Ari Berman
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Author: Minority Rule, Give Us the Ballot & Herding Donkeys
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Voting rights reporter: @motherjones
Speaking: annette@speakersforall.com
Articles by Ari Berman
The Supreme Court’s Gutting of the Voting Rights Act is Mobilizing Black Voters. Look at Alabama.
Twelve days before the midterm elections, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and former Montana Senator Jon Tester traveled down to Alabama to campaign in one of the country’s most unexpected battleground districts. They trekked to Dothan, Alabama, the “peanut capital of the world,” which sits in Houston County, where Donald Trump won 73 percent of the vote in 2024. It’s now part of the state’s second congressional district, which Republicans redrew to oust first-term Democratic Rep.
The Supreme Court’s Gutting of the Voting Rights Act is Mobilizing Black Voters. Look at Alabama
Twelve days before the midterm elections, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and former Montana Senator Jon Tester traveled down to Alabama to campaign in one of the country’s most unexpected battleground districts. They trekked to Dothan, Alabama, the “peanut capital of the world,” which sits in Houston County, where Donald Trump won 73 percent of the vote in 2024. It’s now part of the state’s second congressional district, which Republicans redrew to oust first-term Democratic Rep.
What we owe our martyrs
Yom Kippur 5787 may be in the rearview mirror, but it continues to confront us with soul-searching questions of faith and peoplehood. And I’m not talking about who shall live and who shall die in the year to come. For me, the most lingering question is whether each of us will truly honor the memories of those who died for the sin of being Jewish by being more Jewish.
These State Races Could Be the Sleeper Issue of the Midterms
So much attention is understandably focused on whether Democrats can take back control of Congress this year. But little-noticed state legislative races could be just as consequential. If Democrats retake Congress, they can block Trump’s MAGA agenda. But if Democrats retake control of the states, they can actually begin to reverse it. Back in 2010, Republicans picked up nearly 700 state legislative seats.
American Voter Project: Redistricting
Voting is fundamental to democracy, but American trust in “one person, one vote” has been compromised in recent years by Electoral College outcomes, allegations of voter suppression and voter fraud, and gerrymandering of congressional district boundaries. The state of our democracy is, of course, integral to that conversation. For this installment of the American Voter Project series, the Eric H.
What We Owe Our Martyrs
Yom Kippur 5787 may be in the rearview mirror, but it continues to confront us with soul-searching questions of faith and peoplehood. And I’m not talking about who shall live and who shall die in the year to come. For me, the most lingering question is whether each of us will truly honor the memories of those who died for the sin of being Jewish by being more Jewish.
Whites Only | The Lens
This excerpt was first published in Mother Jones magazine and is reprinted by The Lens with permission. On May 8, hundreds of civil rights protesters, carrying signs that said, “No Jim Crow Maps” and “Hands Off Our Vote,” descended on Baton Rouge to oppose a plan by Louisiana’s Republican-controlled legislature to dismantle one or both of the state’s majority-Black congressional districts. They packed a Senate hearing, occupied three overflow rooms, and spilled into the Capitol’s halls.
Supreme Court Allows Trump to Use Flawed Database to Vet Voter Citizenship
The Supreme Court cleared the way on Friday for the Trump administration to use a controversial government program in its aggressive search for alleged voter fraud, increasing the likelihood that eligible voters will be wrongly labeled as non-citizens due to faulty data and removed from the rolls. The court’s conservative majority wrote that the government was likely to prevail on the merits of the case, overturning a district court order blocking the Trump administration’s use of the program.
Jim Crow was on the ash heap of history. Then came the Roberts court.
On May 8, hundreds of civil rights protesters, carrying signs that said, “No Jim Crow Maps” and “Hands Off Our Vote,” descended on Baton Rouge to oppose a plan by Louisiana’s Republican-controlled legislature to dismantle one or both of the state’s majority-Black congressional districts. They packed a Senate hearing, occupied three overflow rooms, and spilled into the Capitol’s halls. Just 10 days earlier, the Supreme Court had destroyed the Voting Rights Act in its Louisiana v.
