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WASHINGTON, D.C. On Monday, July 31, the Colorado Republican Party (CO GOP) filed a lawsuit that attempts to bar unaffiliated voters from participating in the 2024 Republican primary in Colorado.

Passed by Colorado voters via ballot initiative in 2016, Proposition 108 allows unaffiliated voters to vote in partisan primaries for major parties without declaring affiliation to that party.

As of Aug. 1, 47% or 1.82 million of Colorados 3.88 million registered voters are unaffiliated, making unaffiliated voters the largest group of voters in the state.

The complaint alleges that Proposition 108 violates both the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and requests that the court block the enforcement of Proposition 108 and declare it unconstitutional.

The CO GOP argues that Proposition 108 violates its right to free speech by forcing its political association to deem as its nominee for office a candidate chosen in an open primary election in which unaffiliated voters are allowed to participate.

The complaint further alleges that allowing unaffiliated voters to vote in partisan primaries violates the 14th Amendment by diluting the votes cast by [the CO GOPs] members when the party has not determined for itself to permit voting by those who are not affiliated with, and have deliberately chosen not to affiliate with, the party. The CO GOP also asserts that Proposition 108 imposes differential treatment, which in turn infringes upon the fundamental voting rights of major political parties and the voters affiliated with them.

The new Colorado lawsuit was filed by an interesting cast of conservative lawyers including, John Eastman, the disgraced lawyer for former President Donald Trump, Republican National Committeeman for Colorado Randy B. Corporon and Anthony T. Caso, who is part of the leadership at the far-right Claremont Institute.

This lawsuit, which could potentially stand to disenfranchise over a million registered voters in Colorado, comes at an contentious time for Eastman specifically. Currently, Eastman faces 11 charges from the California State Bar due to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Just yesterday, Trump was indicted for his efforts to subvert the will of the American people during the 2020 election. Importantly, the indictment also identifies co-conspirators and describes an attorney who devised and attempted to implement a strategy to leverage the Vice Presidents ceremonial role overseeing the certification proceeding to obstruct the certification of the presidential election. Even while facing disbarment and potential other legal trouble, the conservative right continues to relentlessly attack voting rights.

This lawsuit is the second lawsuit brought by Republicans with ties to Jan. 6 challenging the primary system ahead of 2024. Just recently in Nevada, a judge denied the Nevada Republican Partys (NV GOP) request to block a state law mandating parties to hold primaries for the 2024 presidential election. Notably, the attorney representing the NV GOP in this lawsuit is former failed Nevada attorney general candidate and conspiracy theorist, Sigal Chattah, who similar to Eastman, has significant ties to the conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Read the complaint here.

Learn more about the case here.

Learn more about John Eastman here.

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Between Disbarment Proceedings and Trump Indictment, John ... - Democracy Docket

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus Will Host Town Hall and Mobilizer Training

ATLANTA, Aug. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Clark Atlanta University is one of 10 locations for the nationwide tour of Democracy For The People, sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute (CBCI). The stop at CAU will be on August 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Each two-part event offers a vital town hall with CBCI members, as well as a comprehensive organizer training on pressing matters of democracy and racial equality in America. This program ensures that the voices and concerns of marginalized communities are not only heard but also heeded by decision-makers at the pinnacle of policymaking. Each leg of the tour also will facilitate voter registration and connecting the community to newly trained personnel.

Members of the media are invited to attend and cover the following events and should RSVP here.

What:Democracy For The People Atlanta

Who: Chairman Steven Horsford (NV-04), Nikema Williams (GA-05), Lucy McBath (GA-07) and members of theCongressional Black Caucus

Location/Dates: August 5, 2023 Clark Atlanta University Thomas W. Cole, Jr. Board Room 223 James P Brawley Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30314

Time:

About the Congressional Black Caucus Institute (CBCI)CBCI stands as a resolute and transformative force, dedicated to empowering and uplifting African Americans and communities of color across the United States. As the 501 (c) (4) educational and research.

