Election denier Mike Johnson gets reelected as House speaker.

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Friday, January 3
Today, Tim Cook donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration, just another tech CEO putting their business interests over the future of our country. Our only interest is keeping readers like you informed on the latest threats to our democracy — if you want to support an independent news outlet that puts readers first, consider ([link removed]) upgrading to a premium Democracy Docket membership ([link removed]) .
Trump’s hush money case sentencing set for Jan. 10
* A New York judge upheld President-elect Donald Trump’s conviction in his hush money case today and scheduled ([link removed]) his sentencing for Jan. 10. The judge rejected Trump’s argument that the case should be dismissed because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision ([link removed]) .
* New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan also indicated in his decision that he would not sentence Trump to jail or probation, instead ordering an unconditional discharge ([link removed]) , which has no obligations attached.

Election denier Mike Johnson reelected as House speaker
* The House of Representatives voted today to reelect Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), an election denier ([link removed]) who led efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
* Last year, Johnson heavily pushed a narrative about the dangers of noncitizen voting, which is already illegal and exceedingly rare, leading ([link removed]) his chamber to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act — a nationwide proof of citizenship bill.

Speaking of noncitizen voting…
* Despite noncitizen voting already being illegal, Republicans filed 16 lawsuits during the 2024 election cycle in an effort to sow doubt in elections and spread fear. Read here ([link removed]) to learn how the GOP brought the issue to court.
* The 119th Congress was sworn in today, and the GOP-controlled House of Representatives and Senate are set ([link removed]) to consider two bills related to noncitizen voting.

Republicans trust U.S. elections more after Trump win
* Last month, after Trump was elected president, 64% of Republicans said they were confident in the accuracy of the 2024 election, a spike from October when only 23% shared that sentiment, according to a new poll ([link removed]) from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs.

In Trump’s America, there’s democracy only when he wins
* In a recent Democracy Docket article, Marc wrote ([link removed]) about how Trump has made it clear that he only believes in democracy when he wins.
* Marc also explains ([link removed]) this viewpoint in a YouTube video, breaking down what it says about the GOP and why everyone should still be concerned about the future of American democracy even if Trump won’t be on the ballot again.

North Carolina Democrats challenge GOP power-grab law
* Last month, then-North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) and Gov.-elect Josh Stein (D) moved ([link removed]) to challenge the power-grab law Senate Bill 382 ([link removed]) , which removes the governor's power to appoint members to the state election board and gives it to the state auditor.
* Cooper and Stein filed this new motion in an ongoing lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 749 ([link removed]) , a similar law that gave the governor's power to appoint state election board members to the North Carolina Legislature. A state court struck down ([link removed]) the bill in March for violating the state constitution.

The best and worst of 2024
* 2024 was one for the books. Check out ([link removed]) the Democracy Docket team's thoughts on the worst conspiracy theory, the best debate response, sorest loser and more.

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