Ben Swasey

@benswasey

@nprpolitics voting editor / email: [email protected] / before: @wbur / Celtics ☘️

Washington, DC

Joined September 2010

1KFollowing

4KFollowers

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Ben Swasey@benswasey · Nov 6

A day-after note of thanks and kudos to election officials and the hundreds of thousands of poll workers who helped pull off a smooth Election Day.

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Ben Swasey@benswasey · Jun 11

NEW: Voting officials say they’ve never seen a demand like the one the Trump Justice Department sent to Colorado last month. npr.org/2025/06/11/nx-…

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Ben Swasey@benswasey · May 18

"A strong and independent press is essential to self-rule, to personal liberty, to national greatness." nytimes.com/2025/05/13/opi…

benswasey's tweet card. The anti-press playbook is being used in this country — and it could not come at a more difficult time for the American press.

Ben Swasey@benswasey · Jul 16

Three Democratic U.S. senators are raising concerns about a searchable citizenship data system developed under the Trump administration, warning that its use could lead to the disenfranchisement of eligible voters. npr.org/2025/07/16/nx-…

benswasey's tweet card. After NPR reported on a Department of Homeland Security tool to check the citizenship of registered voters, three U.S. senators are expressing concern about accuracy, transparency and privacy.

Ben Swasey@benswasey · Jul 14

Just days after Trump signed his bill that includes $$$ for hiring more immigration judges, more immigration judges got word they're being fired. npr.org/2025/07/14/nx-…

benswasey's tweet card. Several more immigration judges have been fired, even as the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement, and after Congress gave the Department of Justice $3 billion, in part to hire...

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Ben Swasey@benswasey · Jul 9

Citing "constitutional concerns" raised by Trump's Department of Justice, Texas Gov. Abbott is seeking a new congressional redistricting map in a just-announced special session. It could help Rs wring out more seats in Congress. gov.texas.gov/news/post/gove…

benswasey's tweet card. Governor Abbott Announces Special Session Agenda

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Ben Swasey@benswasey · Jun 29

NEW: The Trump administration has, for the first time ever, built a searchable national citizenship data system. npr.org/2025/06/29/nx-…

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Ben Swasey@benswasey · Jun 24

A total of 385,184 New Yorkers voted early in this primary election, compared to 191,197 in 2021. Nearly 25% of early voters had not voted in a Democratic primary at any point between 2012 and 2024. gothamist.com/news/nearly-a-…

benswasey's tweet card. A total of 385,184 New Yorkers voted early in this primary election, compared to 191,197 in 2021.

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Ben Swasey@benswasey · Jun 24

A state-mandated runoff for a Georgia Dem primary "might struggle to reach 1% turnout statewide. And counties could spend $10 million statewide to hold the election... That could be more than $100 per vote." apnews.com/article/georgi…

benswasey's tweet card. People who would like to change Georgia’s runoff system say a July 15 state Public Service Commission vote to choose a Democratic nominee shows the system's flaws.

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Ben Swasey@benswasey · Jun 17

SCOTUS emergency docket requests through both the W. Bush and Obama administrations: 8 Emergency docket requests through the first 20 weeks of Trump's second administration: 19 npr.org/2025/06/16/nx-…

benswasey's tweet card. Some 20 cases remain to be decided — about a third of the total argued cases — many of them the most important of the term. But the shadow docket, with its own list of cases, looms over the other...

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Ben Swasey@benswasey · Jun 11

The House easily passed a bill yesterday to repeal DC's noncitizen voting in local elections. 56 Dems joined all Rs clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025163

Ben Swasey@benswasey · Jun 4

Author Vance Packard at a 1966 congressional hearing: "My own hunch is that Big Brother, if he ever comes to these United States, may turn out to be not a greedy power seeker, but rather a relentless bureaucrat obsessed with efficiency." via: npr.org/2025/06/04/nx-…

benswasey's tweet card. DOGE's murky push to amass data at federal agencies could hurt the U.S. government's ability to produce reliable census results, economic indicators and other statistics in the future, experts warn.

Ben Swasey@benswasey · Jun 3

A legislative compromise has emerged in Nevada on voter ID and ballot drop boxes: reviewjournal.com/news/politics-…

benswasey's tweet card. Assembly Bill 499, which includes expanded access to ballot drop boxes and voter ID requirements, passed the Nevada Senate and heads to the governor.

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Ben Swasey@benswasey · May 26

The Trumps have done more to monetize the presidency than anyone who has ever occupied the White House. nytimes.com/2025/05/25/us/…

benswasey's tweet card. The president and his family have monetized the White House more than any other occupant, normalizing activities that once would have provoked heavy blowback and official investigations.

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Ben Swasey@benswasey · May 23

DOGE tried to embed in GAO. Experts say it should have asked GAO for more help instead: npr.org/2025/05/21/nx-…

benswasey's tweet card. DOGE attempted to assign a team to the Government Accountability Office, an influential congressional watchdog agency. It refused. But experts say DOGE could have learned much from GAO.

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Ben Swasey@benswasey · May 20

A good, nuanced dispatch here: washingtonpost.com/world/2025/05/…

benswasey's tweet card. How the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. foreign aid in Africa exposed its devastating downside for recipients.

Ben Swasey@benswasey · May 17

In recent weeks, Trump's DOJ announced its first charges for alleged noncitizen voting. In some of the cases, DOGE was credited with an assist. The charges come as Trump and other Republicans seek to add new document checks to voter registration. npr.org/2025/05/17/nx-…

benswasey's tweet card. President Trump and his allies have long made false claims of widespread noncitizen voting. Now, as the GOP pursues new restrictions, experts worry isolated arrests will be used to push the new rules.

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Ben Swasey@benswasey · May 16

It seems like Texas will continue not to have online voter registration votebeat.org/texas/2025/05/…

benswasey's tweet card. Texas, which has more than 18 million registered voters, is one of only eight states without online voter registration. Its paper-based system is prone to data-entry errors and delays.