Hocus POTUS

This Week in Democracy

• More than 30 states will hold elections on Tuesday. Voters will be casting ballots in races for governor, school board, and everything in between. You can register to vote, find your polling place, and more at CanIVote.org.

  ➡️ EXPLORE: CanIVote.org

• More than a dozen democracy scholars and experts, represented by States United, filed a brief warning that the politically motivated prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey represents a threat to the rule of law. The group urges the court to dismiss the case to “protect the integrity of the judicial system.”

  ➡️ READ: More about the brief

  New York Attorney General Letitia James also asked a judge to dismiss the criminal case against her, arguing that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, who brought the charges, was unlawfully appointed to her role.

• A federal judge ruled that acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli was unlawfully appointed to his role by the Trump administration, and that he “may not perform the functions and duties” of the job. Essayli is the third U.S. attorney to be disqualified this year, following judges’ rulings against Alina Habba in New Jersey and Sigal Chattah in Nevada. All three were appointed using similar, unusual maneuvers.

  Lawyers for New York Attorney General Letitia James are also pushing back on a subpoena from acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone, arguing that he, too, is invalidly serving in his role.

• The Department of Defense ordered the National Guard to create “quick reaction forces” in every state that can be called into service without the consent of state officials. The forces will be trained to respond to civil unrest, such as riots, which is not typically a focus of the Guard’s missions.

  “There is no need for this. No mission requires this,” retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner, a former senior National Guard commander, told The Wall Street Journal. “Every American, I don’t care what state you’re from, should understand this isn’t what we signed up for.”

  ➡️ READ: What’s Breaking Through About National Guard Deployments

State of the States

In California, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that his state would send observers to monitor the U.S. Justice Department’s election monitors during next week’s elections. Last week, the department announced that it would send monitors to polling sites in five counties in California and one in New Jersey.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin’s office responded to the announcement, telling county boards of elections that federal monitors “have no greater rights to enter or access polling sites than members of the public.”

In D.C., the U.S. Supreme Court asked federal, state, and local officials for more information about the deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois. The justices set a deadline of Nov. 17 for officials to respond. While the case proceeds, a lower court’s order indefinitely blocking the deployment will remain in effect.

➡️ EXPLORE: Background on Illinois’s case against the deployment

In Nevada, the six people charged with submitting false documents to Congress as part of the 2020 “fake electors” plot pleaded not guilty to state charges. The judge overseeing the case scheduled a trial to begin in July 2026.

In Ohio, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the Justice Department threatened to sue the state over its laws regarding mail ballots. Currently, Ohio law allows election officials to count mail ballots that are received up to four days after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by the day before. Eighteen states have similar policies.

The Trump administration is pushing to change state policies so that any mail ballots received after Election Day are not counted, a change which could impact millions of voters.

In Oregon, a federal appeals court voted to review a previous decision that temporarily permitted the Trump administration to federalize the Oregon National Guard. (The deployment of troops remains blocked due to a federal judge’s order earlier this month.)

“The court is sending a clear message: the president cannot send the military into U.S. cities unnecessarily,” said Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield. “We will continue defending Oregon’s laws, values, and sovereignty as this case moves forward and our fight continues in the courts.”

The appeals court’s vote comes after lawyers for the administration acknowledged during a trial that they exaggerated how many federal agents had been sent to Oregon. The trial also revealed that Oregon National Guard troops were briefly deployed earlier this month, despite a court order prohibiting the deployment.

➡️ EXPLORE: Background on Oregon’s lawsuit challenging the deployment

Recommended Reading

In an interview with The New York Times, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro recounts how the arson attack on his home earlier this year motivated him to reach out to others impacted by political violence.

You can read the full article using this link—no subscription required.

And in a newsletter for Home of the Brave, retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen Randy Manner writes that National Guard deployments in American cities are a misuse of troops, risks the politicization of the military, and endanger First Amendment rights.