The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Jan. 23, 2026

Most Americans assume that postal mail is postmarked the day it is received.  But in August 2025, the U.S. Postal Service clarified its rules for “Postmarks and Postal Possession.”  While the post office says it hasn’t changed its policy, its new definition has ramifications for your mailed financial and tax documents, and importantly, your absentee or mail-in ballot. 

Under former U.S. Postmaster Louis DeJoy, many Local Processing Centers (LPCs) were closed and their mail sent to Regional Processing and Distribution Centers (RPDCs) as a cost-saving measure.  Most Americans have seen the results, with the erosion of delivery standards due to trucking distances to have the mail sorted, postmarked and sent back to local post offices.  

This change has significant consequences for the 46.8 million Americans who vote by mail.  The added time & distance means your ballot may not be postmarked for 24 or more hours after the post office takes possession.  Problem is, many states use postmarks to determine whether a ballot is eligible or ineligible, particularly if there is a receipt grace period after election day.   

To ensure your ballot arrives on time, mail-in voters should return their ballot 7-10 days early, and the USPS says customers may bring postmark-dependent mail to a local post office service desk for hand canceling. That is, IF you can get to a post office.

We linked to more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

U.S. Postal Service – Federal Register Notice of Additional Postmarking Information 
National Conference of State Legislatures – How the New USPS Postmark Changes Could Affect Mail Voting
PBS News Hour – How this new mail rule could affect your ballot, your tax return and more
National Society of Tax Professionals – USPS Announces Changes to the Postmark Date System
Save the Post Office – Implementation Update on the USPS Processing Network
Votebeat Texas – Postal Service changes mean Texas voters shouldn’t wait to mail voter registrations and ballots
U.S. Postal Service – Postmarking Myths and Facts 
American Postal Workers Union – 

Groups Taking Action:

National Vote at Home Institute, Save the Post Office, American Postal Workers Union

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX
#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #USPS #VotefromHome #PostmarkRules #MailBallots #PostalDelays

The post Think Your Mail-in Ballot Gets Automatically Postmarked on the Day You Drop it Off?  Think Again. appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Jan. 22, 2026

New lawsuit filings allege a member of Elon Musk’s DOGE team may have created an external file containing personal Social Security information.  That month, that employee and another were allegedly contacted by a “political advocacy group” attempting to find evidence of voter fraud.

The filing comes during discovery for a civil lawsuit by labor organizations which alleges DOGE was mining personal data and violated several federal privacy statutes.

The potential breach occurred in March 2025 and disclosed in October.  DOJ now alleges a file was created with “personally identifiable information” for approximately 1,000 Americans.  DOJ also said outside cloud servers were used, violating federal data security protocols.

The filing reads:  “… SSA determined in its recent review that in March 2025, a political advocacy group contacted two members of SSA’s DOGE Team with a request to analyze state voter rolls that the advocacy group had acquired. The advocacy group’s stated aim was to find evidence of voter fraud and to overturn election results in certain States,” UNQUOTE.   

While there’s no evidence the group received the data, the Social Security Administration IT staff hasn’t yet unlocked the file’s contents.  There’s been no indication of a criminal investigation.

We’ve linked DOJ’s disclosure at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

AFL-CIO – (2025) AFL-CIO, Affiliate Unions, Economic Policy Institute File Emergency Lawsuit Against DOGE to Protect Privacy of Worker Data
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (via Court Listener) – (2025)  American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. Social Security Administration
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (via Court Listener) – American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. Social Security Administration  NOTICE OF CORRECTIONS TO THE RECORD
FedScoop – DOGE likely violated order on Social Security data, court filing shows

Groups Taking Action:

AFL-CIO, Economic Policy Institute, SEIU

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #SocialSecurityData #DOGE #ElonMusk #PrivacyAct #DonaldTrump #SocialSecurity #ElectionDeniers

The post DOJ Civil Filing Suggests a DOGE Employee May Have Created External Social Security Data Files and Had Contact with Election Denier Group appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Jan. 21, 2026

We have mid-decade congressional redistricting updates today from California, Virginia, New Hampshire and Maryland.  The GOP appealed California’s case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

January 14th, a federal district panel allowed California’s voter-authorized Proposition 50 maps to be used.  Two days later, the California GOP appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the ruling.  The U.S. Supreme Court cited the Purcell principle as a factor in its Texas decision, saying changing maps would create confusion in the March 3rd midterm primary election.  California’s primary is June 2nd.  The high court has yet to accept the case.

In Virginia, Democrats in the General Assembly passed a constitutional amendment ballot question authorizing the legislature to conduct mid-decade congressional redistricting.  The Virginia Mercury reports that a referendum election date has not yet been set, but is expected this spring.  Democrats currently hold 6 of 11 congressional seats in the commonwealth.

HB 1300, a New Hampshire bill to redistrict the state’s two congressional districts, was effectively killed with the addition of an unrelated amendment.  Governor Kelly Ayotte has expressed opposition to midterm redistricting. 

