Jonathan Shorman

Jonathan Shorman

[email protected] https://bsky.app/profile/jonshorman.bsky.social

Jonathan Shorman covers democracy for States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. Based in Kansas City, his coverage area includes elections and voting rights, fights over state and federal power, civil liberties and more. An alumnus of the University of Kansas, he previously covered politics for The Kansas City Star.

Republican lawmakers aren’t improving election security
National

Congress weighs cuts to states’ already ‘insufficient’ election security dollars

Jun 03, 2026
Jonathan Shorman
Ahead of the November midterm elections, President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have demanded Congress pass sweeping voting restrictions, including showing proof of citizenship to register — all in the name of election security. At the same time, the...
The U.S. Postal Service on May 29, 2026 proposed a rule to carry out President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting voting by mail. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)
National

Trump ordered limits on voting by mail. The Postal Service is moving to make states comply.

May 29, 2026
Jonathan Shorman
The U.S. Postal Service on Friday took its first major step to carry out President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting voting by mail, proposing a rule that would require states to submit lists of voters before mailing ballots. But the...
A mob of Trump supporters gathers in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. An "anti-weaponization" fund was created by the Department of Justice in May 2026 that could make payments to those who took part in the Jan. 6 attack. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images
National

Trump ‘slush fund’ echoes scorned 19th-century spoils system, academics say

May 29, 2026
Jonathan Shorman
President Donald Trump’s extraordinary $1.776 billion fund to pay off allies and others who say they have been wronged by past administrations has drawn widespread condemnation by opponents, including some Republicans, who characterize it as an act of brazen corruption...
President Donald Trump gives a speech at the World Economic Forum on Jan. 21, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
National

Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund blocked for now by federal judge

May 29, 2026
Jonathan Shorman
A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with a fund that opponents fear will be used to pay off the president’s political allies. Judge Leonie Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia issued a...
A mail ballot drop box is seen at a polling station on Nov. 4, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
National

Trump order limiting voting by mail will stand for now, federal judge rules

May 28, 2026
Jonathan Shorman
A federal judge on Thursday declined to block President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting voting by mail, finding that it was too early to challenge the directive. The decision by D.C. District Court Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, represents...
The U.S. Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to take up a case casting the Republican National Committee against a host of Democratic and voting rights groups over voting restrictions in Arizona. (Photo by Jim Small/Arizona Mirror)
National

States could purge voter rolls close to elections if Supreme Court takes Trump's side in Arizona case

May 27, 2026
Jonathan Shorman
The Trump administration wants the U.S. Supreme Court to empower states to review their voter rolls for noncitizens just days before elections, a change that voting rights advocates say would risk disenfranchising Americans. The U.S. Department of Justice asked the...
A group of protestors hold a banner saying “Black Voters Matter” with a quote from Allen v. Milligan, a 2023 case that required Alabama to draw a second congressional district to give Black voters an opportunity to elect their preferred leaders, on May 4, 2026 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Photo by Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
National

Congressional Black Caucus calls for corporate leaders to speak out for voting rights

May 26, 2026
Jonathan Shorman
The Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday urged American corporations to condemn efforts to dilute Black voting strength, as Southern states eliminate congressional districts where most residents are Black. The CBC’s attempt to mobilize the business community comes as Black representation...
The U.S. Supreme Court, on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
National

US House GOP attacks proposals to expand Supreme Court and counter conservative majority

May 21, 2026
Jonathan Shorman
U.S. House Republicans on Thursday denounced expanding the Supreme Court, an idea some Democrats support to dilute the court’s conservative majority after years of decisions that have angered liberals. Republican and Democratic lawmakers at a hearing clashed over the future...
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, left, welcomes U.S. Vice President JD Vance as he arrives at Kansas City International Airport, May 18, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. Vance on his visit pitched voters on keeping Republicans in Congress. (Photo by Eric Lee-Pool/Getty Images)
National

Sagging poll ratings, soaring gas prices put GOP in a fix for keeping US House control

May 21, 2026
Jonathan Shorman Jacob Fischler
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — When Vice President JD Vance pitched voters on electing Republicans to Congress this November during a trip to a Kansas City manufacturing plant on Monday, he delivered the message while standing in a newly gerrymandered U.S...
President Donald Trump wants lawmakers to attach the SAVE America Act to unrelated housing and surveillance legislation after it stalled in the U.S. Senate. (Photo by Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
National

Trump won’t give up on stalled SAVE America bill, as Dems prep election protections

May 20, 2026
Jonathan Shorman
President Donald Trump is again demanding Congress pass a sweeping set of voting restrictions and refuses to rule out sending troops to the polls, as Democrats and voting rights groups assemble a sprawling effort to guard against federal election interference...
A Fairfax County voter receives a sticker on Election Day, Nov. 4, 2025. (Photo by Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)
National

Republicans target blue-state districts after US Supreme Court voting rights decision

May 19, 2026
Jonathan Shorman
Republicans on a U.S. Senate panel suggested Tuesday a recent Supreme Court decision weakening the federal Voting Rights Act invalidated U.S. House districts in Democratic states where most residents belong to a racial minority group. Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Missouri...
US Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana congressional maps in case with national implications
National

US Supreme Court’s uneven rulings in election lead-up causing chaos, experts say

May 18, 2026
Jonathan Shorman
When the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Texas’ gerrymandered congressional map to take effect in December, its conservative majority wrote that a lower court had “improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign” when it blocked the map more than three...