Jess Marsden
@jessmarsden.bsky.social
Director of Impact Programs & Counsel @protectdemocracy.org. Opinions my own.
This ... does not end well for women!
RFK Jr: "When my uncle was president, the fertility rate in this country was 3.5%. Today it is 1.6%. The replacement rate -- in other words the amount of fertility you need to keep your population even -- is 2.1%. We are below replacement. That is a national security threat to our country."
October 16, 2025 at 9:09 PM
This ... does not end well for women!
Proud of the brave plaintiffs, cocounsel and my amazing colleagues @protectdemocracy.org for this important win!
VICTORY: Today, together with our partners, we won an emergency order stopping federal agents from using violent force against protestors in Illinois. Federal ICE/DHS agents are now blocked from using tactics like tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse lawful assembly. protdem.org/474KWsA
October 9, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Proud of the brave plaintiffs, cocounsel and my amazing colleagues @protectdemocracy.org for this important win!
Reposted by Jess Marsden
Delays by Trump’s OMB have put billions of federal funds on track to expire on Sept 30 – funds Congress passed a law to spend on things like lifesaving cancer research, substance abuse prevention, and more. Our new report examines the top 6 examples of funds at risk: https://protdem.org/4gYT4iZ
September 26, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Delays by Trump’s OMB have put billions of federal funds on track to expire on Sept 30 – funds Congress passed a law to spend on things like lifesaving cancer research, substance abuse prevention, and more. Our new report examines the top 6 examples of funds at risk: https://protdem.org/4gYT4iZ
Reposted by Jess Marsden
Justice Jackson taking on Gorsuch's "pure textualism" and arguing for a more holistic reading of Congress' handiwork—worth reading in full. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
![The majority’s contention that I reject “ ‘pure textualism’ [a]s insufficiently pliable to secure the result [I] seek,” ante, at 10, stems from an
unfortunate misunderstanding of the judicial role. Our interpretative
task is not to seek our own desired results (whatever they may be). And,
indeed, it is precisely because of this solemn duty that, in my view, it is
imperative that we interpret statutes consistent with all relevant indicia
of what Congress wanted, as best we can ascertain its intent. A methodology that includes consideration of Congress’s aims does exactly that—
and no more. By contrast, pure textualism’s refusal to try to understand
the text of a statute in the larger context of what Congress sought to
achieve turns the interpretive task into a potent weapon for advancing
judicial policy preferences. By “finding” answers in ambiguous text, and
not bothering to consider whether those answers align with other sources
of statutory meaning, pure textualists can easily disguise their own preferences as “textual” inevitabilities. So, really, far from being “insufficiently pliable,” I think pure textualism is incessantly malleable—that’s
its primary problem—and, indeed, it is certainly somehow always flexible enough to secure the majority’s desired outcome.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/bafkreih3qdtlloz3yhggypbtwiveqdgzzfgapsnetvq7qsni7wfmyuovoi@jpeg)
June 20, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Justice Jackson taking on Gorsuch's "pure textualism" and arguing for a more holistic reading of Congress' handiwork—worth reading in full. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
Reposted by Jess Marsden
Jimmy on Trump’s disgusting abuse of power and what’s REALLY happening in LA…
Jimmy Kimmel on Trump’s Disgusting Abuse of Power and What’s REALLY Happening in LA
YouTube video by Jimmy Kimmel Live
youtu.be
June 11, 2025 at 4:54 AM
Jimmy on Trump’s disgusting abuse of power and what’s REALLY happening in LA…
Reposted by Jess Marsden
USDA & DOGE are demanding sweeping access to sensitive info about SNAP beneficiaries. Along with @epic.org + @cendemtech.bsky.social, we’ve urged states & their vendors to decline this unlawful and dangerous invasion of privacy. Read our letter outlining the risks of complying: protdem.org/usdadoge
May 14, 2025 at 4:48 PM
USDA & DOGE are demanding sweeping access to sensitive info about SNAP beneficiaries. Along with @epic.org + @cendemtech.bsky.social, we’ve urged states & their vendors to decline this unlawful and dangerous invasion of privacy. Read our letter outlining the risks of complying: protdem.org/usdadoge
This is a victory for North Carolina voters — and an important development for future free and fair elections in this country.
