Hello, pro-democracy readers! In news that broke just minutes ago, a federal appeals court ordered Missouri to reinstate a GOP gerrymandered map that eliminates a Democratic district. The order sets up a last-minute rush to the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS).

Meanwhile, Democrats want to see a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “checklist” for law enforcement on “voter integrity.”

All that and more is on the docket today. See you tomorrow!

Deadly Minnesota surge, other ICE operations show Trump already using agency to sway election, lawsuit warns

• The Trump administration’s demand for Minnesota’s voting records as a condition of winding down last winter’s deadly immigration crackdown is one part of how federal law enforcement is interfering with elections, civil rights groups argued in a lawsuit trying to bar ICE from polling places.

➤ What are they arguing?

Fewer Democrats say they will vote by mail after Trump’s failed assault

• Trump’s all-out assault on mail voting has come at a time when more Democrats use it. But voting advocates have warned that the months-long uncertainty over Trump’s anti-mail voting order may still have shaken confidence in mail voting.
  
  
• It seems they were right. Now, fewer Democratic voters say they plan to vote by mail in the midterms, compared to how many did so in 2024.

➤ How Trump’s voting uncertainty has impacted Democratic voters

DHS ignored court by continuing work on voter citizenship lists without notice, Democrats allege

• The Trump administration violated a court order when it failed to provide updates on its efforts to compile lists of voting-age citizens in each state, Democrats said in a recent court filing.
  
  
• The so-called “State Citizenship Lists” are part of Trump’s anti-mail voting executive order. But Democrats suing to block those efforts said on several occasions they have only learned what steps DHS was taking through public reporting after the fact.
  
  
• Now, Democrats are asking a federal judge to force DHS to disclose what steps it is taking to fulfill Trump’s demand that suspected non-citizens be purged from voter rolls.

➤ Inside how the administration has “shirked the Court’s instruction”

Senate Dems call for California probe into new DHS whistleblower allegations

• Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla called on California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) to review new whistleblower allegations that DHS agents recently used Californians’ sensitive personal information to improperly access the state’s voting records.

➤ What did the senators say to the attorney general?

More on DHS: Democrats are alarmed by document listing places distributing non-English election info

• Democratic officials say it’s “extremely concerning” that a DHS document lists places where election information is distributed in multiple languages, suggesting the agency could target jurisdictions with large immigrant and non-English-speaking populations as it seeks to validate false claims of widespread illegal voting by noncitizens.

➤ Read about their concerns

California enacts new election safeguards against potential Trump interference in midterms

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a sweeping package of election laws that includes a measure making it a felony to seize ballots, election records or voting technology before an election is certified.

➤ What are California’s new election laws?

Voting rights lawsuit prompts South Dakota to fix ‘confusing’ proof-of-citizenship system

• A federal judge denied a voting rights group’s request to block part of South Dakota’s new proof-of-citizenship voting system after the state changed its voter notices and gave the group much of what it had asked for.

➤ Why this is a win for pro-voters

Report: Top DOJ official threatens to fire prosecutors who refuse to pursue voter fraud cases

• A senior DOJ official warned federal prosecutors that they could be fired if they refused to pursue voter fraud cases brought to them by the FBI or DHS.

➤ Why the warning is being called ‘outrageous’

Today's newsletter was edited by Sally Holtgrieve and Dave O'Brien, and produced by Leila Fusenig. Learn more about our staff here.