What We’re Reading: a daily round-up of quick hits, clips, and opinion pieces touching on key issues of democracy, justice, liberty and national security.
Public Citizen, Democracy 21, and the Campaign Legal Center all agree that the Obama administration needs to decide quickly on the draft executive order that would require contractors to disclose their contributions.
John Hrabe raises objections to California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission process, arguing the commission has neglected to provide the public with drafts of new maps, didn’t sufficiently screen commissioners, and is producing maps that may not be Voting Rights Act-compliant.
20 local jurisdictions in Virginia have been cleared of their obligations under the Voting Rights Act’s Section 5, which required the U.S. Dept. of Justice or a federal court to approve electoral system changes.
“In an important decision last week, a federal appeals court affirmed that the First Amendment protects the right to videotape the activities of police officers in public.”—The New York Times