Supreme Court Blocks Trump’s Mail Ballot Scheme
President Donald Trump’s latest effort to steal the midterms has played out in plain view. His plan was to force states to conform to last minute, untested, and too-late-to-implement vote-by-mail requirements with the inevitable result of disenfranchising thousands, if not millions, of voters. The only thing Trump needed to launch this bomb into November’s elections was the go-ahead from the Supreme Court. But on Monday evening, the court refused to ok the scheme.
Parashat Matot and showing up for our people
Summertime Torah portions get short shrift. They aren’t exactly breezy beach reading and many concern Moses’ repetition of the Israelites journey from Egypt to the doorstep of the Promised Land. But, as with any piece of Torah, there is gold to mine. This year Parashat Matot was read on July 11, a week after the hoopla of America’s 250th anniversary, and (as is often the case), it shared the billing with Parashat Masei.
Parashat Matot and showing up for our people
Summertime Torah portions get short shrift. They aren’t exactly breezy beach reading and many concern Moses’ repetition of the Israelites journey from Egypt to the doorstep of the Promised Land. But, as with any piece of Torah, there is gold to mine. This year Parashat Matot was read on July 11, a week after the hoopla of America’s 250th anniversary, and (as is often the case), it shared the billing with Parashat Masei.
Showing up for our people
Parashat Matot, which we read in July, teaches us to show up for our people Summertime Torah portions get short shrift. They aren’t exactly breezy beach reading, and many concern Moses’ repetition of the Israelites journey from Egypt to the doorstep of the Promised Land. But, as with any piece of Torah, there is gold to mine. This year Parashat Matot was read on July 11, a week after the hoopla of America’s 250th anniversary, and as is often the case, it shared the billing with Parashat Masei.
Colleges have lost sight of their goals. That's the real crisis. | Opinion Original
Aug. 31, 2026, 5:01 a.m. ET Years ago, I was attending a seminar for new university presidents where our conversation turned to the greatest challenges we expected to face. The discussion soon became a catalogue of conflicts: controversial speakers, offensive faculty remarks and when a president should intervene in crises. After listening for several minutes, I posed a different pair of questions. “What is the purpose of our universities? Why do they exist?” The room fell silent.
SCOTUS Hands Trump a Temporary Win In His Crusade to Restrict Mail Voting
The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily handed President Trump a key victory in his crusade to restrict mail-in voting. The unsigned opinion by the court’s conservative majority, issued over dissents from the three Democratic appointees, said it was too soon for states to challenge Trump’s executive order from March 2026 severely restricting mail-in voting because they had not shown how they would be harmed by it.
Trump’s Primetime Speech Was a Dud. He Could Still Use it to Interfere in the Midterms.
Donald Trump promised “really big news” in his primetime address on election integrity on Thursday night but failed to deliver any. Instead, he recited a laundry list of disinformation and misinformation but provided no evidence votes were changed or voting systems manipulated in the election he lost six years ago.
ARI BERMAN-Trump’s threats to November's mid-term elections
Click here, to View as Webpage. To unsubscribe scroll to bottom. Scroll for links to curated Berman & Election-related articlesARI BERMANProject 2026: Trump's Plan to RIg November ElectionsAre we prepared? YouTube, Podomatic ApplePodcasts,aworldthatjustmightwork.com Learn more: aribermanauthor.com Trump makes a prime-time speech, lying once again about fraud in previous elections and previewing his intention to disrupt and disable the 2026 mid-terms.
“Completely Unprecedented”: Ari Berman on Trump’s Attack on Elections Ahead of Midterms
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El verdadero significado del sionismo
Mauricio Lima para The New York Times En algunas partes de Estados Unidos y Europa, la palabra “sionismo” se ha convertido en poco más que una consigna gritada por bandos opuestos en manifestaciones. Puede ser un término de orgullo o una forma mordaz de expresar la ira y la condena hacia Israel y sus partidarios. Esto ha generado un serio malentendido sobre lo que es y lo que no es el sionismo. El mal uso de la palabra ha simplificado en exceso su complejidad.
