In This Issue

Hello, and welcome back to The Franchise!

The biggest voting rights news this week is, of course, another series of devastating developments in the battle to redistrict away minority and Democratic voting power in the South. But there’s lots more to unpack today, including an exclusive convo with Franchise readers’ favorite conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell, who has some delusional spin to share on why it’s actually good news that he didn’t receive the Republican endorsement in the Minnesota gubernatorial race. 

We’ll get into that a bit more below, but first: 

On Tuesday, in a win for Republicans, the Supreme Court green lit the use of Alabama’s racially gerrymandered 2023 map, which removes one of the state’s two majority-Black congressional districts. 

The justices, in a 6-3 vote split along ideological lines, granted an emergency request from Alabama’s GOP state officials and lifted a lower court order that had previously blocked the 2023 map, finding that the map intentionally discriminated against Black voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act. 

But in the aftermath of Louisiana v. Callais, which gutted the Voting Rights Act and cleared a path for red states to reshape majority-Black congressional districts, the Supreme Court has now paved the way for the map to be used in the 2026 midterms elections. 

“While federal courts should not impose changes close to an election,” this week’s ruling reads, “states are free to decide for themselves whether last minute changes to an election are in their best interests.”

Justices Sonya Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. 

“Before the Court are two paths. Down one lies an orderly election, held under a tried-and-tested congressional map that protects Black Alabamians’ right to vote and with which all voters, elections officials, and candidates alike are familiar,” the dissent reads. “Down the other lies a chaotic election, held under a never-before-used congressional map that intentionally discriminates against Black Alabamians.”

My colleague Kate Riga unpacks the ruling, and what it (ominously) foreshadows for SCOTUS holding red states accountable for gerrymandering away Black electoral power moving forward, more here. 

Meanwhile, in Louisiana, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the state’s new gerrymandered map into existence after the state Senate approved the proposal in a 28-10 vote on Friday. The new map eliminates one of the state’s two majority-Black districts, and gives Republicans five of the state’s six congressional seats. 

In New York, Democrats are pushing forward a 2028 redistricting proposal, which could potentially allow them to flip up to four Republican congressional seats.

As always, there’s a lot more to unpack this week. Let’s dig in.

— Khaya Himmelman

Although pillow maven and election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell lost the GOP endorsement in the Minnesota gubernatorial race this week, he is continuing his bid for governor, with his trademark confidence and spells of conspiracy theorizing. In fact, he told me, he’s not at all worried about losing the nomination because he is “polling number one with the people of Minnesota.” Hmm. 

Last week, the state’s two main political parties, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and the Republican Party held conventions for members to vote for the endorsement of a single candidate. A candidate can lose the endorsement, but still run in the state’s August 11 primary. Although he lost the endorsement after coming in third place, Lindell will continue his race and remain on the primary ballot. 

At the Minnesota GOP state convention this week, Kendall Qualls, former health care executive and army veteran, secured the Republican Party endorsement for governor.

“This GOP nomination, they've been doing this since 1994, and that person typically always wins,” Lindell told me. “They do always win, but that's just, they picked them. But the problem is they lose to the Democrats for 24 years now.”

“It's disgusting,” he added. 

Alongside Lindell, state House Speaker Lisa Demuth is also choosing to continue her race for the Republican nomination for governor, despite also losing the GOP endorsement, which according to Lindell, actually helps his cause. 

“This is the perfect scenario for me though, because these two are gonna go out and split the vote,” he said, “I'm number one.”

David Paleologos, the director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, told TPM that at the moment Lindell is “enjoying a trajectory that places him in the top tier of Republican candidates vying for the GOP nomination.”

Demuth, Paleologos added, now becomes “Lindell’s MyPillow.”

“He believes he sleeps better at night between now and August with the cushion of knowing that his 40 percent wins in a three-way, but loses in a two-way,” he continued. 

Lindell says his focus now is campaigning against Amy Klobuchar, who secured the official Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party endorsement for governor. Paleologos also noted that Lindell is trailing Klobuchar by 20 points in general election polling. 

“I'm focusing on campaigning against Amy Klobuchar, and these numbers should take care of itself when the people vote in August,” Lindell said.

Tina Peters, former election administrator of Mesa County, Colorado who was convicted for breaching her own office’s voting equipment in an effort to find nonexistent 2020 voter fraud, was released from prison this week, thanks to Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (he caved to pressure from President Trump to commute her nine-year prison sentence). 

Only hours after her release, Peters appeared on MAGA fav Steve Bannon's podcast to spread even more baseless conspiracy theories about voting machines magically flipping votes on behalf of Democrats. 

“I know that the Democrats are going to cheat, and no one is really addressing the problem that I spent my time in prison as retribution for,” she told Bannon, “and that was exposing the election machines that allow the votes to be flipped.” 

In a statement on Monday, following Peters’s release, Democratic Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold called Polis’s decision to commute the sentence of Peters “an affront to our democracy, the people of Colorado, and election officials across the country.”

“It sends a dangerous message about accountability for those who would attack elections,” she added. “Peters’ release also will embolden the election denial movement; since the grant of clemency, she has continued to spread election falsehoods and conspiracies.”

Ahead of California's June 2 primary this week, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law to protect the state’s election from conspiracy theorists as well as federal meddling and overreach. 

The legislation, known as Senate Bill 73 takes effect against the backdrop of gubernatorial candidate and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seizing hundreds of thousands of ballots last month in an election interference campaign both against Newsom and in furtherance of Trumpian election conspiracy theories. Bianco claimed he seized the ballots from the special election that cleared the path for California Dems to redistrict before the midterms as a way to protect against voter fraud, for which there was no evidence. 

Newsom has not mentioned Bianco by name, but has alluded to Bianco’s actions being the motivation to expedite the measure. 

“You had a guy who's desperate for attention and wants me to use his name today, I won't," Newsom said last week, per NBC4 Los Angeles, "that took 650,000 (ballots). That happened."

Senate Bill 73, which takes effect immediately, restricts law enforcement officers from gaining access to voter rolls and voting technology, and also limits the presence of federal law enforcement near polling places. According to the language of the legislation, it specifically prohibits, among other things, a “peace officer from interfering with the administration of an election.”

“California will not allow our elections to be commandeered by political intimidation, abuse of power, or chaotic interference from extremists chasing conspiracy theories,” Newsom said in a statement. “This law protects voters, election workers, and the integrity of the democratic process from election-deniers who want to undermine democracy.”

Newsom told reporters last week that the legislation is a way to respond to the "legitimate anxiety” created by Trump’s continued efforts to interfere in the election administration process. 

“I expect the worst with Trump because he's done the worst," he added. 

AJC: Georgia Election Board hires election skeptic as investigator

New Hampshire Bulletin: Ahead of midterms, federal court strikes down NH proof-of-citizenship voter registration law

CBS News: DOJ seeks judge's recusal in Georgia election records fight tied to Fani Willis controversy