The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 9, 2026

Recently, a federal court allowed – for now – President Trump’s executive order governing mail-in ballots.  The US Postal Service has been tasked with implementing much of the order, and USPS just proposed how the process will work.

The March 31st order is widely seen as violating the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and a challenge by 23 states for violating state and federal privacy rules is still pending.  May 29th, another federal court allowed the order to move forward, since no voters had yet been harmed.

First, the Department of Homeland Security will provide to states a “State Citizenship List” derived from federal and state sources, including immigration, Social Security, the SAVE database, and QUOTE, “other relevant federal databases.”  

USPS proposes that states provide a list of eligible mail-in voters prior to the election, each of whom will be assigned a unique tracking number and corresponding bar code.  Both USPS and election officials would incorporate the tracking number and bar code into their ballot tracking systems.  USPS would ensure, QUOTE, “… that individuals who receive a mail-in or absentee ballot are included on the State-Specific Participation Lists when delivering or receiving ballots.”  The Post Office says it would not question eligibility if a voter appeared on the state’s list.  

What could possibly go wrong?  More on that tomorrow.  We’ve linked the USPS proposal at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

The White House – ENSURING CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION AND INTEGRITY IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS
U.S. Postal Service via The Federal Register – Proposal to Comply President Trump’s Executive Order: POSTAL SERVICE 39 CFR Part 111 Ballot Mail for Federal Elections
CyberScoop – USPS moving forward with mail-in ballot changes as courts weigh Trump’s election order
Brennan Center for Justice – Analyzing the President’s Executive Order on Mail Voting 

Related ADM Reports:

American Democracy Minute – Federal Court Allows Trump Order Federalizing Mail-In Voting Rules to Proceed Because Voters Haven’t Been Harmed – Yet

American Democracy Minute – Trump Issues Executive Order Attempting to Federalize Mail-In Voting Rules and Establish ‘State Citizenship List’.  It’s Beyond His Authority.

Groups Taking Action:

Common Cause, National Vote at Home Institute,  Asian Americans Advancing Justice,  American Postal Workers Union

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

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

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

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Subscribe for FREE at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most podcasting platforms.

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

#NewsAlerts #AmericanDemocracy #MailInVoting #VoteatHome #TrumpExecutiveOrder #USPS

The post In Response to Executive Order Federalizing Mail-In Voting Rules, the U.S. Postal Service Proposes Rules to Verify Voter Eligibility appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 8, 2026

It’s been a week since the California state primary, and election workers continue the methodical counting of mail-in ballots.  In a now familiar pattern, after President Donald Trump complained of “big cheating” in the election count, the U.S. Department of Justice announced election fraud investigations on June 5th.

In the 2024 election, 13 million of 16 million ballots cast in California were by mail.  The extra steps necessary for processing mail-in ballots include sorting the envelopes, opening them and checking voter eligibility, then opening and scanning the ballots.  Those steps take time, resulting in a slower tabulation process than in-person voting.

See a short video of the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center

In a letter to election workers May 4th, Governor Gavin Newsom wrote, “… we must do all that we can to tabulate votes quickly and accurately.  Time is of the essence in preventing election lies from taking hold,” UNQUOTE.

In a June 4th social media post, President Trump predictably accused Democrats of election fraud, without evidence.  “They are trying to STEAL THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA PRIMARY, AND THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, PRIMARY, AWAY FROM TWO GREAT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES,” he said.   

The next day, Assistant U.S. Attorney for Central California Bill Essayli told reporters he was opening multiple voter fraud investigations and would QUOTE, “prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent.”

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

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
CalMatters – Live California election results
California Secretary of State – California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., Reminds Californians What to Expect During the Vote Count Process  
California Secretary of State – Vote by Mail (Absentee) Ballot Use 1962-2024

Truth Social – June 4 Post by President Donald Trump Accusing Democrats of Voter Fraud
The Guardian – Trump claims without proof Democrats are ‘trying to steal’ California primaries
The New Republic – DOJ Investigates California for “Voter Fraud” in Middle of Election
GV Wire – Letter from Gov. Gavin Newsom to Election Officials
BBC – Here’s why counting votes in California is taking so long 

Related ADM Reports:

American Democracy Minute – In State of the Union Speech, Trump Pushes ‘SAVE America Act’, Voter ID, Proof of Citizenship and Ending Mail-In Ballots; Repeats Debunked Noncitizen Voting Claims

American Democracy Minute – Trump DOJ Says It Will Monitor Elections Nov. 4th in Five California Counties. Many Fear It’s a Voter Intimidation Tactic.

