A warning that Americans are running out of peaceful ways to be heard by their own local governments, which is bad news for anyone who still trusts the system to self-correct.

• Local officials are treating voters as subjects rather than owners, and answering to donors instead.
• The only real options left are legislative and legal fights, not dropping out and living off-grid.
• The worry is that those legal options run out sooner than people expect, given how fast trust is burning down.

Outlook: Expect more pressure on local politics, with rising talk of what happens if the legal path closes.