Bolts

Bolts is an online magazine that dives into the essential details of power and political shifts, starting from the grassroots level. We shine a light on the communities, individuals, and political issues that influence public policy but often go unnoticed. Our stories emphasize the important consequences of local elections, lesser-known organizations, and the grassroots efforts aimed at these areas. We concentrate on two main topics where local governments are crucial: the justice system and voting rights.

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Officials Play “Accountability Ping Pong” With Jail Deaths in Texas - Bolts

2 days ago | boltsmag.org | Michael Barajas

A 40-year-old man died from dehydration in 2022 after being detained for more than two months inside the Tarrant County jail, one of at least three people with documented mental illness to die of thirst in the jail’s custody in recent years. Last year, another man, 57, who was deemed incompetent to stand trial for the charges that landed him in jail, died of sepsis from a bowel condition, after three months inside the county lockup.
Another State Restricts Life Sentences for Young Adults - Bolts

6 days ago | boltsmag.org | Michael Barajas

Nearly 600 Michiganders who expected to die in prison will now get a shot at a different outcome. Michigan’s supreme court ruled last week that it is unconstitutional to impose an automatic sentence of life without the possibility of parole on young adults up to age 20, saying they deserve an individual judgment specific to their circumstances.
In North Carolina, Juvenile Lifers See a Pathway to Freedom - Bolts

1 week ago | boltsmag.org | Michael Barajas

Some of Joseph Jones’ earliest memories are of visiting his father in prison. Then abandonment, when his parents left him in North Carolina and moved to New Jersey after Jones’ father was released. That’s how Jones wound up living in abject poverty in Burlington with his young aunt and uncle, who led him down the wrong path instead of teaching him how to pop a wheelie on a bike or toss a football.
Trump Wants Mail Votes to Arrive By Election Day. Red States Are Rushing to Toe the Line. - Bolts

2 weeks ago | boltsmag.org | Daniel Nichanian

Frustrated by slowing mail delivery, particularly in rural areas, the Kansas legislature in 2017 passed a law to let elections officials count mail ballots that arrived after Election Day, for up to three extra days, so long as the ballots were postmarked before polls closed.
Newark Teens Gear Up for School Board Elections After Voting Age Extended to 16 - Bolts

2 weeks ago | boltsmag.org | Camille Squires

On a Saturday in March, approximately 60 teenagers sat in a movie theater at CityPlex12 in Newark, New Jersey eating popcorn and drinking fountain sodas. A DJ played songs by Mary J. Blige and André 3000. It wasn’t a typical Saturday at the movies—the teens were there for a youth-led forum with candidates for their school board.
Liberals Defend Wisconsin Supreme Court, Beating Back Elon Musk - Bolts

3 weeks ago | boltsmag.org | Daniel Nichanian |Alex Burness

The biggest name in Tuesday’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election belonged to neither of its candidates, but to Elon Musk, who spent extravagantly on the race in an effort to further cement Republican control of American democracy. In the final stretch of her race to join the court, Susan Crawford stumped against Musk, calling him “my opponent,” even as she officially faced Brad Schimel, the state’s former Republican attorney general and an outspoken ally to President Trump.
Missouri Officials Seize Control of St. Louis Police, in Latest Bid to Shutter Local Reforms - Bolts

3 weeks ago | boltsmag.org | Daniel Nichanian |Pascal Sabino

It has taken nearly a decade for St. Louis’ Civilian Oversight Board to find the footing needed to effectively investigate police misconduct and give residents the tools to hold police accountable, says board member Keith Rose. The city established the board in the years following the Black Lives Matter protests in nearby Ferguson, where grassroots organizers amplified calls to end police violence.
The 20 Elections to Watch This April - Bolts

4 weeks ago | boltsmag.org | Daniel Nichanian

Wisconsin’s high-dollar supreme court race is stealing the spotlight. But don’t miss mayoral contests all over the map, congressional special elections in Florida, and more. | | | FloridaWisconsinOaklandSt. Louis A Democratic candidate who railed against Elon Musk and his spending cuts flipped an ancestrally Republican district in Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Tuesday, March 25.
“Some of These Kids Are Already Lost When They’re Two Years Old” - Bolts

4 weeks ago | boltsmag.org | Camille Squires |Piper French

When Louisiana reversed its “Raise the Age” law in early 2024, moving all 17-year-olds back into the adult criminal system, it became the first and only state in the nation to enact such a reform, intended to shield youth from adult prisons, only to then repeal it. Since then, sheriffs of some of the biggest parishes in the state have struggled to accommodate the influx of minors into their jails.
The Human Cost of Jeff Landry’s Drive to Resume Executions - Bolts

1 month ago | boltsmag.org | Camille Squires |Piper French

This article was produced as a collaboration between Bolts and Mother Jones. On a Saturday morning in December 1993, Jimmie Christian Duncan ran to his neighbor’s house and frantically banged on the door, pleading for help. He was holding the limp body of a toddler in his arms. The child, named Haley, belonged to Duncan’s then-girlfriend. The girl’s hair was wet. She wasn’t breathing. And even after one of the neighbors tried CPR, she wouldn’t wake. Duncan, who goes by Chris, had just turned 25.