Ariella Elm

@ariellaelm.com

24396 Followers 1486 Following

I’m so done with doomerism. 🌱 Queer🏳️‍🌈 Jewish✡️ disabled😷 political influencer 💙 Follow for daily Democrat wins & weekly election guides. Our voices are our superpower 📧 ariella@ariellaelm.com

Washington Thu, June 18 - Meta has lost in court for a third time for their inability to disclose 822 political ads on Facebook during the 2020 election. This time in the Washington State Supreme Court. The nine justices were evenly split three ways as to how much Meta must pay in penalties (three thought the lower court had the right amount, three thought it was right right amount in theory but still asking too much of a company, and three thought it should be less.) Justice Helen Whitener wrote for the lead opinion (the one agreeing with the lower court ruling): Here, the court faced a willful repeat offender with vast resources that conceded it is able to comply with FCPA requests but chose not to provide nonspeculative reasons for its decision not to do so. And, because of the stalemate, the Appeals Court ruling from 2022 stands and Meta was ordered to pay $24.6 million plus attorney fees, coming out to $35m. According to the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission this penalty is “believed to be the largest ever imposed for campaign finance violations in United States history.” With everything going on in this country right now in terms of elections and voting, this is monumental and incredibly encouraging. Meta can’t get away with campaign finance violations now matter how big they are and how many times they try to fight it.
Antrim County, Michigan Mon, July 6 - On Fri June 12, Antrim County Clerk, Victoria Bishop, has had her access to the county’s Qualified Voter Files (QVF) revoked after she began altering voter rolls earlier this year. Jonathan Brater, Director for Bureau of Elections sent her a letter stating: “A review of your QVF activity indicates that you were not identifying deceased individuals for city/township clerk review…but rather making other changes to QVF records that county clerks are not authorized to complete except at the request of the city or township clerk.” This was the third time Brater has tried to get her to stop these actions.
Washington Thu, June 18 - Meta has lost in court for a third time for their inability to disclose 822 political ads on Facebook during the 2020 election. This time in the Washington State Supreme Court. The nine justices were evenly split three ways as to how much Meta must pay in penalties (three thought the lower court had the right amount, three thought it was right right amount in theory but still asking too much of a company, and three thought it should be less.) Justice Helen Whitener wrote for the lead opinion (the one agreeing with the lower court ruling): “Here, the court faced a willful repeat offender with vast resources that conceded it is able to comply with FCPA requests but chose not to provide nonspeculative reasons for its decision not to do so.” And, because of the stalemate, the Appeals Court ruling from 2022 stands and Meta was ordered to pay $24.6 million plus attorney fees, coming out to $35m. According to the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission this penalty is “believed to be the largest ever imposed for campaign finance violations in United States history.” With everything going on in this country right now in terms of elections and voting, this is monumental and incredibly encouraging. Meta can’t get away with campaign finance violations now matter how big they are and how many times they try to fight it.
Missouri Thu, June 18 - For the first time, a total abortion ban has been reversed. Within two hours of the Dobbs ruling, Missouri had banned all abortions in the state. And even before that, medication abortions were banned under a restriction that required aborted tissue to be “submitted within five days to a board-eligible or certified pathologist for gross and histopathological examination.” Which is just so gross. Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang made the temporary injunction from 2024 that ended the restriction permanent. She wrote: “The Court in its previous preliminary injunction order noted that this would seemingly prohibit a physician from prescribing the medication after an in- person appointment and having the patient subsequently take the medication at home, or even in a medical facility in the presence of a nurse or other medical professional. The Court finds the language of this statute conflicts with the language of Amendment 3 and finds in favor of Plaintiffs.”
And yet. All I see is people complaining that he’s not barging into McConnell’s hospital room demanding a nurse tell him exactly what’s on his chart. (exaggeration, but you get the point.) It’s like if something isn’t performative enough, the actual action that is happening couldn’t matter less. And this kind of thinking WILL cost us vital elections.
re was a time that performative action and activism was seen as a negative, but now, if something isn’t performative, it’s like it didn’t happen. Democrats can’t be fighting back, because if it wasn’t covered by your favorite political creator, it’s obviously not happening.
