Freedom to Vote Archives | American Democracy Minute

Think Your Mail-in Ballot Gets Automatically Postmarked on the Day You Drop it Off? Think Again.

January 22, 2026January 22, 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.

Redistricting Updates: CA GOP Appeals Prop 50 Maps to SCOTUS, VA Dems Push Constitutional Amendment, NH’s Bill Doomed, MD Stalemated

January 20, 2026January 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.

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

January 17, 2026January 19, 2026

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.

New Hampshire Legislators Make Yet Another Attempt at Keeping Students from Voting, Further Tightening Voter ID Regulations

January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

New Hampshire legislators are making another attempt to end the use of student IDs as voter identification, claiming such IDs were prone to fraud and advancing a bill to further narrow acceptable options. Such fraud is almost non-existent, and pro-voter groups say it’s partisan voter suppression.

Trump’s Executive Order on Elections Handed Another Defeat, as Federal Court Upholds a State’s Right to Set Ballot Deadlines, Choose Methods

January 12, 2026January 12, 2026

President Donald Trump’s executive order on elections took yet another hit January 9th, as a federal judge blocked portions of the order trying to dictate election and ballot deadlines, what voting systems can be used, and blocking federal funding for non-compliant states.