# #1784 Who Gets to Be American, Who Gets to Vote, and Who Decides Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-left-leftist-perspectives-on-progressive-politics-news-culture-economics-and-democracy-457587/1784-who-gets-to-be-american-who-gets-to-vote-and-who-decides Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-left-leftist-perspectives-on-progressive-politics-news-culture-economics-and-democracy-457587/1784-who-gets-to-be-american-who-gets-to-vote-and-who-decides.md Podcast: [Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy](https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-left-leftist-perspectives-on-progressive-politics-news-culture-economics-and-democracy-457587) Published: 2026-04-14T07:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.bestoftheleft.com/1784 Audio file: https://pdrl.fm/829673/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/hippiesympathizer/1784_Court_Cases.mp3?dest-id=22784 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/best-of-the-left-leftist-perspectives-on-progressive-politics-news-culture-economics-and-democracy-457587/episodes/1784-who-gets-to-be-american-who-gets-to-vote-and-who-decides Duration seconds: 9595 ## Resource Air Date: 4/14/2026 Today we examine the legal battles shaking the foundations of American citizenship and voting rights as Trump's legal team uses the courts as a weapon against democratic participation — and how advocates are fighting back. We'll hear about the three-D playbook of deceive, disrupt, and deny used by authoritarians and being deployed by Trump ahead of the midterms, and what ordinary people can do right now to protect their votes before November. Be part of the show! Leave a voice message , message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01 , or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube ! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community ! TOP TAKES KP 1: SCOTUS Hears Birthright Citizenship Arguments - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 4-1-26 KP 2: Will SCOTUS Join the GOP War on Mail-in Ballots Part 1 - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 3-30-26 KP 3: Arizona Secretary of State Trump Is Trying to Pick His Own Voters by Restricting Mail-in Ballots - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-3-26 KP 4: Desperate Election STUNT in California BLOCKED by Supreme Court - Legal AF - Air Date 4-9-26 KP 5: Mark Joseph Stern of Slate on SCOTUS Arguments to Block Late Arriving Mail Ballots Part 1 - The Bradcast - Air Date 3-24-26 KP 6: Voting Rights & Wrongs, According to SCOTUS with Steve Vladeck - Stay Tuned with Preet - Air Date 3-25-26 (00:52:29) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Conservatives' Judicial Originalism Isn't Principle — It's a 40-Year Political Project DEEPER DIVES (01:07:20) SECTION A: BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP (01:39:42) SECTION B: ELECTION INTERFERENCE (02:03:37) SECTION C: MAIL-IN VOTING SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.c… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/best-of-the-left-leftist-perspectives-on-progressive-politics-news-culture-economics-and-democracy-457587/episodes/1784-who-gets-to-be-american-who-gets-to-vote-and-who-decides/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-left-leftist-perspectives-on-progressive-politics-news-culture-economics-and-democracy-457587/1784-who-gets-to-be-american-who-gets-to-vote-and-who-decides.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.