Box Elder County, Utah Tue, June 23 - Two Republican County Commissioners were not reelected thanks to their support of the massive Kevin O’Leary Data Center. Boyd Bingham was ousted by Vance Smith with 52% of the vote. Smith will go on to face Alan Williams in the general. Meanwhile Lee Perry lost to Nathan Tueller with 53% of the vote, and Tueller will be unopposed in the general. Before the election Bingham posted in a since deleted Facebook post that his hands were tied, and he had no choice but to support the gargantuan center: “We approved a project area that if we had voted no to, would have brought lawsuits that our county would lose. Taxpayer dollars would have been spent, not insurance money since we had no legal basis to stand on for a no vote.”
Social Circle, Georgia Thu, June 18 - Back in June, DHS announced that they were scrapping several new detention centers, and one of these was in Social Circle. This detention center had been in the news, mostly because, in a town of 5k that voted 73% for Trump, and pretty much unanimously rebuked this center. City Manager Eric Taylor said: “The feedback from the very beginning was that the community didn’t want it, and this community was unified against it.” The biggest concern is that we don’t actually know why this was canceled, and DHS hasn’t communicated with Taylor or anyone in the local government about it at all. But it was, so we’ll take the win. And as usual, this was only possible because of the work put in, especially by local Indivisible group Boldly Blue, to make it possible.
Montana Tue, June 16 - The Montana Plan has surpassed enough signatures to get on the November ballot. This measure would “curb election spending by “artificial persons,” eliminate anonymous money, and put Montanans’ voices back at the center of our democracy,” according to their website. Essentially, The Montana Plan is an attempt to circumvent Citizens United in the state. Or more like, bring back their old laws. Back in 1912, Montana passed the Corrupt Practices Act which banned corporations from being treated as individuals in elections, but it was ruled unconstitutional 100 years later thanks to Citizens United. Now, of course, there is very little chance that SCOTUS will okay this plan if it goes into effect, but, like with most things, the goal is to get people angry enough that they act. Rick Hansen, of the Election Law Blog explained:
And this isn’t news, we know he doesn’t actually care about election security. He wants elections less secure not more. But he’s warped the brains of his followers so they don’t see it. It’s on us to show them. And that’s easier than you think. This argument is pretty powerful no matter who you voted for. This isn’t about his policies. This is purely about safe and secure elections. Most people, when they hear it in these terms, don’t want Trump’s or foreign interference, even if they voted for him.
We have to prebut Trump’s 2026 stolen election claims. This is the phrase Mark Warner kept using in our briefing this morning. We have to make the claims seem ridiculous NOW so he can’t use them after the fact.
Kentucky Mon, June 15 - Instead of focusing on something Governor Andy Beshear has no control over, let’s focus on something he does. Ahead of Juneteenth, he signed an executive order creating the Freedom Trails Pardon List. This pardons 43 people and counting who had been criminalized for helping free those enduring enslavement in the 1800s. He signed the order with Rev. Andrew Baskin, professor emeritus, specifically in the African and African American Studies department at Berea College and James Prichard, a historian focusing on Kentucky during the Civil War Era. As he was signing it, he explained to the girl standing next to him, who I can only assume is Baskin’s daughter:
Chelmsford, England Fri, June 12 - Chelmsford is a city in Essex and on June 20, Essex held their Pride parade. Leading up to that, the city council commissioned several artists to draw queer art across the city in shop windows. Some of it was TERF friendly, as in, it didn’t mention trans people, and some of it very much wasn’t. Hayley Wells painted “There is no LGB without the T” on Toast, a local coffee house. And Bucky Ringsell drew a tiger with top surgery scars that said “Proud of my Stripes” inside the local Lush store window. Of course, terfs were outraged by Ringsell’s design. As far as I can tell, the only thing Chlemsford did to quiet them was remove Rigsell’s design from their Facebook posts showcasing the murals. I’ve seen nothing to suggest it was actually removed in person.