El verdadero significado del sionismo
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. El verdadero significado del sionismo 2 de julio de 2026 a las 03:30 ET Credit...Mauricio Lima para The New York Times El rabino Berman es el rector de la Universidad Yeshiva. En algunas partes de Estados Unidos y Europa, la palabra “sionismo” se ha convertido en poco más que una consigna gritada por bandos opuestos en manifestaciones.
What Zionism Has Always Meant
Mauricio Lima for The New York Times In parts of America and Europe, the word “Zionism” has become little more than a slogan shouted by opposing sides at protests. It can be a term of pride or a biting shorthand for anger toward and condemnation of Israel and its supporters. This has led to a profound misunderstanding of what Zionism is and what it is not. The misuse of the word has flattened its dimensionality. It has, effectively, lost its meaning in the larger public.
What Zionism Is and What It Is Not
What Zionism Is and What It Is Not July 1, 2026, 5:00 a.m. ET Credit...Mauricio Lima for The New York Times Rabbi Berman is the president of Yeshiva University. In parts of America and Europe, the word “Zionism” has become little more than a slogan shouted by opposing sides at protests. It can be a term of pride or a biting shorthand for anger toward and condemnation of Israel and its supporters. This has led to a profound misunderstanding of what Zionism is and what it is not.
In a Rare Blow to Trump, the Supreme Court Just Saved Mail-In Voting—For Now
In a surprise victory for voting rights, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld a Mississippi law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted up to five days after Election Day, as long as they had been postmarked by the day of the election. The 5-4 decision by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, which was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three liberal justices, averts a major election disaster that would have injected chaos into the midterms.
Bamidbar Teaches Us to Show Up and Be Counted
A few weeks ago we read Parashat Bamidbar which, on the surface, is a relatively straightforward Torah portion highlighted by G-d’s command that Moshe conduct the first post-Exodus census of the Israelites. The Torah recounts with precision the number of military age males present in each of the tribes (save for the Levites whose exclusive focus was on spiritual duties).
Bamidbar Teaches Us to Show Up and Be Counted
A few weeks ago we read Parashat Bamidbar which, on the surface, is a relatively straightforward Torah portion highlighted by G-d’s command that Moshe conduct the first post-Exodus census of the Israelites. The Torah recounts with precision the number of military age males present in each of the tribes (save for the Levites whose exclusive focus was on spiritual duties).
Bamidbar teaches us to show up and be counted
A few weeks ago we read Parashat Bamidbar, which, on the surface, is a relatively straightforward Torah portion highlighted by God’s command that Moshe conduct the first post-exodus census of the Israelites. The Torah recounts with precision the number of military age males present in each of the tribes (save for the Levites, whose exclusive focus was on spiritual duties).
How Democrats Can Still Win the Redistricting War by 2028
There’s little doubt that Republicans have won the redistricting war started by Donald Trump, thanks in large part to favorable decisions from GOP-appointed judges on the US Supreme Court and state supreme courts. Since last year, Republicans have drawn 16 new US House districts favoring their party, while Democrats have only been able to draw 6. That means, as a result of redistricting alone, Republicans have a 10-seat advantage heading into November.
In Alabama, the Roberts Court Hands Republicans Yet Another Shocking Gerrymandering Win
For the second time in three weeks, the Roberts Court on Tuesday night green-lit an Alabama congressional map that a lower court has repeatedly found intentionally discriminates against Black voters. The ruling is another stark example of how far the Supreme Court’s Republican-appointed majority will go to give their party additional seats in Congress and erase Black representation in the South.
The GOP Is Targeting Black Voters in the Former Confederacy With Surgical Precision
Republican attempts to erase Black representation in the wake of the Supreme Court’s destruction of the Voting Rights Act have hit a few roadblocks in recent days. A federal court found that Alabama’s map, green-lit by the Roberts Court, intentionally discriminated against Black voters and blocked it for November. And the state senate in South Carolina adjourned a special session without passing a map that was designed to oust Democratic Rep.
