Democracy Wire

In a throwback to the days of Jim Crow, up to 40,000 Georgians who had registered to vote found themselves confused about whether their ballots would even be counted, cut out of democracy by antiquated voting laws and procedures.

Voting should not be an endurance sport in this country. In 2012, voters in some states waited hours to make their voices heard on Election Day – particularly in neighborhoods with a high proportion of African-American and Latino voters. There are lots of reasons for the long lines – poorly-resourced polling place, broken voting machines, inadequately trained poll workers, and voter processes in dire need of modernization.

Last night, comedian John Oliver had some choice words for some state legislatures and the extreme bills coming out of them. The whole segment is worth a watch, especially Oliver's send-up of the American Legislative Exchange Council, the shadowy corporate lobby rewriting bills across our nation.

When big business wants to attack their opponents but keep their hands clean, there’s one man they know they can call - Rick Berman or as he’s been nicknamed, “Dr. Evil." For decades Berman has relied on lax disclosure laws to run smear campaigns but keep secret the corporate funders directing these attacks - and their goals.