Reno, Nevada Mon, June 1 - What started as a 30 day data center moratorium back in May, became a data center moratorium till August 2027 after a 9 hour special city council meeting that mostly consisted of public comment against data centers. The most important name you need to know here is Councilmember Meghan Ebert, who, like many her colleagues is running for reelection this year. While this extended moratorium was introduced by Council Member Devon Reese, it was Ebert who made sure the decision included language explicitly stating that the moratorium cannot end until there are actual regulations in place. She is also concerned that Reese is only doing this because he is running for Mayor and that he will immediately flip on this if he wins. She told Nevada Current:
And I keep bringing up Ukraine because that was one issue he fought tirelessly in support of on our side. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, to PBS, I believe, that he “was here with our people when it was most needed. Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer.”
Chances are, you’re not gonna like what I say in this essay. And I just have to be okay with that. Cause, at the very least, all this information needs to be available in one place for someone to reference. We have to talk about Lindsey Graham.
Cleveland, Ohio Thu, June 25 - “Not With Our Money” is a massive boycott around the country to withdraw all funds from Citizens Bank because they fund GEO Group and CoreCivic. In early June, Jersey City, New Jersey became the first city to stop working with them. In late June the Greater Cleveland Congregation, a group of 37 communities of worship around Cleveland, Ohio pledged to withdraw $1.3m from the bank. In their press release, the group said: “Our message to Citizens Bank was clear: stop financing CoreCivic and GEO Group, the private companies running ICE detention centers across the country — including one holding 500 people right now in Youngstown.” This is how change happens. When a bunch of groups are very loud and say no, change happens. I have confidence Citizens Bank will soon realize that they cannot keep operating if they continue to finance ICE detention centers. If they do, they will just keep losing customers. I hope to have an update saying as such soon!
St Johns County, Florida Mon, June 15 - Shepard Sclaf was just starting his first year of teaching in St Johns County School District when he was fired for being intersex. The school had their hands tied and had to let him go based on a decision from the district, who never even told him why he was fired. He only learned after the fact that it was because a parent accused him of being trans. He was assigned female at birth, and it was on his employment papers but now identifies as male and the school had easily respected that. But the district didn’t care. One parent’s complaint was enough. Now ACLU and ACLU Florida have filed a charges of discrimination against the school district to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission demanding he get his job back. They said that the school’s “actions were deliberate and discriminatory based on its perception that Mr. Scalf is transgender” and is “a direct violation of his rights under Title VII” Obviously, given that this is going to the US anything, I’m a bit skeptical Scalf and the ACLU will win, but I’m sure if they don’t, this will go straight to court. And remember, half the battle is just making sure we keep fighting even when it doesn’t feel very likely we will succeed. Every single time we choose fight should give you hope, regardless of the outcome.
South Carolina Thu, June 11 - Trump cannot get rid of any grant he wants, as much as he’s gonna keep trying. He loses cases over and over again. This one is about the environment. Obama appointee, Judge Richard Gergel ruled that the EPA must restore the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program. The grant was created as part of the Inflation Reduction Act and awards funding to community organizations and groups working to mitigate the climate crisis, and protect their community from its effects. You can see why Trump would hate that. In his ruling, Judge Gergel said: “To reiterate, the President and federal agencies may not ignore statutory mandates or prohibitions merely because of policy disagreement with Congress.”
The midterms WILL happen. I can’t believe I still have to say that, but I do. So let me say it again. There WILL be midterms.
Please take a second to post about how Graham Platner should drop out of the Maine Senate race before July 13, next Monday. As the statute says: “Withdraws on or before 5 p.m. of the 2nd Monday in July preceding the general election”
Monterey Park, California Tue, June 2 - With a margin of over 76%, Monterey Park voters voted to ban data centers. This outcome was not a surprise, but that’s only because of the campaign that went into raising awareness of a proposed data center. This campaign was not easy. The developers of a proposed project tried to have private 1:1 meetings with Andrew Yip, the co-founder of San Gabriel Valley Progressive Action. He turned them down and made sure they made their case in a public forum instead. And it was his organizing and quick thinking that got the measure on the ballot. at a March 4 City Council meeting. He explained to LA Public Press: “It was actually a very short timeline. We found out about this data center in November. So it was only a few months where we organized folks and got a ballot measure in place.”