Maryland’s Governor Wes Moore recently told the Associated Press he supports mid-decade redistricting, but Senate President Bill Ferguson vocally opposes it. 

We’ve linked to local reporting at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

National Conference of State Legislatures – Changing the Maps: Tracking Mid-Decade Redistricting
U.S. DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA (via Election Law Blog) – PLAINTIFFS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR AN INJUNCTION PENDING APPEAL
Virginia Mercury –  Virginia Senate Democrats advance mid-decade redistricting amendment 
AFT NH – HB 1300 was originally slated to be a mid-decade congressional redistricting bill but . . .
Associated Press – Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore pushes the case for redrawing the state’s congressional map 

Groups Taking Action:

Common Cause US, League of Women Voters US, Bipartisan Policy Center

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Redistricting #Gerrymandering #MidDecadeRedistricting #TrumpGerrymandering #CongressionalDistricts #FairMaps 

The post Redistricting Updates: CA GOP Appeals Prop 50 Maps to SCOTUS, VA Dems Push Constitutional Amendment, NH’s Bill Doomed, MD Stalemated appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Jan. 20, 2026

We have an update on the Trump Department of Justice efforts to force states to turn over voter and personal information for inclusion in its SAVE database.  Federal district judges in California and Oregon blocked DOJ’s actions, finding neither federal nor state law compelled the states to do so.

DOJ sought the names, social security numbers, home addresses, and voting history of nearly 23 million California voters and over 3 million Oregon voters, and sued those states and 18 others for refusing to provide that data. 

In a decision handed down January 15th, U.S. District Court Judge David Carter wrote that in addition to an unconstitutional overreach of the executive branch, the Help America Vote Act and National Voter Registration Act do not provide for disclosure of such data in the absence of violations. The judge also said the DOJ request violated the federal 1974 Privacy Act, E-Government Act, and California’s Driver’s Protection Act, and ruled California does not have to turn over the data.

In Oregon, Courthouse News Service reports that another federal judge tentatively dismissed a parallel case after a day-long trial January 14th, find that no state or federal law compelled Oregon to turn over unredacted voter information.  A written decision will follow.  Both cases are likely to be appealed.

We’ve linked the California decision at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute – (Sept. 2025) Justice Department Sues Maine & Oregon for Withholding State Voter Registration and Voting Data from Trump Administration
Oregon Capital Chronicle – Trump Justice Department sues Oregon, Maine for not turning over voter data
U.S. District Court for Central California (via Court Listener)  – United States v. Shirley Weber
NPR – A federal judge dismisses the DOJ’s effort to get voter data from California
Courthouse News Service – Judge rules Oregon won’t need to hand over unredacted voter rolls to Trump admin
Brennan Center for Justice – Tracker of Justice Department Requests for Voter Information
Oregon Attorney General – AG Rayfield Releases Statement Following Voter Data Court Hearing

Groups Taking Action:

Common Cause, ACLU, League of Women Voters CA, Our Oregon

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #California #Oregon #TrumpDOJ #VoterData

The post Federal Circuit Courts Block Trump DOJ from Obtaining California and Oregon Voter Data appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for January 19, 2026

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke on the Brown vs. Board of Education decision during the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom at the Lincoln Memorial, May 17th, 1957.  As the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to strike down more of the VRA in 2026, his words are still relevant today.

[The ADM audio has been edited for time. Listen to the full speech at the The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change and read the transcription at the Stanford’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute]

“The legislative halls of the South ring loud with such words as ‘interposition’ and ‘nullification.’

But even more, all types of conniving methods are still being used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters. The denial of this sacred right is a tragic betrayal of the highest mandates of our democratic tradition. And so our most urgent request to the president of the United States and every member of Congress is to give us the right to vote. 

Give us the ballot, and we will no longer have to worry the federal government about our basic rights.

Give us the ballot, and we will no longer plead to the federal government for passage of an anti-lynching law; we will by the power of our vote write the law on the statute books of the South (All right) and bring an end to the dastardly acts of the hooded perpetrators of violence.”

We’ve linked the full speech at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change – Audio of Dr. King delivering “Give Us the Ballot” on May 17, 1957 at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, Stanford University – Transcription of the “Give Us the Ballot” Address
Brennan Center for Justice – Voter Suppression
The Fulcrum – Trump Targets Voting Rights and Suppresses Voting
NAACP Legal Defense Fund – Louisiana v. Callais

Library of Congress – A Time for Freedom documentary (Dr. King speaks at 24:04)

Groups Taking Action:

Southern Poverty Law Center, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, ACLU, Campaign Legal Center

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #MLKDay #DrMartinLutherKingJr #GiveUstheBallot #VotingRightsAct #BrownvBoardofEducation

The post With SCOTUS Appearing Ready to Strike Down More of the Voting Rights Act in 2026, MLK’s 1957 ‘Give Us the Ballot’ Speech is Still Relevant appeared first on American Democracy Minute.