Politics and views in the United States.

Arizona Democrats hope an abortion-rights ballot measure will boost turnout, Senate Democrats tell the Justice Department to step up protections for election workers and former Colorado election official Tina Peters is found guilty.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2024 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

This is what a winning campaign looks like.

This is what democracy looks like.

Vera Hernandez with Arizona for Abortion Access celebrates the certification of enough signatures to put a constitutional amendment on this November's ballot.

Democrats hope the popular referendum will boost voter turnout in the battleground state where abortions are banned after 15 weeks.

Voters will decide similar measures in at least six other states.

That includes Missouri, where Republican lawmakers want to raise the share of votes needed to approve an amendment.

State Representative Alex Riley says they want to protect the Missouri Constitution from out-of-state groups.

We want to make sure that when changes are being made, they aren't being made by hyper-partisan interest groups, that it's something that has a degree of broad consensus across the state of Missouri.

A wave of successful ballot measures in several states show the popularity of protecting abortion rights and legalizing recreational marijuana.

Senate Democrats are urging the Department of Justice to take more action to protect election workers, citing ongoing threats and abuse of conduct.

The Federal Election Threats Task Force has looked into dozens of cases, but lead investigator John Keller says the majority fail to meet the standard for prosecution, which is unlawful violence.

It threatens the foundation of our democracy.

Death threats are criminal, and they will be prosecuted.

Nearly 40 percent of election workers nationwide say they've experienced threats or harassment.

The United Auto Workers Union has filed a formal complaint against former President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.

They take issue with Trump publicly celebrating union-busting during their live-streamed conversation on X.

You want to quit?

They go on strike.

I won't mention the name of the company, but they go on strike, and you say, "That's okay, you're all gone.

You're all gone."

It's illegal to fire workers who threaten to strike.

Meanwhile, Minnesota Governor and Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz met Tuesday with members of AFSCME, the country's largest public sector union.

It's not just a saying, it's a fact.

When unions are strong, America's strong.

Walz, a retired teacher, says he is the first union member to be on a presidential ticket since Ronald Reagan, who has led the Screen Actors Guild.

Former Colorado election official Tina Peters has been found guilty on several felonies related to election tampering.

Prosecutors say Peters violated state law when she allowed unauthorized access to election equipment and records, posting the results online.

Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold says Peters was trying to prove Trump's big lie that the election was stolen.

Election denialism, disinformation truly is dangerous.

And that's why it's so important we speak out and speak up to any type of election disinformation.

I'm Catherine Carley for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.