ICE killed a man in Houston and residents want answers. But Trump’s gerrymander may take away their voice in Congress

• Despite Rep. Sylvia Garcia’s (D) efforts, residents of a district in Texas face an uphill battle to get answers from the Trump administration and hold ICE accountable for the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. But starting next year, their odds are likely to be even steeper.
  
  
• That’s because, thanks to Trump’s nationwide push for pro-GOP partisan redistricting, many are set to lose their voice in Congress.
  
  
• The episode is perhaps the starkest recent example of how Trump’s gerrymander war is doing damage to democracy on a fundamental level — undermining the ability of voters, especially minority voters, to elect leaders who will truly represent their interests.

➤ Inside the real-world impacts of Trump’s gerrymander war

Arizona primary results show denialism’s lasting hold on GOP

• Arizona’s primary results, where supporters of Trump’s voting lies won the GOP nominations for the state’s three top posts, don’t only threaten fair elections in the Grand Canyon State.
  
  

• They also offer a reminder that, over half a decade after the 2020 contest, Republican voters in this key swing state remain in thrall to Trump’s election denialism.
  
  

• Here are the headlines on specific results:
  
  

• • Trump-backed election denier Andy Biggs wins Arizona GOP governor primary

• • Far-right election denier Alex Kolodin advances in bid to oversee Arizona elections

• • Warren Petersen, who aided Trump’s 2020 election probe, secures Arizona GOP attorney general nomination

➤ What do the primaries in Arizona mean?

Trump DOJ cites New Jersey registration error to renew demand for statewide private voter data

• The DOJ opened a federal probe into New Jersey’s voter registration software failure. And, in a new court filing, it cited the news as “an additional basis” to demand the state’s unredacted voter rolls, including sensitive data.

➤ More on the DOJ’s voter data push

Georgia Secretary of State’s office responds to Trump DOJ threats, defends voting policies

• A top lawyer for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) defended the state’s election procedures in a letter to the DOJ obtained by Democracy Docket. The department had threatened to target election officials with criminal prosecutions over possible noncitizen voting.

➤ What did the letter say?

Our mini-documentary unmasking the Callais plaintiff drops this week

• Readers may remember our exclusive report in early May that exposed how Bert Callais, the lead plaintiff in the case that gutted the Voting Rights Act, is an election conspiracist who attended the Jan. 6 protest.
  
  
• We’re turning that into a mini-documentary that will drop July 23. Keep an eye on your inboxes for it. But in the meantime, check out our newly released trailer that gives an inside look at how the story was made.

➤ Watch the trailer

Kansas elections chief launches legal full-court press against mail ballot grace periods

• Secretary of State Scott Schwab (R) has been busy ever since a state court suspended a law that would have eliminated a three-day grace period for mail ballots postmarked on Election Day.
  
  
• Since then, Schwab has filed a slew of appeals and emergency motions and is trying everything he can legally do to disenfranchise mail voters whose ballots arrive after Election Day.

➤ What’s happening in Kansas?

House passes SAVE America Act anti-voting measures in budget reconciliation and stock trading bills

• The House voted 216-214 on a budget reconciliation framework that includes $10 billion worth of election-related grants over a 10-year period for coaxing states into adopting anti-voting measures like those in Trump’s pet proposal, the SAVE America Act.
  
  
• Despite Republican control of the Senate, it is unlikely that Trump will see any version of SAVE enacted ahead of the midterms.

➤ The latest on the SAVE America Act

Here we share noteworthy briefs on all things voting rights and democracy. Have a footnote for us? Send it to newsletters@democracydocket.com.

• Which restaurants in Washington, D.C. get the most campaign cash? Capital Grille for Republicans, according to a new analysis.
  
  
• Based on Trump’s reaction to the results in Arizona, he doesn’t seem to realize that it was a primary — not the general election.
  
  
• The League of Women Voters and other state and local partners are hosting a nationwide “Unite & Rise for Voting Rights Day of Action” on August 8. The message, according to the sponsors, will be that voters — not politicians — should decide the future of democracy.