Republican-Appointed Judges Just Gave the Roberts Court a Stunning Rebuke
On Monday, a three-judge federal court panel with two Trump appointees restored an Alabama congressional map with two majority-Black districts for the 2026 midterm elections, finding that another map recently green lit by the Supreme Court intentionally discriminated against Black voters.
Alito Said Racism Was Over. Southern States Are Now Rushing to Revive Jim Crow.
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) is the first Black member of Congress elected from South Carolina since Reconstruction, and the only Black Democrat ever elected from the state. He has been elected seventeen times during his thirty-two year career and rose to become the third-ranking Democrat in the US House. His seat was drawn in 1992 to give Black voters a chance to elect the first Black member of Congress in that state in 100 years.
This Shabbat for the whole United States
Presidents have often recognized and honored the Jewish community within the broader story of America. George Washington famously promised the Jews of Newport that America would give “to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” Modern presidents from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama to Joe Biden spoke to the Jewish community in the language of protection, inclusion, and appreciation for the contributions Jews have made to American life.
Why the Next President Could Finally Be Elected by the Popular Vote
Something big happened in Virginia last month that you probably missed. On April 13, Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill making Virginia the 18th state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. That’s an agreement among states to elect the president by the popular vote rather than the Electoral College. The compact goes into effect when enough states sign onto it and reach a total of 270 electoral votes—the number needed to elect the president.
In Approving Alabama Gerrymander, the Roberts Court Shows Its Naked Political Bias
In a stunning act of political partisanship, the Roberts Court on Monday night discarded its own precedents to green-light a last-ditch effort by Alabama to use a gerrymandered congressional map for the 2026 midterms. The move, which comes less than two weeks after the court destroyed the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais, will reduce Black representation.
« La course à la manipulation des circonscriptions électorales » : le Parti républicain s'empresse d'éliminer la représentation des personnes noires après que la Cour suprême a vidé de sa substance la loi sur les droits de vote
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/5/7/voting_rights_act_gutted_southern_states 7 mai 2026 Depuis que la Cour a rendu son jugement la semaine dernière, les États contrôlés par les républicains ont commencé à redessiner leurs cartes électorales dans une « course à l’armement du charcutage électoral » qui « pourrait entraîner la plus forte baisse de la représentation des Noirs depuis l’ère Jim Crow », explique Berman.
Republicans Don’t Need to Win Elections Anymore. They Just Need Their Judges.
The redistricting news for Democrats has gone from bad to worse. A week after the US Supreme Court effectively destroyed the Voting Rights Act, opening the door to Southern states invalidating majority-Black districts across the South, the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday overturned a redistricting referendum approved by voters last month that was expected to net Democrats four new US House seats.
Republicans Don’t Need to Win Elections Anymore. They Just Need Their Judges.
15 hours ago Watch as the crowd erupts in cheers as Kamala Harris blasts Donald Trump’s “bulls**t” war in Iran. Speaking at an event with Nevada Democrats in Las Vegas on Thursday (7 May), the former vice president criticized the ongoing war, which was “not wanted by the American people” nor “authorised by Congress”.
Blame John Roberts for Destroying the Voting Rights Act
Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. The recent Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which effectively killed the last remaining provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, was authored by Justice Samuel Alito. But it represents the life’s work of Chief Justice John Roberts.
After SCOTUS Destroyed the Voting Rights Act, Southern States Rush to Pass Jim Crow Voting Maps
Just a week after the Supreme Court effectively destroyed the key remaining provision of the Voting Rights Act, Tennessee on Thursday is set to become the first Southern state to pass a new redistricting map eliminating a majority-Black district.
