Try and Stop Us Digest — September 1, 2026

Must Read

Trump’s War On Mail Voting Continues On All Fronts

A Postal Service whistleblower says the agency kept building Trump’s mail-ballot verification system in secret — even after a judge ordered it stopped. New York Times: "The main takeaway for me is that the Postal Service has designed a system to disenfranchise millions of Americans," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, whose office published the whistleblower’s report. The whistleblower raised "grave concerns" that even one bad barcode scan in a bulk mailing could reject tens of thousands of ballots at once. Trump has voted by mail himself in two elections this year while calling the practice "cheating," "corrupt," and "horrible."

Only 12 of 27 Republican state attorneys general agreed to defend Trump's mail-voting order in court. Democracy Docket / Washington Examiner: Fifteen Republican AGs stayed silent, including two who told reporters they had no comment. Judge Talwani, meanwhile, refused to lift her block on the rule, calling DOJ's argument for why she should a "cynical interpretation" of the Supreme Court's earlier ruling.

Meanwhile, mail ballots are getting rejected for arriving late at a rising rate nationwide . New York Times: Michigan's late-rejected ballots nearly doubled this cycle; Washington's climbed from 16,000 to over 20,000. Colorado's Jena Griswold has expanded ballot drop boxes 78% since 2018: "That is in direct response to the uncertainty coming from D.C. and Trump's attacks on our democracy."

DHS To Launch Voter Fraud Investigation Surge Today

Agents normally assigned to trafficking and drug cases are being redirected to hunt for voter fraud in Washington, Wisconsin, Missouri, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New York, and Connecticut. CNN: Internal guidance calls it a "coordinated criminal voter fraud surge initiative" running from early September to mid-October. Homeland Security Investigations has already surged an unprecedented number of agents chasing the voting histories of people believed to be noncitizens.

Top General: “No Plans” To Send Troops To The Polls

Gen. Dan Caine gave Sen. Elissa Slotkin the clearest assurance yet that the military will stay out of the midterms. Defense Secretary Hegseth still won't say the same thing. NOTUS: "The Joint Force has no plans to send Federal military personnel or Federalized members of the National Guard to polling places," Caine wrote. Hegseth has ignored Slotkin's request entirely, past his own deadline — after previously dismissing the question as a "gotcha hypothetical."

In The States

ARIZONA — Election denier Alexander Kolodin admitted "Biden won" in Arizona for the first time — during a nasty debate with the man he's trying to unseat as the state's top election official. AZFamily: Moderator Ted Simons directly asked Kolodin, who was sanctioned by the state bar for filing the "Kraken" lawsuit, whether he's an "election denier." Kolodin said no. Both candidates accused each other of lying throughout the debate.

COLORADO — A ballot measure requiring ID numbers on mail ballots has officially qualified for November. Colorado Politics: Initiative 362 would require voters to write the last four digits of a Social Security number, driver's license, or REAL ID on their ballot. Opponents warn it risks disenfranchising eligible voters; as a constitutional amendment, it needs 55% approval to pass.

MICHIGAN — A group pushing a proof-of-citizenship ballot measure went straight to Justice Kavanaugh after a deadlocked state canvassing board left them out of options. Detroit News: The board split 2-2 along party lines over five disputed signatures, missing the threshold by a handful. Michigan's ballot must be finalized by Sept. 4 — the group needs the Supreme Court to act by Sept. 3 or the measure is dead for this cycle.

MINNESOTA — A federal appeals court threw out a right-wing legal group's years-long fight for the state's voter rolls. Democracy Docket: The Public Interest Legal Foundation couldn't show any concrete harm from being denied the rolls, the Eighth Circuit ruled — and admitted in oral argument it could've simply recruited a Minnesota voter to make the same request instead.

TEXAS — Tarrant County commissioners vote today on cutting 92 polling places — the second try, after the first plan sparked protests, arrests, and a forced retreat. NOTUS / Democracy Docket: The original proposal would have cut nearly half the county's polling sites; officials cleared the meeting room and arrested former state Rep. Lon Burnam after public outrage. "Dropping 92 Election Day polling places is crazy," said Commissioner Alisa Simmons.

What Experts Are Saying

Democracy Forward's president says courts alone won't save American democracy — only organized people will. "We don't have the luxury of fantasizing that we are just one legal victory or perfectly poll-tested message away from turning the nation around... Our democracy is in danger, but we can save it. We are the only ones who ever have." — Skye Perryman, President, Democracy Forward, New York Times