New Hampshire Thu, May 28 - From the outside, New Hampshire looks like a Blue state. They have two Dem senators and two Dem members of the House, so they must be Blue, right? Well, not exactly. New Hampshire is a strange state and pretty Republican, as is evident looking at their voting restrictions. HB 1569, which passed in 2024, limited how to prove citizenship to register to vote. Before the law went into effect it only took a sworn affidavit, eve when there was a challenge to someone’s registration. With this law, now an eligible voter had to provide documentation like their birth certificate or a passport. Not everyone has the necessary documents readily available, so a lot of people weren’t able to vote. But, in May, Biden appointee, Judge Samantha Elliott ruled that this anti-voter law was unconstitutional, saying:
Idaho Tue, May 19 - “The Gang of Eight,” the most conservative faction of the Idaho Senate is now the gang of three after the May Republican primary. The State House also had some wins. Three ultra conservative members were ousted there too. The far right has been making significant gains in Idaho for years, and for the first time in a while, it’s looking like that might be reversing. That might not feel like such a big deal, but as Boise State Political Science Professor Jaclyn Kettler said to Boise State Public Radio: “One vote can matter a lot in terms of whether legislation is going to move forward out of committee, whether it succeeds on the floor. We had a few really close votes this past session.” Sometimes, oftentimes, wins are incremental. But each incremental win adds up, and that’s how we will take back this country and make it something we can be proud of.
So please stop using “paid shill” and start celebrating when we get sponsorships. When we work with incredible people who actually value our work and understand that we need funding to do it. Watch the ads. You don’t even have to actually listen. Just have them play on mute, though I promise we all try really hard to make them as exciting as our regular videos.
Every other industry people expect someone is getting paid, but creators are expected to wait for money to fall from the sky. Brand deals are embarrassing and shameful. We have to disclose them to comply with the FTC, but when we do, we know we are putting a target on our backs.
Or, the final way, you’re lucky and you get sponsorships. This means a company or organization pays us to promote something. These are ads. These are the posts you probably don’t enjoy reading or watching so it’s hard to get enough views for companies to want to work with us.
If I have to be called a “paid shill” to make a living, then so be it. Or maybe we could just change the narrative and start recognizing what goes into being a progressive political creator.
Washington Fri, June 5 - While Republicans are pushing for the country to be more conservative, it’s important to highlight places that are refusing to follow that trend, like Mountlake Terrace. They applied for a $20m grant from the federal government for a Main Street renovation project. They were turned down, likely because of their Diversity Equity and Inclusion Commission. But instead of dismantling it to get the grant, they just dug further in on their inclusivity. This year, they held their first ever celebration for Pride Month. It was just one evening, and it was small, but it was there. One of the drag performers, Sin O’Matic said that there hasn’t been much work in that area for a drag performer so, “this is great that they invited us out here. It’s good to see that a community is still coming together and still representing diversity.” Every day there are reasons to be more scared and more angry, but we have to remember moments like this too. Republicans want to make sure things are less safe for all of us, but some places are becoming more, and that matters.
Fri, May 15 - Rep Matt Blumenthal (HD-147) introduced a bill that finally allowed no excuse absentee voting. And on May 15, Governor Ned Lamont signed it into law. Until now, Connecticut has been one of the only blue states to make voters prove that they need a mail in ballot. Now anyone can chose to vote by mail even if they aren’t disabled, abroad or in the military. It also allows 17 year olds who will be 18 by Election Day to vote early. And strengthens so many more small but important election protocols. Blumenthal celebrated the signing by saying, “Connecticut voters overwhelmingly demanded absentee voting for all, and now we have delivered.” This is such an important law that will remove a barrier to voting that shouldn’t have existed for this long in the first place. If you live in Connecticut and haven’t been able to vote, cause you couldn’t prove you needed an absentee ballot, now you can!
