American Oversight Profile picture
Nov 11, 2022 9 tweets 5 min read Read on X
We’re working to shine a light on threats to election officials, voting restrictions, attacks on reproductive rights, and more.

Here’s a roundup of recent requests we’ve sent to local, state, and federal government agencies. #FoiaFriday
Voting Rights: In September, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency opted to not adopt a plan that aimed to protect election workers from harassment.

We sent a #FOIA request to the agency for assessments and guidance related to this decision.
americanoversight.org/document/foia-…
A March survey found that the majority of polled local election officials felt that threats against them and their colleagues have increased in recent years.

We’ve requested records with the potential to shed light on the extent of and potential increase in these threats.
We sent a #FOIA request to the United States Postal Service seeking recent communications sent by top officials, including Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, containing key terms related to mail voting and voting restriction advocates or other bad actors.
americanoversight.org/document/foia-…
Dobbs: In the wake of the overturning of Roe, we sent public records requests to state health departments in states that enacted harsh trigger bans on abortion seeking directives, memos, and communications related to abortion law and policy.
americanoversight.org/document/recor…
Texas: A directive compels state officials to investigate cases of minors receiving gender-affirming medical care as child abuse.

We asked the Texas Dept. of Family & Protective Services for records reflecting the number of cases it’s investigating as a result of the directive.
Virginia: The state attorney general’s office recently created an election integrity unit. To shed light on the role and operations of the newly-formed unit, we requested records concerning its staffing, budget, and workload.
americanoversight.org/document/recor…
Jackson: We sent several Mississippi local and state offices requests for communications and assessments related to the Jackson water crisis.

The requested records include emails and texts sent and received by Jackson’s mayor during the crisis.
americanoversight.org/?s=Jackson%2C+…
These are just some of our ongoing investigations using public records to uncover the facts. Explore more here: americanoversight.org/documents

And to receive updates on our investigations direct to your inbox, sign up for our weekly newsletter here:
americanoversight.org/mail-lists

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More from @weareoversight

Nov 21
We’re pleased that our lawsuit for records from the federal investigation of Matt Gaetz was a key part of the public pressure that led to his decision to withdraw from attorney general consideration.
americanoversight.org/statement-from…
Gaetz’s withdrawal is a clear indication that public demand for information and a transparent process will remain a powerful force for holding leaders accountable. Through our litigation, we will continue to demand answers about the alleged conduct of Mr. Gaetz.
Earlier this week, we filed a motion for preliminary injunction in our ongoing lawsuit for the release of interview records, known as “302s,” from the FBI’s investigation of Gaetz for serious criminal allegations, including sex trafficking of a minor.
documentcloud.org/documents/2534…
Read 4 tweets
Oct 11
We recently launched an investigation into efforts to undermine direct democracy and sabotage abortion access ballot measures, which will be considered by voters in ten states this November. #FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
Since 2022, 7 states have protected abortion rights through ballot initiatives.

In November, 10 states will have initiatives related to abortion rights on their ballots: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota.
In addition to a litany of lawsuits from conservative activists challenging the qualifying status of abortion-related ballot measures, legislators in many states have proposed laws that would change the requirements for ballot initiatives to make passage more difficult.
Read 12 tweets
Sep 9
Records we obtained from Missouri show how state Sen. Mike Moon — a staunchly anti-abortion rights legislator — has sought to subvert the state’s measure related to abortion rights by trying to amend the ballot initiative process.
americanoversight.org/document/recor…
Earlier this year, 380,000 Missourians signed a petition to put an abortion rights constitutional amendment on the ballot. In response, conservatives in the state pushed a bill that would have made it much harder to pass any constitutional amendment via a ballot initiative.
The documents show that Moon’s policy director directly tied Moon’s support for adding a concurrent majority measure to initiative petitions to his desire to defeat the measure. His chief of staff suggested collaborating with an anti-abortion rights group to defeat the amendment.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 5
Floridians will vote in November on a ballot measure that would overturn the state’s six-week abortion ban.

Conservative lawmakers and interest groups have been working to make it harder for the measure and citizen initiatives like it to pass.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
Republican officials drafted a financial statement to accompany the measure. The statement argues that the measure’s passage would lead to fewer births, which would hurt the state’s growth and revenue over time.
nbcmiami.com/news/local/fin…
The financial statement speculates that the measure’s passage would result in expensive litigation.

Abortion rights groups have filed lawsuits to prevent this language from appearing on the ballot.
Read 5 tweets
Aug 29
LITIGATION UPDATE: We reached a settlement in our lawsuit against Ohio Sec. of State Frank LaRose for records related to the 2023 decision to withdraw Ohio from the Electronic Registration Information Center, a nonpartisan voter-roll maintenance tool.
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
ERIC was a non-controversial nonprofit that quietly helped states clean up their voter rolls by securely comparing voter data. A cascade of misinformation coordinated by anti-democratic activists, eventually led several states to withdraw.
Our investigation and the documents obtained as part of it show how election officials defended ERIC behind the scenes while publicly caving to a pressure campaign led by some of the same people who sought to keep former President Trump in power in 2020.
americanoversight.org/the-campaign-t…
Read 5 tweets
Jul 30
NEW: Today, the Georgia State Election Board withdrew rules it approved in a recent illegal meeting, which was held without proper notice of a quorum. We’d sued the Board for violating the state’s Open Meetings Act.
americanoversight.org/georgia-electi…
We’re pleased that our lawsuit, along with pressure from partner organizations on the ground in Georgia, has prompted the Board to withdraw the illegally approved rules from its sham July 12 meeting.
The board also announced plans to reconsider the rules at its Aug. 6 meeting. We remain deeply concerned by the Board’s decision to promptly revisit these problematic measures that serve to intimidate election workers and grant partisan advantage to preferred candidates.
Read 5 tweets

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