The Postal Service is slowing delivery. Will your mail ballot be affected?

• The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is implementing broad cost-saving measures that will slow pickup and delivery times for 42% of the continental United States. The major change will eliminate evening mail pickups from post offices more than 50 miles away from a regional processing facility.
  
  
• That puts tens of thousands of unsuspecting mail voters at risk of disenfranchisement if they wait too long to mail their ballot. The danger is particularly great for rural voters.
  
  
• The Democracy Docket team built a map showing the zip codes affected by the slowdowns.
  
  
• Meanwhile, the USPS is pushing back the start date for its “extraordinary measures” by five days, in comparison to past elections. That will give Postal Service workers 10 days before Election Day to handle the inevitable extra work that comes with the millions of ballots mailed throughout the country.

➤ How the delay can impact voters

Americans overwhelmingly support pro-voting policies, national survey finds

• A new survey found that 82% of Americans strongly favor early in-person voting options and making Election Day a federal holiday. Nine in 10 voters said they support training and hiring more poll workers to increase polling place hours.

➤ Which pro-voting policies are most popular?

Hegseth urges military to vote as Trump administration makes it harder for them to cast ballots

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed commanders and supervisors to give service members and their families time to register, request ballots and cast their votes.
  
  
• But Hegseth’s push comes as the Trump administration and Republican allies have pursued a series of legal and administrative changes that could make it harder for the same military voters and their families to cast ballots.

➤ What did Hegseth say?

Court upholds Tennessee’s GOP gerrymander, saying lawmakers deserve ‘presumption of good faith’

• A federal court dismissed a lawsuit challenging a gerrymandered map adopted by Tennessee Republicans that eliminated the state’s one Black-majority congressional district, based in Memphis.

➤ The latest in Tennessee

North Carolina mailboxes overflow with voter registration warnings after state cut a deal with Trump’s DOJ

• Some North Carolina voters only have a week left to ensure they can cast a ballot in the midterms as a result of a shady settlement the state elections board made with President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ).

➤ What voters need to know

ICYMI: MAGA wants the Feds to seize voting machines in Georgia

• In yesterday’s newsletter, we reported on how Georgia’s Republican-controlled election board invited the DOJ to declare the state’s voting system unlawful before the upcoming midterm elections.
  
  
• If you missed that story, check out video journalist Emily Gross’ new short that breaks it all down.

➤ Watch our new video

DOJ now 0-26 after judge rejects demand for Georgia voter rolls

• The DOJ has no right to Georgia’s unredacted statewide voter registration list, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, delivering the department’s 26th straight loss in its effort to obtain sensitive voting records.

➤ More on the ongoing losing streak for the DOJ

GOP voter ID bill falls short in Senate

• After trying to sneak the provision into a bill that would have banned congressional stock-trading, the Senate failed in its latest attempt to force through anti-voting measures backed by Trump.

➤ What happened in the Senate?

Judge greenlights challenge to Louisiana anti-voting law

• A federal judge allowed a pro-voting challenge to Louisiana’s proof-of-citizenship voter registration law to move forward, including claims that the law discriminates against voters based on national origin.

➤ The latest in Louisiana

Judge strikes down Trump’s bid to cut states’ anti-terror funds unless they impose new voting restrictions

• The Trump administration cannot leverage grants meant to help prevent terrorist attacks to force states and local governments to adopt a slate of new anti-voting measures, a federal judge ruled Monday in a major win for voters.

➤ More on the judge’s ruling