Suppression

The Lingering Shadow of the Comstock Act: A Relic of Free Speech Suppression

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WASHINGTON (AP) — In the ongoing debate over expanded access to the abortion pill, mifepristone, the applicability of the Comstock Act has emerged as a chilling concern for advocates of free speech. This 151-year-old law was originally intended to ban the mailing of materials deemed “obscene, lewd, [or] lascivious,” including contraception and pornography. However, the Act’s connection to the availability of mifepristone is hotly contested and unlikely to gain traction in the Supreme Court. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, while outliers on this issue, have raised the Act’s relevance in the recent oral arguments. … Read more

Federal Judge Upholds Georgia’s Runoff System, Denying Black Voters’ Claims of Voter Suppression

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – A federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump has declined to block Georgia’s system for runoff elections, which has faced scrutiny for its history of diluting Black voting power. The system, designed in the early 1960s to curb Black voting influence, was revamped by Republicans in 2021 to restrict ballot access after Democrats won two US Senate elections. As part of a broader package of voting restrictions, Georgia Republicans decreased the runoff election period from nine weeks to four weeks and reduced early voting from three weeks to one week. The … Read more