West Virginia Tue, May 12 - Three far right Judges were ousted in the West Virginia judicial races a month and a half ago. Gerald Titus and Thomas Ewing were appointed to the Supreme Court by current Governor Patrick Morrisey. While Dan Greear was appointed to the Intermediate Court of Appeals in 2022 by then Governor Jim Justice. And all three of them lost their seats. Titus and Greear’s campaigns were financed by conservative legal activist, Leonard Leo who spent over $100,000 on each race. While Black Bear PAC focused on keeping Ewing on the bench. It didn’t work. West Virginia voters chose to instead elect H. L. Kirkpatrick to Titus’ seat. He ran a campaign focused on being relatable while also touting his experience.
A Republican would not have signed those bills into law. Unless you live in a state with a jungle primary, and the choice is between two Dems, or a state like OK or NE where we do want the third party candidate, the choice is a Democrat who may piss you off sometimes or a Republican who will do the wrong thing most if not all the time.
So the choice is between a Democrat and a Republican. Even the worst Democrat, like Joe Manchin or Kristen Sinema in the Senate, were still instrumental in us passing the Chips and Science Act, the PACT ACT, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Primaries are coming to an end and we all, collectively, are gonna have to get comfortable with voting for people we don’t like very much. I have one of those. I wrote a whole essay about why one of my candidates is bad news and now I have to vote for her, cause the alternative is a Republican, and that’s not worth the risk right now.
Sacramento, California Mon, June 15 - Juneteenth will be a paid holiday for city workers starting this year. The Sacramento African American Employee Leadership Council made this their main priority beginning in 2022. Councilmembers Caity Maple and Rick Jennings first proposed the change back in 2024. But, it wasn’t as easy as just deciding it within the City Council. Council member Maple explained, “this achievement would not have been possible without the leadership of the AAELC and the dedication of our city staff and labor partners, who worked together to bring this across the finish line.” Progress matters, but it’s also nice to have an out and out win. And this is definitely that.
Wisconsin Thu, June 4 - The Dane County Board adopted a resolution that urges University of Wisconsin Health and Wisconsin Children’s Hospital to resume gender affirming care for minors. They wrote: “Dane County Board of Supervisors urges UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin to resume the provision of gender-affirming care for transgender and gender diverse youth to the fullest extent permitted by law.” They don’t have the power to compel the hospitals to resume care, but the resolution matters nonetheless. This is an escalation from the letter LGBTQ+ organization Fair Wisconsin lead with 64 other organizations back in mid May, and the rally lead by Reproductive Justice Action-Milwaukee at the end of May.
Michigan Thu, April 29 - The Michigan Supreme Court proposed an amendment to Michigan Court Rules to protect people who enter a courthouse from civil arrest. Yes, this is about ICE. They made the proposal in November and got over 2,000 comments during the month long comment period. In late April they adopted the rule and it went into effect on May 1. The rule states that “Parties, attorneys, and subpoenaed witnesses are not subject to civil arrest while going to, attending, and returning from the places they are required to attend.” and goes on to add any “officer of any of the several courts of record, including jurors.” Basically anyone who enters the court for any reason cannot be subject to civil arrest on court grounds.
Dark blue background with a title that reads “We’re NOT Doomed” in white letters, with “Doomed” in the colors of the lesbian flag: dark orange for D, light orange for O, white for O, medium pink for M, dark pink for E and white for D. Underneath the title is “June 18th. 2026” in light blue text. From left to right, three states are in the middle of the image. California the state is green with a large yellow star over Sacramento. Wisconsin is teal blue with a large orange star over Dan County, which includes the capital of Madison. Michigan is pink, with no star because the story covers state-wide policy. Text at the bottom reads “at ariella dot elm” in white.
So you don’t have to take Schumer’s word for anything. But if Elias has complete confidence in every step of this process, including the Senate Task Force, then so do I. And I hope you do too.