🚨🚨🚨A big criminal justice election thread:

Biden and Trump have very different visions for policing and prisons, but many local races for sheriff and DA will be litmus tests for the country’s views post-George Floyd.

Some races I’m watching tonight for @MarshallProj:
In the 9th circuit of South Carolina, the Dem running for district attorney says he wants to “shut off the mass incarceration mindset.” Trump won a county in this district by 17 points in 2016, but #BlackLivesMatter is popular next door. A @taniel preview: https://theappeal.org/politicalreport/charleston-prosecutor-candidate-pogue-discusses-racial-injustice/
Charleston Prosecutor Candidate Wants to “Shut Off the Mass Incarceration Mindset”

In a Q&A, Ben Pogue, who is running to be the chief prosecutor of South Carolina’s Ninth Circuit, discusses how he would confront racial injustice.

https://theappeal.org/politicalreport/charleston-prosecutor-candidate-pogue-discusses-racial-injustice/
Kristin Graziano might become the 1st female sheriff in South Carolina. The incumbent says he’s working to lock up fewer people. He’s been in office since 1988, so clearly he’s feeling pressure. Great story by John Eligon + @abscribe https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/us/racial-justice-elections.html
After a Summer of Racial Reckoning, Race Is on the Ballot

The coronavirus and battered economy are focal points in national campaigns. But in many local elections, systemic racism and police reform have emerged as dominant themes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/us/racial-justice-elections.html
Trump won Shawnee County (Topeka) in 2016, but his declining popularity in the suburbs may boost Joshua Luttrell, who is running for DA and promises to reduce prison sentences. “We can’t convict our way into a more peaceful community,” he told @iayarbor. https://www.cjonline.com/news/20200920/both-want-safer-community-but-they-disagree-on-how-to-get-there-herersquos-what-to-expect-from-your-shawnee-county-da-candidates
Both want a safer community, but they disagree on how to get there. Here's what to expect from your...

Joshua Luttrell, the Democratic candidate in Shawnee County’s district attorney race, considers that elected position "the most important position that you never really thought about."Luttrell faces...

https://www.cjonline.com/news/20200920/both-want-safer-community-but-they-disagree-on-how-to-get-there-herersquos-what-to-expect-from-your-shawnee-county-da-candidates
Cincinnati could see a seismic shift. The DA has sent more ppl to death row than any other in Ohio. His dem challenger wants to end cash bail. Meanwhile @PiperPerabo is campaigning for a sheriff candidate who wants jail to be for treatment, not punishment https://twitter.com/PiperPerabo/status/1319000821955063808
In part of Louisiana that went big for Trump in 2016, the state’s first Black female judge is running to replace a DA she has called biased against Black defendants. It's the same area where the sheriff was acquitted of fed civil rights abuses. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/us/racial-justice-elections.html
After a Summer of Racial Reckoning, Race Is on the Ballot

The coronavirus and battered economy are focal points in national campaigns. But in many local elections, systemic racism and police reform have emerged as dominant themes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/us/racial-justice-elections.html
As @taniel reports, Colorado is a state to watch, where the death penalty was abolished this year and several ‘tough-on-crime’ DAs are retiring, setting up big battles over the future of criminal justice: https://theappeal.org/politicalreport/colorado-prosecutor-elections-2020/
In Colorado’s D.A. Races, Disagreements Abound on Criminal Justice Reform

In four populous districts with open prosecutor elections, debates center on issues such as drug policy, jail capacity, and police impunity.

https://theappeal.org/politicalreport/colorado-prosecutor-elections-2020/
In Los Angeles, the DA race has become a referendum on police violence. @johnlegend is stumping for challenger @GeorgeGascon, who is very publicly not taking money from police unions as he goes after @JackieLacey. She warns crime could go up under him. https://twitter.com/PiperPerabo/status/1319000606124560384
In Maricopa County (aka formerly Arpaioland), a DA candidate's reforms might reduce the whole STATE of Arizona's incarceration rate by 26%.

And if Roe v. Wade is overturned, she wouldn't prosecute abortions.

The ACLU sank $850k into the race. https://www.acluaz.org/en/news/three-reasons-vote-maricopa-county-attorneys-race
Three Reasons to Vote in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Race

There is so much at stake this November. Our civil liberties are on the line in races up and down the ballot.

https://www.acluaz.org/en/news/three-reasons-vote-maricopa-county-attorneys-race
Sheriff elections are perhaps the clearest tests of what might be called ‘Trumpism’ aside from the presidential race itself.

A Florida sheriff who publicizes mugshots on "Wheel of Fugitive" faces #BlackLivesMatter -aligned challenger.

@MarshallProj: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/09/19/the-sheriff-s-race-pitting-trump-against-black-lives-matter
The Sheriff’s Race Pitting Trump Against Black Lives Matter

Will demands for law enforcement accountability reach popular tough-on-crime sheriffs? A Florida race offers a test.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/09/19/the-sheriff-s-race-pitting-trump-against-black-lives-matter
Sheriff races could also be a major way for activists to change the face of policing.

This sheriff is facing a challenger after 10 deaths in his jail just this year; a woman gave birth in a cell and the baby died.

@michaelsbarajas/ @TexasObserver: https://www.texasobserver.org/bill-waybourn-sheriff-trump/
Trump’s Favorite Texas Sheriff Faces Re-Election Amid a Spike in Deaths at His Jail

Conservative media have turned Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn into a right-wing celebrity despite a long list of scandals on his watch.

https://www.texasobserver.org/bill-waybourn-sheriff-trump/
Sheriffs have been the foot-soldiers in Trump’s immigration crackdown. Activists are pushing back, and finding success even in unlikely places. My look at one county for @MarshallProj/ @TexasMonthly/ @NBCNews: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/07/01/their-unlikely-alliance-began-at-whataburger-can-they-reform-a-texas-jail
Their Unlikely Alliance Began at Whataburger. Can They Reform a Texas Jail?

When COVID-19 threatened the jail in Tyler, Texas, an activist pressured her sheriff to make change.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/07/01/their-unlikely-alliance-began-at-whataburger-can-they-reform-a-texas-jail
Sheriffs are also a driving political force behind opposition to mask and lockdown orders, in ways that harken back to Reconstruction, the civil rights era, and the rise of militias. A big ol’ explainer for @MarshallProj/ @NBCNews: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/05/18/the-rise-of-the-anti-lockdown-sheriffs
The Rise of the Anti-Lockdown Sheriffs

Opposition to stay-at-home orders is the latest example of a history of powerful sheriffs, which stretches back to the end of slavery and the settling of the frontier.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/05/18/the-rise-of-the-anti-lockdown-sheriffs
All this to say: VOTE, but don’t just pay attention to the presidential race.

Your vote can have an outsized impact on criminal justice in your backyard.

This sheriff came to oversee one of the worst jails in the country. He won by 22 votes. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/07/29/your-local-jail-may-be-a-house-of-horrors
Your Local Jail May Be A House of Horrors

But you probably wouldn’t know it, because sheriffs rule them with little accountability. After one man's death in a notorious lockup, residents of a Missouri town fought back.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/07/29/your-local-jail-may-be-a-house-of-horrors
Follow this thread for results tonight, and follow @MarshallProj for all kinds of election updates, including stories from first-time voters who regained their franchise after prison #FreeToVote https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/11/03/after-years-behind-bars-these-folks-are-freetovote
After Years Behind Bars, These Folks Are #FreeToVote

Here are their stories.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/11/03/after-years-behind-bars-these-folks-are-freetovote
You can follow @MauriceChammah.
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