BREAKING: Judge Richard Myers rules that the N.C. Supreme Court's handling of the state supreme court election violated the U.S. Constitution.
The win for Justice Riggs, a Democrat, is to be certified.
Today's ruling stayed for 7 days for Judge Griffin, a Republican, to appeal "if he so chooses."
The win for Justice Riggs, a Democrat, is to be certified.
Today's ruling stayed for 7 days for Judge Griffin, a Republican, to appeal "if he so chooses."
![This consolidated action concerns an attempt to change the rules of the game after it had
been played. The court cannot countenance that strategy, see Hendon, 710 F.2d at 182; Toney,
476 F.2d at 209, which implicates the very integrity of the election and offends "the law's basic interest in finality." United States v. Fugit, 703 F.3d 248, 253 (4th Cir. 2012). Permitting parties to "upend the set rules" of an election after the election has taken place can only produce
"confusion and turmoil [which] threatens to undermine public confidence in the federal courts,
state agencies, and the elections themselves." Wise, 978 F.3d at 105 (Wilkinson, J., dissenting).
Accordingly, the court FINDS as follows:
1. Retroactive invalidation of absentee ballots cast by overseas military and civilian voters violates those voters' substantive due process rights;
2. The cure process violates the equal protection rights of overseas military and civilian voters; and
3. The lack of any notice or opportunity for eligible voters to contest their mistaken designation as Never Residents violates procedural due process and represents an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote.
Therefore, the court ORDERS that:
A. The State Board SHALL NOT take any action in furtherance of the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court's orders in Griffin v. N. Carolina State Bd. of Elections,
No. COA25-181, 2025 WL 1021724 (N.C. Ct. App. Apr. 4, 2025) and Griffin v. N.
Carolina State Bd. of Elections, No. 320P24-3, 2025 WL 1090903 (N.C. Apr. 11, 2025);
B. The State Board SHALL certify the results of the election for Seat 6 based on the tally at
the completion of the canvassing period on December 10, 2024;
C. Judge Griffin's petitions for judicial review [DE 1-4; DE 1-12] are DENIED;](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreifsbfhb4jjoeo6pl52os7iw4e7tzdkb7mp53lf77a3rs7djmoe44u@jpeg)
![D. Judge Griffin's motions for injunctive relief [DE 1-5; DE 1-13] are DENIED;
E. Justice Riggs' motion for injunctive relief [DE 37] is GRANTED;
F. The VoteVets Action Fund Parties' motion for summary judgment [DE 86] is
GRANTED 6,
G. The NCDP's request for injunctive relief [DE 78] is GRANTED;
H. The Conley Plaintiffs' request for a permanent injunction [DE 82] is GRANTED;
I. Final judgment is ENTERED:
In Griffin Il, judgment is ENTERED in favor of the State Board, Justice Riggs, and the VoteVets Action Fund Parties as to the issues identified in Findings 1, 2, and 3;
ii. In NCDP, judgment is ENTERED in favor of the NCDP as to the issues
identified in Findings 1, 2, and 3; and
iii. In Conley, judgment is ENTERED in favor of the Conley Plaintiffs as to the
issues identified in Findings 1 and 2.28
The court's order is STAYED for 7 days, so that Judge Griffin may pursue an appeal if he
so chooses.
SO ORDERED this 5th day of May, 2025.
PaulIMin
RICHARD E. MYERS II
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreifbygc3pqf6qij5qexcdcvezk3me2yu67clbmq4ttku2g6twbpclu@jpeg)
May 6, 2025 at 12:35 AM
This is a victory for North Carolina voters — and an important development for future free and fair elections in this country.
Reposted by Jess Marsden
The freezing of federal grants, the firing of all inspector generals, the immunization of political violence - does everybody not see what’s happening?
