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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Philadelphia Measure Would Bolster Oversight for the City’s Deadly Jails - Bolts

2 days ago | boltsmag.org | Michael Barajas

In September 2024, activists burst into an auditorium in a Philadelphia library, interrupting a panel discussion on mass incarceration featuring Philadelphia jails commissioner, Michael Resnick. “One, two, three, four, open up the prison doors!” they shouted in unison. One woman held up a cutout of a black tombstone. “You took my cousin’s life!” another person shouted, as Resnick watched from his seat on stage. “They all called for help.
A New Crackdown on Ballot Initiatives Unnerves Florida Organizers - Bolts

1 week ago | boltsmag.org | Daniel Nichanian

Volunteers with the League of Women Voters of Florida are often seen at farmers markets, book clubs, parades, and other gathering places, collecting petitions and raising awareness on new campaigns. The League in recent years has become a flag bearer for the citizens initiative process that allows ordinary Floridians to bypass lawmakers and amend the state constitution.
“A Backdoor Effort” to Revive Texas’ Century-Old Abortion Law - Bolts

1 week ago | boltsmag.org | Michael Barajas

In late March, women who had suffered severe pregnancy complications and were forced to leave Texas for care sat in the state Senate chamber and implored Texas lawmakers not to make such situations even worse. Some had previously sued the state over its abortion bans, after being denied needed medical care in Texas.
“I Would See Young People Lose Hope”: California May Restrict Probation on Children - Bolts

1 week ago | boltsmag.org | Michael Barajas

As her 16th birthday approached, Sunday thought that she might finally get off probation. She had already been on court-ordered monitoring and restrictions in Alameda County, California, since she was 12, and had spent years catching the bus to fulfill the various requirements, making check-ins with her probation officer and attending gang prevention programs at the sheriff’s office.
“An Egalitarian Pressure”: Australia Has Been Requiring People to Vote for 100 Years - Bolts

1 week ago | boltsmag.org | Camille Squires

When Australia holds its federal elections on Saturday, it’ll do so with the requirement that all eligible citizens head to the polls and vote. If they don’t, the Australian Electoral Commission will fine them $20 AUD (that’s roughly $13 USD). The system, known as compulsory voting, was first implemented a century ago, in 1925. Turnout skyrocketed immediately, from 60 percent in 1922 to 91 percent in 1925. And it has since stayed at roughly that level—which far surpasses U.S. voter participation.
The 25 Elections to Watch This May - Bolts

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

Big cities are deciding their mayors and a swath of ballot measures, while battles keep raging over school boards. Follow along as Bolts tracks May elections across eight states.
He’s Been On Louisiana’s Death Row for Decades. A Judge Just Vacated His Conviction. - Bolts

2 weeks ago | boltsmag.org | Camille Squires

Jimmie Christian Duncan has spent over 26 years on death row at Louisiana’s Angola prison for the rape and murder of his girlfriend’s toddler daughter—a crime he has always maintained never happened. On Thursday, a Louisiana judge dismissed his conviction, vindicating Duncan’s fierce, decades-long effort to prove his innocence.
How Volunteer Patrols Are Working to Protect San Diego Immigrant Communities From ICE - Bolts

2 weeks ago | boltsmag.org | Camille Squires

In the early-morning twilight on a cool Friday in April, a half dozen people gathered in a small parking lot in the San Diego neighborhood of City Heights. It was quiet, before the working-class neighborhood had come to life with the bustle of traffic, commuters, and the sounds of children walking to school. One of the men there, Benjamin Prado, grabbed a bullhorn and a radio. “You all have your walkies, right?” he asked the others as he got into a car.
“A Slow Motion Betrayal”: Maryland Democrats Forgo Banning ICE Contracts - Bolts

3 weeks ago | boltsmag.org | Daniel Nichanian

The clock neared midnight on Monday, April 7, the final day of Maryland’s 2025 legislative session, and immigrant rights advocates, who’d been at the statehouse all day, and for many long recent days before this one, held fading hope that their top priority would yet pass.
Officials Play “Accountability Ping Pong” With Jail Deaths in Texas - Bolts

3 weeks 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.