Utah Wins Fight to Protect Voter Data, Amazon Drops Virginia Data Center Plan

In this Election Day edition of Good News for Lefties, host Beowulf Rochlen shares stories of efforts to protect voting rights, communities standing up to immigration enforcement, and local organizing for affordable housing. A federal judge has ordered the Department of Justice to tell election officials in all 50 states that threats of prosecution over election records have been blocked. The ruling came just days before the midterm elections, in a lawsuit brought by labor unions and democracy-protection groups. Pope Leo XIV has cast a mail-in ballot in a U.S. general election for the first time as pontiff. The Chicago-born pope’s vote reflects his long-standing belief in citizens’ right and responsibility to take part in democratic processes. In Texas, an ICE officer has been indicted on an aggravated-assault charge after allegedly striking a man with a vehicle. And in Long Beach, California, neighbors rallied around a U.S. citizen who was tackled by federal agents, documenting the incident and preventing agents from taking him away. Amazon has abandoned plans to build data centers on a site in Virginia, agreeing to donate about 25 acres for community facilities and support affordable housing efforts. The deal also clears the way for mixed-use development, with housing as its primary focus. Plus, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says he voted for Democratic candidates rather than his party’s nominees, deepening a public rift within the state’s Republican Party. Beowulf also shares a listener comment and highlights a federal judge’s dismissal of the DOJ’s lawsuit seeking sensitive voter data in Utah. Read the stories linked in the episode description, and share this episode with a friend to help spread a little good news.