next week, Anthony Boyd, who was convicted entirely based on contradictory eyewitness testimony, including from a co-defendant who says he was pressured to testify under the threat he'd get death himself. @laurengill.bsky.social breaks down the case with days to go:

Alabama is set to execute Anthony Boyd in eight days. This is a must-read story by @laurengill.bsky.social, who does incredible work covering the death penalty. boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...