Groups Taking Action:

Common Cause CA

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

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

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

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Subscribe for FREE at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most podcasting platforms.

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

#NewsAlerts #AmericanDemocracy #California #GavinNewsom #DonaldTrump #PrimaryElection #ElectionResults 

The post California Primary Mail-In Ballot Count Methodically Continues Amidst Trumped Up Fraud Accusations and U.S. DOJ Investigations appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 5, 2026

We recently reported that the U.S. Supreme Court’s majority greenlighted Alabama’s return to its 2003 congressional district map, twice struck down by a lower court as intentionally discriminatory.  One election law expert calls it a “significant and very bad” decision. 

UCLA Law professor Rick Hasen writes in his Election Law Blog QUOTE, “The Supreme Court makes the already difficult path of proving discriminatory intent even harder,” and that the decision is “potentially just as significant as Callais.”

In striking down the map, the district court wrote in its 98-page ruling, “The undisputed evidence left us in no doubt that Alabama’s legislatively enacted plan intentionally discriminated based on race in violation of the Constitution.”  Ignoring that evidence, the Supreme Court instead chided the district court for not assuming the Alabama legislature had acted in good faith. 

The Purcell principle, which has guided whether voting rule changes are too close to an election, was also assaulted.  The new high court ruled, QUOTE, “States are free to decide for themselves whether last-minute changes to an election are in their best interests.” 

Professor Travis Crum of Washington University School of Law writes in Election Law Blog that the ruling encourages states to defy lower court orders, and  Purcell will be used to, QUOTE, “Maximize the power of state legislatures to do whatever they want vis-à-vis elections.”

We’ve linked to the expert analysis at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

U.S. Supreme Court – Order Allowing Alabama to use its discriminatory 2003 Map, overturning lower court
U.S. District Court (via ACLU) –  Decision affirming Alabama’s 2003 congressional map was intentionally discriminatory
Election Law Blog – Professor Rick Hasen, UCLA Law School  – Breaking: The Supreme Court, Over the Dissent of the 3 Liberal Justices, Allows Alabama to Use Maps that a Lower Court Found to Be Intentionally Discriminating Against Black Voters (Now Updated with Analysis–This is a Significant and Very Bad Ruling)
Election Law Blog – Professor Travis Crum, Washington University School of Law – The Supreme Court Rewards Alabama’s Defiance
Brennan Center for Justice – What the Supreme Court Gets Wrong About Democracy in the South

Related ADM Reports:

American Democracy Minute –  The Purcell Principle, Often Used in the SCOTUS Shadow Docket, Will Be Argued in the Texas Gerrymandering Decision.  What is it?

American Democracy Minute – U.S. Supreme Court Majority Greenlights Alabama’s 2023 Congressional Map, After a Lower Court Panel Said -Again- It Intentionally Discriminated

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

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

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

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Subscribe for FREE at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most podcasting platforms.

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

#NewsAlerts #AmericanDemocracy #Alabama #USSupremeCourt #Milligan #RacialDiscrimination #ShadowDocket #VotingRightsAct

The post Unsigned SCOTUS Alabama Order May Make Intentional Discrimination Even Harder to Prove and Easier for States to Ignore the Purcell Principle appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 4, 2026

May 26th, a federal district court ruled for the second time that the State of Alabama’s 2023 congressional district map was intentionally discriminatory. It said “Our re-examination in light of Callais yields the same conclusion.” June 2nd, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision.

Alabama sought to use the discriminatory map after the same three-judge panel struck it down in 2023, and mandated maps from a special master. That was after Alabama refused to create a majority-minority district to comply with Section 2 of Voting Rights Act. 

In an unsigned order, the high court said the district court had not followed its instructions, had not considered the updated standard to prove discrimination, and did not, QUOTE, “heed the presumption of legislative good faith,” UNQUOTE.  Notably, in addition to refusing to create a majority-minority district, the state spent years having its election law pre-cleared by the U.S. Justice Department for discriminatory voting practices.

Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson dissented, with Sotomayor writing, “Yet just as Alabama doubled down on racial discrimination, the Court today doubles down on chaos. Because I choose to defend the rule of law and the right of all Alabamians to participate equally in democracy, I respectfully dissent.”

We’ve linked the majority’s opinion, Sotomayor’s scathing dissent, and our past reports on the Milligan case at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

The Tale of Two Views of Intentional Racial Discrimination

U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2, 2026 Opinion

U.S. District Court’s Opinion, May 26, 2026

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

U.S. Supreme Court – Order Staying Lower Court’s Order and Allowing Alabama to Use the 2023 Map
U.S. District Court (via ACLU) – Order Temporarily Barring Alabama from Using 2003 Congressional Map
SCOTUSBlog – Supreme Court permits Alabama to use congressional map struck by lower court as racially discriminatory
Alabama Reflector – Supreme Court allows Alabama to use 2023 congressional map in August special primary

Related ADM Reports:

American Democracy Minute – Federal Court Panel Rejects Alabama Congressional Map -Again- as Intentional Discrimination.  State Officials Appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

American Democracy Minute – (2025) Fallout Continues from 2023 SCOTUS ‘Milligan’ Decision, as the Alabama Legislature Faces Possible Return of Preclearance Requirements
American Democracy Minute – (2025) For the First Time in American History, Alabama Has 2 Black Members Congress, Thanks to the Protections of the VRA.  It Wasn’t Easy.

Groups Taking Action:

Legal Defense Fund, ACLU

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

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

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

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Subscribe for FREE at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most podcasting platforms.

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

#NewsAlerts #AmericanDemocracy #ProtectElections #ProtectPollWorkers

#NewsAlerts #AmericanDemocracy #Alabama #USSupremeCourt #SCOTUS #RacialDiscrimination #Milligan
#RacialGerrymandering

The post U.S. Supreme Court Majority Greenlights Alabama’s 2023 Congressional Map, After a Lower Court Panel Said -Again- It Intentionally Discriminated appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 3, 2026

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed a new congressional district map May 29th, eliminating one of two Black majority districts by adding nearby conservative White majority voters.  It’s the latest Black majority district to fall after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Callais decision.

Louisiana had previously created a second majority-minority district to comply with Voting Rights Act Section 2, but in April, the high court’s conservative majority neutralized Section 2 by banning use of race in redistricting. Louisiana is 31% African American, but had previously, and now has again, only one district where Black voters have a chance of electing the candidate of their choice.  

The Louisiana Illuminator reports that while the GOP legislators leading the gerrymandering effort considered eliminating both districts, they concluded it was not possible to create a map where the GOP would win all six districts, and settled on the 5 to 1 map.  

The Associated Press quoted bill sponsor Republican State Senator Jay Morris as saying, “I purposely put more Democrats into District 2 to make the remaining districts better performing for Republicans.”  Under the 2019 Rucho v. Common Cause decision, the U.S. Supreme Court allows state legislatures to gerrymander for partisan but not racial reasons.  Challenges to the map are likely. 

We have the new map and local reporting at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Louisana Illuminator – Louisiana congressional map boosting Republicans nears final passage
Louisiana Illuminator – Litigation looms as Louisiana Legislature approves new congressional map
SCOTUSBlog – Louisiana v. Callais (Voting Rights Act)
U.S. Supreme Court – Opinion in Rucho v. Common Cause

Related ADM Reports:

American Democracy Minute – Louisiana’s Racial Gerrymandering Defense to SCOTUS Switches from ‘It was for Partisan Reasons’ to ‘The VRA is Unconstitutional’

American Democracy Minute – U.S. Supreme Court Neutralizes Remaining VRA Section 2 Protections for Minority Voters and Imperils Majority-Minority Voting Districts Nationwide

Groups Taking Action:

League of Women Voters, Legal Defense Fund, ACLU LA

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

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

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

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Subscribe for FREE at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most podcasting platforms.

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

#NewsAlerts #AmericanDemocracy #Louisiana #RacialGerrymandering #Callais #MajorityMinority #Redistricting  #RacialDiscrimination

The post Louisiana Legislature Eliminates One of Two Majority Black Congressional Districts, Flipping One to the GOP, After SCOTUS Callais Decision appeared first on American Democracy Minute.