Reporter for @boltsmag.org covering voting rights, democracy, and criminal justice at the local and state levels. Previously @denverpost.com. Support local journalism. Signal: burness.02https://bsky.app/profile/burness.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/burness.bsky.social/post/3mvsmnp5xj22cThis comes amid a broader attack on voting rights for trans Kansans: New ID requirements at best make voting harder and potentially more dangerous for many, and in some cases will outright block people from voting. https://boltsmag.org/kansas-transgender-license-law-also-threatens-voting-rights/ [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Sep 2026 16:47 +0000at://did:plc:d4cpcgnaykgx3z3uq2askqs2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvsmnp5xj22chttps://bsky.app/profile/burness.bsky.social/post/3mvl3oax3yk24A big update to an important case: Alaska is dropping charges against a family of American Samoans it had accused of voting crimes. It should not be forgotten that Alaska inflicted enormous hardship and trauma, for years, for a simple, understandable mistake that the state itself helped facilitate. https://boltsmag.org/charges-dropped-against-american-samoans-punished-for-voting-in-alaska/15 Sep 2026 16:54 +0000at://did:plc:d4cpcgnaykgx3z3uq2askqs2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvl3oax3yk24https://bsky.app/profile/burness.bsky.social/post/3muqfnfyk522qA major win today for Tupe Smith, the American Samoan mom and school volunteer Alaska has accused of voter fraud and threatened with prison. “The only good news we’ve heard ever since this whole thing started,” Smith’s husband texts me tonight. I wrote in January on this family’s nightmare, ICYMI: [contains quote post or other embedded content]05 Sep 2026 02:11 +0000at://did:plc:d4cpcgnaykgx3z3uq2askqs2/app.bsky.feed.post/3muqfnfyk522qhttps://bsky.app/profile/burness.bsky.social/post/3muhonkndqs2xReminder, as Maura Healey runs unopposed in the Massachusetts primary today: She says, “If you don't stand against ICE and if you don't stand against Donald Trump, then you can't be and shouldn't be governor of Massachusetts.” …while at the same partnering directly with ICE via the 287(g) program. https://boltsmag.org/massachusetts-prisons-contract-with-ice/01 Sep 2026 14:58 +0000at://did:plc:d4cpcgnaykgx3z3uq2askqs2/app.bsky.feed.post/3muhonkndqs2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/burness.bsky.social/post/3muhlnvakpc2xIn so many ways, people with criminal convictions are not actually free even after exiting incarceration. Here’s a very good @vevalenz.bsky.social piece on one example of this: state-ordered separation of babies and parents. The first paragraph alone is heartbreaking. https://boltsmag.org/california-child-reunification-reform/01 Sep 2026 14:05 +0000at://did:plc:d4cpcgnaykgx3z3uq2askqs2/app.bsky.feed.post/3muhlnvakpc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/burness.bsky.social/post/3muhkjysets2xTreg Taylor says he made a “good-faith effort” to follow the law but was set up to fail by Alaska’s own flawed systems. How ironic: American Samoans in Alaska say the same of their own alleged violations, as *Taylor* is aggressively prosecuting them: https://boltsmag.org/prosecuted-for-voting-american-samoans-alaska/ [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Sep 2026 13:44 +0000at://did:plc:d4cpcgnaykgx3z3uq2askqs2/app.bsky.feed.post/3muhkjysets2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/burness.bsky.social/post/3mu5qoa5tz22uNo need to afford anything! Totally free to subscribe (boltsmag.org/newsletter/) and we have no paywall. [contains quote post or other embedded content]28 Aug 2026 16:08 +0000at://did:plc:d4cpcgnaykgx3z3uq2askqs2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu5qoa5tz22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/burness.bsky.social/post/3mu5qlnvues2uNew @boltsmag.org piece breaking down 10 big questions about mail voting: https://boltsmag.org/mail-voting-your-questions-answered/28 Aug 2026 16:06 +0000at://did:plc:d4cpcgnaykgx3z3uq2askqs2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu5qlnvues2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/burness.bsky.social/post/3mu5nlq3lck2aA new law restoring voting rights to about 41,000 Missourians with past felony convictions takes effect today, in time to register for November. Like all states, Missouri disproportionately incarcerates Black residents, meaning that this reform will shift some voting power to Black Missourians. https://boltsmag.org/gop-run-missouri-becomes-latest-state-to-roll-back-felony-disenfranchisement/28 Aug 2026 15:13 +0000at://did:plc:d4cpcgnaykgx3z3uq2askqs2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu5nlq3lck2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/burness.bsky.social/post/3mthbewfyu22x5 years after a federal court ruling introduced unlimited spending in Alaska elections, voters there hit back on Tuesday, defying their Republican governor and approving—by a huge margin—new limits that restrict the ability of rich donors to bankroll candidates. I wrote about it in @boltsmag.org: https://boltsmag.org/measure-1-alaska-votes-to-reinstate-cap-on-campaign-donations/19 Aug 2026 17:35 +0000at://did:plc:d4cpcgnaykgx3z3uq2askqs2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mthbewfyu22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/burness.bsky.social/post/3msvcqiuzyc23Extremely frustrating that even our local paper can’t do the bare minimum of calling this occupation out for what it is. Even for Trump, that “crime capital” quote is, very obviously, a ridiculous lie, and if you’re going to put it in your lede you’d better immediately label it as such. [contains quote post or other embedded content]12 Aug 2026 14:12 +0000at://did:plc:d4cpcgnaykgx3z3uq2askqs2/app.bsky.feed.post/3msvcqiuzyc23https://bsky.app/profile/burness.bsky.social/post/3mstdjvasxk2lThis is exactly right, and one of the main takeaways of my time in journalism: A lot of people, including many who’d identify as civil rights defenders, will look right past even the most horrific, urgent stories if they believe the people you’re covering did something “bad” to begin with. [contains quote post or other embedded content]11 Aug 2026 19:21 +0000at://did:plc:d4cpcgnaykgx3z3uq2askqs2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mstdjvasxk2l