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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I still get chills when I think about the Alabama solution documentary. Shameful.

Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Great example of how journalists can report on voting and elections. They play an important role in communicating the behind the scenes, esp. during a time when bad faith actors try really hard to sow distrust. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

pbs.org

A look at how overseas ballots are verified and counted in the midterms

Defense Secretary Hegseth directed military commanders to have a one-day “stand down” this month so service members have time to vote in the midterms. In King County, Washington, ballots are already b...

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

@nathankatz.bsky.social's book is a must read. We are grateful to host him at the Foley Institute in Pullman as part of our midterm speaker series.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Interesting how the House is trying to denounce socialism, but I didn't see a resolution to denounce nazism.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

What would you pick? I am confused @today.yougov.com I am unsure what captions to add to this, forgive me

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Did anyone use the word "backdrop" before the LLM era?

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Yep. For those who complain/skeptical: serve as a poll worker; go observe voting machine checks and vote counting. See for yourself.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

On birth certificates: the design varies from state to state, and I bet it would be required to show that one's certificate is "official," meaning it has to be apostilled by each state authority. Apostilles are date stamped, so I also bet it will be required to apostille every election cycle.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

This is called a data void, and these candidates are addressing it by filling the info environment with information voters needs to know. LLMs will pick up those sources instead of making it up, or drawing from low hanging quality sources.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

You know what are the true threats to our democracy? Not in ranking order: 1. Gerrymandering 2. Unregulated campaign finance 3. Disinformation 4. Defunding CISA 5. Firing EAC commissioners 6. Asking states' unredacted voter roll data

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

How insulting to the whole election community who works so hard for Americans to exercise their right to vote freely and securely.

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Reposted by Lia Merivaki_Ph.D.

Ari Berman @ariberman.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

National Intelligence Council 2021 report directly contradicts Trump's lies about alleged Chinese interference: “We assess that China did not deploy interference efforts and considered but did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the US presidential election"

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

This is such a tragedy. The EAC has zero regulatory authority, but it provides tremendous support to election officials across the country. Thank you for your service, Commissioners.

Snapshot of email by Votebeat reporting that Trump fired all members of the US Election Assistance Commission

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Instant follow and on my reading list for Fall teaching.

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Reposted by Lia Merivaki_Ph.D.

Ioannis Ziogas @ziogas.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Today's NYT jobs report coverage (left) compared to exactly 2 years ago under Biden (right). Notice the numbers.

NYT headline (July 2, 2026): U.S. Hiring Continues at a Steady Pace

NYT headline (July 2, 2024): US Job Growth Extends Streak, but Signs of Concern Emerge.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

@npr don't use the term election officials really dislike: purges. It's routine list maintenance, and removal of ineligible voters. Yes, it is governed by federal law, and yes many times eligible voters are impacted. But "purge" is not a term used in election admin. share.google/Emh143cjwreY...

share.google

A federal law bans late voter roll purges. Republicans are pushing to reinterpret it

There's a ban on most states systematically purging voter rolls within 90 days before Election Day. Republicans are pushing courts to reinterpret that longstanding protection for eligible voters.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Election Day means the day when voters cast their vote, not the day when vote counting is completed. States govern election rules. it's wrong to punish voters who went through all the hoops to cast a legal vote, because of factors beyond their control (postal delays).

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Major journal desk rejecting paper on voting rights claiming that topic is too narrow. Sure.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Beautiful piece by @ashtonpittman.bsky.social on Mississippi's racist history - and present. Color blindness is inherently problematic. It erases all context and history of racial struggles and politics.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

States who allow electronic delivery of mail ballots to voters, like in MD, should speak out to inform this option to voters. How disappointing that USPS is not a reliable partner any more.

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Reposted by Lia Merivaki_Ph.D.

Marty Olliff @martyolliff.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

It’s telling that Alabama took 14 years to implement Brown (you MUST desegregate) and < 14 days to implement Callais (you CAN eliminate Black districts if you call them Democratic, but you don’t HAVE to).

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Elections are worth funding. This lack of listening to election officials is so disappointing.

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Reposted by Lia Merivaki_Ph.D.

Ioannis Ziogas @ziogas.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Back in 2018, I did a ton of interviews with farmers in MS, AL, and LA for an EPA project. Long story short, most of them voted for Trump and despise their customers (people in cities who buy their food). They know subsidies will keep on rolling no matter what. They hold the food supply hostage.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

The NVRA's list maintenance provision is next on the chopping block.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

I can't help but infer that this SCOTUS decision is punitive. We have evidence since Shelby that removing VRA protections empowered states to pass laws with discriminatory impact. Why would this be different?

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Mississippi "leaders" are not even discreet about this. What a dark day for America.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Must buy from my friend @kevintmorris.bsky.social and his rockstar co-author Michael Miller. I was privileged to get a preview of this work a few summers ago. Can't wait to get my copy.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Unpopular opinion? Videos of @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social walking in NYC > puppy videos.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

I get the scientific discovery, but I totally object to the "the benefits outweigh the ethical costs" argument.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Watched Don't Look Up again today and I could not tell whether today's press conference was real life or a movie.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

This sounds "fun" but it also reeks of privilege. Who is more likely to get prosecuted for not paying taxes?

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Heartbreaking. Looks like democracy is not worth it for many leaders, and a substantial number of voters across the world feel the same, otherwise we wouldn't be here.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

People commenting on the price of gas: would the outrage be less of gas prices were not impacted?

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Reposted by Lia Merivaki_Ph.D.

Decision Desk HQ @decisiondeskhq.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

It’s Election Night, and we’re tracking over 6,600 elections in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas. Follow all the results on Votes throughout the night as we track both Texas Senate primaries as well as federal, statewide, and local contests. votes.decisiondeskhq.com

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

What is wild about this change is that voters could vote at a vote center during early voting, but precinct based was available on Election Day. How can voters *not* be confused! I hope turning voters away came with "here is your correct polling place," and these folks got to vote.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

More of this, please: "All Utahns should be offended by efforts to make voting more difficult, implying that we are a state of ballot-box stuffers."

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

If the SAVE Act passes, I expect Americans will have a "being processed" status for their passport applications all the way to after election day. Perhaps intentionally, but also because it will administratively be very hard to process millions of applications in a short amount of time.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

"Our commitment is to long-term, methodologically sound research on issues and conditions that shape people’s lives,” a spokesperson for the agency said. So presidential approval is not an issue that shapes people's lives? How disappointing.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

So honored to be part of this cohort. I look forward to work with everyone and support democracy in any way I can.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

"Roughly 20 percent of Buchanan County residents have no teeth at all." Having to go to public gyms to get free dental work by volunteer doctors should not be happening in the richest country on earth. It's not a partisan issue, it's a matter of human dignity.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

This is very very cool, although not scientific at all (in the controlled setting sense).

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

When a certain influential figure on the right was killed, we heard a lot about respecting their dignity. Clearly digitty applies only on one side.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Imagine teaching this 10-20 years from now when covering US Government.

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Reposted by Lia Merivaki_Ph.D.

Ioannis Ziogas @ziogas.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

During the first Trump term we had functional media who would challenge him and his administration -- we just don't have those this time.

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Lia Merivaki_Ph.D. @liamerivaki.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

I started (re)watching American Dad with my high schooler. It's chilling how relevant the first season is to what is happening now.

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