About Clark Atlanta UniversityClark Atlanta University was formed with the consolidation of Atlanta University and Clark College, both of which hold unique places in the annals of African American history. Atlanta University, established in 1865 by the American Missionary Association, was the nation's first institution to award graduate degrees to African Americans. Clark College, established four years later in 1869, was the nation's first four-year liberal arts college to serve a primarily African American student population. Today, with nearly 4,000 students, CAU is the largest of the four institutions (CAU, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Morehouse School of Medicine) that comprise the Atlanta University Center Consortium. It is also the largest of the 37-member UNCF institutions. Notable alumni include: James Weldon Johnson; American civil rights activist, poet, and songwriter (Lift Every Voice and Sing "The Black National Anthem"; Ralph David Abernathy Sr., American civil rights activist; Congressman Hank

Johnson, Georgia District 4; Kenya Barris, American award-winning television, and movie producer; Kenny Leon, Tony Award-winning Broadway Director; Jacque Reid, Emmy Award-winning Television Personality and Journalist; Brandon Thompson, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for NASCAR; Valeisha Butterfield Jones, Vice President of Partnerships & Engagement at Google, Inc. To learn more about Clark Atlanta University, visit http://www.cau.edu.

SOURCE Clark Atlanta University

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The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is gearing up for its fourth presidential election under the 2006 constitution, set for December 20 this year. The aftermath of the 2018 elections in which the opposition and some of the international community questioned the legitimacy of the results has cast a shadow of uncertainty over the upcoming polls. Beyond the electoral sphere, constituents are concerned about how a new government will tackle the countrys array of socioeconomic and security challenges, particularly in the eastern part of the DRC, which have vast implications for the region at large.

On August 14, join the Brookings Africa Security Initiative for a conversation with Martin Fayulu, opposition leader and former DRC presidential candidate, and policy experts on the strategic, military, and economic trends of the DRC and the significance of the upcoming election for regional stability and U.S.-China competition in Africa.

Online viewers can submit questions via e-mail to events@brookings.edu or via Twitter @BrookingsFP using #DRC.

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Prospects for democracy, security, and political reform in the ... - Brookings Institution

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Israeli protesters are calling for democracy. But what about the ... - El Paso Inc.

Editors note: Rachel Marshall is the executive director of the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution at John Jay College in New York City. The opinions expressed in this commentary are her own. Readmore opinionat CNN.

A new threat to our democracy has emerged in Georgia and Im not talking about thefalse claims of 2020 election fraud. A new law,signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, creates a commission to restrict the independence of community-elected prosecutors or remove them from office altogether.

Fortunately, those who care about protecting democracy are fighting back. On Wednesday, four Georgia prosecutors, led byDeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Bostonand represented by thePublic Rights Project, sued the state to contest the laws interference with the separation of powers and its overriding of local communities rights to choose their own prosecutors.

The prosecutors are also defending their First Amendment right to speak openly about their offices priorities for instance, do they use their limited resources to prosecute abortions or violent crimes such as sexual violence, robbery or homicide?

Senate Bill 92creates a commission with the power to remove prosecutors based on their use of this constitutionally protected discretion. It invites complaints against prosecutors for their so-called abandonment of duties, including when they decline to prosecute provable cases, or when they reject the prosecution of certain categories of crime. A prosecutor removed by the commissioncannot serve again for 10 years.

As the executive director of theInstitute for Innovation in Prosecutionat John Jay College, a national prosecutorial reform center, I am deeply concerned about the harms SB 92 will inflict on prosecutors and the communities they serve. The law not only threatens the indispensable role of prosecutorial discretion in our legal system but is also a bad faith attempt to undermine prosecutors who advance reform and disempower communities that elected them.

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SB 92 did not emerge from a simple misunderstanding of the role of prosecutors. Instead, the law takes aim at reform-minded prosecutors as part of a growing national effort to constrain their independence.

