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"Missouri Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins said Tuesday that he wouldn’t certify a referendum seeking to undo the state’s new GOP-drawn congressional map, arguing that the effort was unconstitutional."

"Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor has officially gone off script, leading to a crowded field and the fear that a weaker general election candidate will emerge with just a plurality rather than a majority of the vote. Could the use of ranked-choice voting in the parties’ nomination process do a better job elevating candidates with more widespread support?"

"The Justice Department’s lawsuits against states that refused to hand over their unredacted voter rolls have been knocked down that many times in the federal trial courts without a single win, and some judges are questioning the federal government’s true intentions."

"Dissenting Judge John Nalbandian, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, contended that a state’s voter registration file is covered by the 1960 Civil Rights Act, which empowers the U.S. attorney general to obtain certain state voting records to enforce federal election law."

"President Donald Trump’s administration had another setback this week in its attempt to get unredacted voter registration data from Wisconsin. After losing in federal district court last month, the U.S. Department of Justice asked the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to expedite its lawsuit in order to audit Wisconsin’s voter registration list ahead of the August primary and November general election — demanding sensitive voter data like drivers license information and partial Social Security numbers."

"The U.S. Postal Service has recently proposed new rules for mailing absentee and mail-in ballots in federal elections, requiring states to provide voter eligibility lists and unique barcodes to ensure ballots are sent only to approved recipients."

"The U.S. Postal Service introduced a proposed rule Tuesday that would “apply uniform standards for the mailing of absentee ballots to and from voters.” Those include new requirements for the envelopes state and local election officials use to mail ballots and a “Mail-In and Absentee Participation List” that’s never been used before."

"The Wisconsin Supreme Court is scheduled to hear from members of the public this week on a request to require judges to recuse themselves if past donations to or support of their judicial campaign could affect their impartiality in a case."

Mail voting is under unprecedented federal pressure heading into the 2026 midterm elections. From the White House to the Supreme Court to Congress, a series of developments is threatening a form of voting that tens of millions of Americans rely on—and that was relatively uncontroversial until just a few years ago. This explainer examines how mail voting became a partisan battleground, what the current federal threats mean for mail voting, and what states, election officials, and advocates can do in response.

Litigation over election results serves an important role in legitimizing the democratic process, but when these challenges drag on for months, they can undermine that legitimacy and leave citizens without representation. North Carolina’s 2024 Supreme Court race, for example, took six months of post-election litigation to resolve, and some observers worry that similar delays could affect control of Congress in 2027. This Explainer examines the gaps in state laws that increase the risk of prolonged election contests and shows how state supreme courts can use their supervisory and rulemaking powers to ensure prompt resolution of such proceedings.