We Are All Israelis - Ari M. Berman
You don’t see Russians being attacked on the streets just for being Russian, or Chinese people for being Chinese, or so on. Only Jews have the privilege of being targeted when the world decides Israel has misbehaved. It’s time for American Jews to realize that we are all Israelis in the eyes of our enemies, whose aim is squarely on our backs. It is of no moment whether you consider yourself right- or left-wing, Zionist or Anti-Zionist, or on the fence about Bibi.
We Are All Israelis
You don’t see Russians being attacked on the streets just for being Russian, or Chinese people for being Chinese, or so on. Only Jews have the privilege of being targeted when the world decides Israel has misbehaved. It’s time for American Jews to realize that we are all Israelis in the eyes of our enemies, whose aim is squarely on our backs. It is of no moment whether you consider yourself right- or left-wing, Zionist or Anti-Zionist, or on the fence about Bibi.
We are all Israelis
You don’t see Russians being attacked on the streets just for being Russian, or Chinese people for being Chinese, or so on. Only Jews have the privilege of being targeted when the world decides that Israel has misbehaved. It’s time for American Jews to realize that we are all Israelis in the eyes of our enemies, whose aim is squarely on our backs. It is of no moment whether you consider yourself right- or left-wing, Zionist or anti-Zionist, or on the fence about Bibi.
Supreme Court Deals a Death Blow to the Voting Rights Act
The Supreme Court’s six-to-three Republican-appointed majority issued a staggering ruling on Wednesday essentially killing the remaining protections of the Voting Rights Act, dealing a death blow to the country’s most important civil rights law. The majority opinion by Justice Samuel Alito in Louisiana v.
Student Becomes Teacher – A Path for Our People
The Mishna (in Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers), teaches that when one turns 50, they have reached the age at which they can provide counsel gained from meaningful life experience. Having recently turned 52, it apparently took me a couple years longer than anticipated. I have come to appreciate that the most refined pursuit of Torah knowledge comes through the simple act of opening one’s eyes to the insights of others, regardless of their age.
‘Hack the hate’: YU president links Shoah memory to AI responsibility, asks techies to join fight
Fighting Antisemitism Posted Wednesday, April 22, 2026 12:00 am ‘Let us hack the hate, fill that void with light … and build a future where kindness and justice and innovation for good will prevail.’” Yeshiva University’s president called on technology leaders to take an active role in combating antisemitism and online hate, framing the challenge as both a moral and creative responsibility, in remarks at “Hack the Hate NYC 2026” on April 14, Yom Hashoah.
Virginia Dems Just Won a Major Battle in Trump’s Redistricting War
Last summer, when Donald Trump began pressuring GOP-controlled states to redraw their congressional maps mid-decade, Republicans had a lofty goal: pick up a dozen or more seats in an effort to fend off a coming blue wave and retain the House in the midterms. Trump scored early wins in Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina. But the gerrymandering arms race he started hasn’t resulted in the lopsided victory the White House envisioned.
A Republican Dark Money Group Blankets Virginia With Deceptive Mailers Ahead of Redistricting Vote Original
Beginning in early March, Virginia voters, particularly members of the Black community, began receiving mailers that compared a proposal by Democrats to temporarily redraw the state’s congressional districts to the Jim Crow era. One mailer featured images of the KKK in white hoods and teenagers running from police in the 1960s. “Just like Jim Crow, they want to silence your voice,” it read. “Our ancestors fought to represent us.
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A Landslide in Wisconsin Will Make It Much Harder for MAGA to Steal Elections
Tuesday’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election received far less attention than a similar contest a year ago, when Elon Musk spent $25 million trying to flip the balance of power on the court. Back then, the world’s richest man—who, at the time, was also a key White House adviser—personally hand-delivered $1 million checks to voters while wearing a cheesehead hat. This time, majority control of the state’s highest court wasn’t at stake.
Trump Wants to End Mail Voting. The Supreme Court’s Conservative Justices Appear Eager to Assist.
President Trump has claimed he is “going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS” and is currently lobbying the US Senate to effectively outlaw the practice as part of his push to pass the Save America Act. The conservative justices on the US Supreme Court appear eager to assist with Trump’s crusade.
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