Politics and views in the United States.

Polls show a dead heat in the repeat race for the White House, the Supreme Court deals a major blow to federal agencies' ability to enforce rules, and GOP-led states clamp down on voter registration drives.

TRANSCRIPT

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

I'm not going to answer the question because the question is, the question is, the question, will you shut up, man?

Who is on your list?

Muted microphones Thursday night helped prevent the persistent interruptions of 2020s debate between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.

With polls showing a dead heat, Biden's campaign hopes the events boosting his standing with voters now just tuning in.

The fewer than one-fifth of Americans, those living in battleground states, could tip the election, and many of those have already decided.

The Supreme Court says emergency abortions can take place in Idaho for the present.

A majority of justices dismissed a case, leaving in effect a lower court ruling which paused the state's near-total ban.

But Nina Besser-Dorley with the Institute for Women's Policy Research says the justices' failure to affirm federal law protecting the right to emergency abortion care leaves patients and doctors in limbo.

Even where bans are in place and there are exceptions, a culture of fear and litigation has created a situation where providers and hospitals are afraid to offer services.

The Supreme Court also dealt a major blow to federal agencies' ability to enforce regulations.

The court ruled people accused of fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission have the right to a jury trial rather than face an agency tribunal.

But New York University law professor Melissa Murray tells MSNBC the federal courts are already overburdened.

So the SEC is going to have to pick and choose, and that means a lot of things may go unenforced, which seems to be exactly what corporate interests want.

New laws in several GOP-led states make it harder to register voters.

One Kansas law threatens anyone impersonating an election official with a felony, and volunteers worry they'll be charged by mistake.

In Louisiana, a new law limits how people can help others complete registration paperwork.

Secretary of State Nancy Landry says that'll help prevent fraud.

I'm hoping that these bills that pass will help us to improve our ranking and be top in the nation in election integrity.

Several Florida groups, including the League of Women Voters, say changes have effectively ended in-person voter registration drives.

Tennessee election officials have sent a letter to more than 14,000 registered voters asking them to prove their citizenship.

State Representative John Ray Clemons says the letter threatens recipients with two years in jail if they vote illegally.

This isn't about allowing illegal immigrants to vote.

This isn't about voter protection.

This is about voter intimidation, plain and simple.

Voting rights groups are asking the Tennessee Attorney General to investigate.

A new survey finds one in ten citizens of voting age, particularly voters of color, can't easily find documents to prove their citizenship.

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

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.