In a blitzkrieg, Trump is trying to collapse our democracy - and probably our economy - and seize control.
Call it what it is.
In a blitzkrieg, Trump is trying to collapse our democracy - and probably our economy - and seize control.
Call it what it is.
January 28, 2025 at 5:55 PM
The freezing of federal grants, the firing of all inspector generals, the immunization of political violence - does everybody not see what’s happening?
In a blitzkrieg, Trump is trying to collapse our democracy - and probably our economy - and seize control.
Call it what it is.
In a blitzkrieg, Trump is trying to collapse our democracy - and probably our economy - and seize control.
Call it what it is.
Reposted by Jess Marsden
Five alarm fire in North Carolina, where right-wing GOP majority on State Supreme Court just blocked certification of Democratic Justice Allison Riggs’ victory & appears to be laying groundwork to overturn the election www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Republicans on NC Supreme Court block certification of Dem justice's victory
The Court’s GOP majority could be laying the groundwork to overturn the election.
www.motherjones.com
January 7, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Five alarm fire in North Carolina, where right-wing GOP majority on State Supreme Court just blocked certification of Democratic Justice Allison Riggs’ victory & appears to be laying groundwork to overturn the election www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Jess Marsden
This letter from Adeel Mangi (who was nominated to the Third Circuit) to President Biden is worth reading.
"The unfortunate fact remains: we have a fundamentally broken process for choosing federal judges. This is no longer a system for evaluating fitness for judicial office."
aboutblaw.com/bgA0
"The unfortunate fact remains: we have a fundamentally broken process for choosing federal judges. This is no longer a system for evaluating fitness for judicial office."
aboutblaw.com/bgA0
aboutblaw.com
December 16, 2024 at 5:03 PM
This letter from Adeel Mangi (who was nominated to the Third Circuit) to President Biden is worth reading.
"The unfortunate fact remains: we have a fundamentally broken process for choosing federal judges. This is no longer a system for evaluating fitness for judicial office."
aboutblaw.com/bgA0
"The unfortunate fact remains: we have a fundamentally broken process for choosing federal judges. This is no longer a system for evaluating fitness for judicial office."
aboutblaw.com/bgA0
We sounded the alarm on the profusion of “zombie lawsuits” filed in the weeks leading up to Election Day. Turns out they didn’t matter for the presidential election, but the R NC Supreme Court candidate is trying to bring one of the zombies back to life - and disenfranchise 60K voters along the way.
1. In an effort to overturn the results of November's election, Jefferson Griffin, a GOP candidate for the North Carolina Supreme Court, is asking state election officials to throw out more than 60K ballots.
Among the voters targeted: the parents of Griffin's Democratic opponent, Allison Riggs.
Among the voters targeted: the parents of Griffin's Democratic opponent, Allison Riggs.
North Carolina Supreme Court candidate seeks to disqualify 60,000 voters — including his opponent's parents
In an effort to overturn the results of November's election, Jefferson Griffin, a Republican candidate for the North Carolina Supreme Court, is asking state election officials to throw out more than 6...
popular.info
December 5, 2024 at 8:14 PM
We sounded the alarm on the profusion of “zombie lawsuits” filed in the weeks leading up to Election Day. Turns out they didn’t matter for the presidential election, but the R NC Supreme Court candidate is trying to bring one of the zombies back to life - and disenfranchise 60K voters along the way.
Reposted by Jess Marsden
Proud to represent Michele White along with @joshuaerlich.bsky.social and the Selendy Gay team. Her story really crystallizes how election deniers' hunger for fodder destroys lives.
the distinguishing quality of every MAGA degenerate — like the current Virginia AG — is their absolute contempt for real public service and their willingness to destroy people who try to honor their commitment to the public good www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
Va.’s AG accused an election worker of corruption. She’s suing him back.
The office of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 18, 2024 at 1:59 PM
Proud to represent Michele White along with @joshuaerlich.bsky.social and the Selendy Gay team. Her story really crystallizes how election deniers' hunger for fodder destroys lives.