Politics and views in the United States.

Many Republicans are accused of undermining American democracy, new polling shows former President Trump leading President Biden in key battleground states, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court considers lifting a near-total ban on ballot drop boxes.

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Welcome to 2024 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

The only crime that's happening here is this Democrat judge and the Democrat party prosecuting their political rival right in the middle of a presidential election.

Florida Congressman Byron Donalds is joining conservatives supporting President Donald Trump at his criminal trial in ways that question the rule of law.

As potential Trump VPs refuse to say they'll respect the election results, others echo Trump's accusation that the courts are corrupt and the charges against him a political conspiracy.

Meanwhile, voters in Maryland, West Virginia, and Nebraska cast primary votes with the future of democracy as one issue.

The Democratic primary for an open seat in Maryland's third congressional district is crowded and competitive.

Candidate and former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn told supporters he'd defend democracy just as he did on January 6th.

People are trying to whitewash it, diminish it, or erase it from history.

And it's very important for people that believe in our country, that believe in democracy, to continue to stand up and not let people forget about it.

In deep red West Virginia, most of the leading Republican candidates say 2020 was stolen.

A convicted January 6th insurrectionist looks unlikely to get back into office, but other better connected election deniers have stronger chances.

A new Siena New York Times poll finds President Joe Biden losing support among young Black and Hispanic voters upset about the economy and his handling of Gaza.

Trump leads Biden among all registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.

Advocates for women of color say their votes have too long been taken for granted.

Regina Davis Moss with the National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda says Black maternal mortality is up in states with abortion bans.

There's gonna be a need to main and address systemic racism.

We wanna hear politicians leaning into that.

It's gonna be critical to them if they wanna earn our votes.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court might lift the state's near total ban on ballot drop boxes.

Republicans contend the boxes invite fraud, but Janelle Ludwig Krause with Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin says the boxes boost both urban and rural voting and are often under 24 hour surveillance.

There are special interest groups in Wisconsin that have worked really, really hard to make it hard for regular people in Wisconsin to vote.

Supporters of a controversial New Jersey bill limiting public access to government records say it would cut the workload for local agencies, but watchdog groups say it would gut transparency in a state known for corruption.

Longtime journalist Miriam Ascarelli says misinformation would fill the void.

People have to have confidence in the ability of citizens to get information, and they have to have confidence in the ability of journalists to get information.

Governor Phil Murphy hasn't said if he'll sign it.

I'm Katherine Carley for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.