Author

Kira Lerner
Kira Lerner is the democracy reporter for States Newsroom in Washington, D.C. She has previously covered voting, criminal justice, and civil rights issues for publications including Votebeat and The Appeal.
Candidates fighting 2020 misinformation run to administer local elections
By: Kira Lerner - December 31, 2021
As a chemist and immigrant from Vietnam, Linh Nguyen never thought she could have a role in U.S. politics. But then Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 and he “unknowingly inspired minority leaders, women of color like me, to be more actively engaged in politics,” she said. She joined the nonpartisan League of Women […]
How an election denier’s fan club got its start in the states
By: Kira Lerner - December 16, 2021
WASHINGTON — The suddenly famous election denier behind the circulation of a PowerPoint filled with plans to overturn the 2020 election has a long history of election subversion attempts in multiple states. Retired Army Col. Phil Waldron also has close ties to former President Donald Trump’s legal team and served as one of its key […]
Activists target corporate campaign cash in battle against voting restrictions
By: Kira Lerner - December 14, 2021
Members of the Defend Black Voters Coalition chose Detroit’s Huntington Center as their backdrop earlier this month when they issued a warning about the dangers of “voter suppression legislation” backed by Republican state lawmakers. The building behind them, formerly known as the TCF Center, was a powerful symbol of what could happen if elections indeed […]