One target may be Fulton County District AttorneyFani Willis, who soonis expected to announce charges in her 2020 election interference investigation and whomformer President DonaldTrump has tried to disqualify.

District Attorney Deborah Gonzalezof Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties has facednear-constant attacksfor decisions such as declining to prosecute marijuana possessionor truancy cases despite beingelected for her reform approach. The governor triedto cancel her election, leading her to sue and win. Kemp has now moved on to new approaches.

Indeed, Kemp made no secret of SB 92s legislative intent. In signing the bill in May,Kemp said, I wont stand idly by [as law enforcement faces] resistance from rogue or incompetent prosecutors who refuse to uphold the law.

Playing into pervasivefalse narratives around reform prosecutors,Kemp assertedthe commission will help hold prosecutors driven by out-of-touch politics [rather] than commitment to their responsibilities accountable and make our communities safer.

This is political hogwash. Data establishes that prosecutors reform-minded approaches advance public safety. Indeed,one studyshowed that decisions by prosecutorsnotto file low-level categories of crime actually reduce recidivism. Thoughtful, data-driven reform drives public safety but some politiciansuse fearmongering around reformto advance their own political agendas.

Its worth noting that there have been no similar attacks on prosecutorial discretion when prosecutors use it to perpetuate mass incarceration, criminalize poverty or decline to prosecute police officers for excessive use of force. This law has only one target:reform-mindedprosecutors.

Georgias law does not exist in a vacuum: In response to a growing wave of reform-minded prosecutors, Georgiais just one of several states attemptingto disempower local prosecutors and limit their discretion.

It is no accident that these attacks come in the wake of theDobbsv. Jackson Womens Health Organizationdecision allowing states to criminalize abortion. Georgia nowprohibits abortion after six weeksof pregnancy; SB 92, among other issues, takes aim at prosecutors who prioritize the safety of pregnant people by deciding not to pursue cases under that statute.

Other states have taken a more direct approach. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspendedHillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warrenfollowing that prosecutors promise to decline prosecuting abortion-related cases.

Forcing prosecutors to abandon discretion also fundamentally misconstrues their role; SB 92 depicts prosecutors as robots who must file every charge possible a challenge considering the enormity of charges listed in penal codes.Such a view runs counter to our legal systems design, which grants prosecutors discretion at every stage.

Prosecutors decide when to file charges, what charges to file and what outcomes to pursue. No prosecutor in history can, has or should prosecute every case possible. For example,Towaliga Judicial CircuitDistrict Attorney Jonathan Adams issued a memorandum explaining thathe would not prosecute adultery,a crime that remains on Georgias books. SB 92 deems this common-sense policy as possible grounds for discipline and removal.

Prosecutors represent the people local communities and are elected precisely to decide how to allocate limited resources. Communities deserve to have prosecutors who are free to be transparent about their priorities. Silencing or removing prosecutors and candidates undermines the democratic process.

SB 92s limits on discretion are also impractical. Forcing prosecutors to file every case would not only advance unjust prosecutions but would also clog courts with cases that dont belong in the legal system at all.Courts are already facingenormous backlogs and victims and defendants alike will suffer from further delays.

Finally, reform-minded prosecutors seek to address racial bias; targeting them overrides the will of communities of color, who are already disproportionately harmed by the criminal justice system.

These legislative restrictions on prosecutorial discretion follow a rise in the number of elected reform-minded prosecutors includingmore prosecutors of color particularly incommunities of color. It is no coincidence SB 92 comes in the wake of this changing tide.

It is hard to overstate the potential damage of SB 92. The rights of local communities and locally elected prosecutors to advocate for them cannot be forfeited. Prosecutors should not be mere puppets of the state. If we care about democracy, and if we value fairness in our legal system, we must stop these bad faith attacks.

After all, just as in 2020, the fight to preserve democracy in Georgia is really a fight for our nation.

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Opinion: A new and dangerous attack on democracy in Georgia - Yahoo News