Try and Stop Us Digest — September 3, 2026

Must Read

A Federal Judge Hears Arguments Today On Whether To Block Trump's Mail-Voting Order For Good

24 Democratic-led states and voting rights groups are asking Judge Talwani for a permanent block on the rule she's already found unconstitutional twice. Democracy Docket: This morning in Boston U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani is considering whether to issue a preliminary injunction blocking Trump’s dangerous mail voting order from being carried out. Voting rights groups and Democratic state officials are arguing for a block, while the administration is pushing for the order to go into effect for the midterms — potentially causing widespread disenfranchisement.

USPS Is Building The Ballot-Screening System Right Now — Even Though A Court Already Told It To Stop

The Postal Service confirmed this week it kept developing the portal while a judge's order barring implementation was in effect, arguing states aren't yet required to use it. New York Times: No postal clerk has received any training on how the new system will actually work, according to American Postal Workers Union president Jonathan Smith. Wisconsin's top elections official called compliance "virtually impossible," and 20 states are set to start mailing ballots within weeks — North Carolina as soon as Friday.

A whistleblower's account of USPS secretly defying court orders is now evidence in three separate federal lawsuits — and House Democrats want the agency'swatchdog to investigate. Democracy Docket / Democracy Docket: "If Trump Administration officials knowingly built a system designed to prevent Americans from receiving their ballots, and blatantly ignored court orders, that is not election security," said Rep. Joe Morelle. "It is a betrayal of our Constitution and the American people."

A former election official did the math: verifying Maricopa County's mail ballots alone under the new rule would take 4.9 years of continuous scanning. NOTUS: "There is no ability of the post office to do what they're proposing, as far as I can tell," said Ann Jacobs, former chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Colorado estimated the rule would add over 66,000 hours of staff work for one state alone.

Democrats vote by mail more than Republicans — which is exactly why voting rights advocates say Trump is targeting the practice. Democracy Docket: 37% of Democrats voted by mail in 2024, compared to 24% of Republicans. Trump has continued to vote by mail himself — including last month in Florida's primary — while trying to restrict the option for everyone else.

DHS Pulled Agents Off Real Crimes To Build A Federal Voter Surveillance Machine

Hundreds of federal agents are being pulled from criminal investigations to hunt for voter fraud that barely exists. New York Times: Federal agents are logging into state voter portals — some meant strictly for individual use — to hunt for fraud, calling it the "Unlawful Voter Initiative."This is a nakedly political fishing expedition using questionable methods to intimidate people from exercising their right to vote," said Amanda Baran, a former senior DHS official under Biden. Even DHS's own trainers cautioned agents against wrongly flagging citizens as noncitizens.

ICE is paying up to $5 million to build the database infrastructure to search Americans' voting records at scale — the third known federal effort this year to compile a nationwide voter list. Wired: "They are trying to amass a huge amount of data," a senior DHS official said. "It has nothing to do with finding fraud." Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers called the whole effort "a joke": "He needs to stay out of it because voting is a state issue and not a federal issue."

Civil Rights Groups Are Deploying Hundreds Of Poll Watchers To Counter Federal Agents

The Vote Safe coalition is sending trained, unarmed observers to the highest-turnout minority precincts in Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, and North Carolina. Washington Post: "There is really an unprecedented threat to our elections this year, and it's coming from our own government," said Save America Movement's Mary Corcoran. "If anyone thinks the presence or threat of federal agents will frighten our communities away from the polls, they are badly mistaken," said the Rev. Al Sharpton.

In The States

FLORIDA — Voting rights groups filed the third federal lawsuit this year against Florida's SAVE Act — nicknaming it the "show me your papers" law. Tampa Bay Times: "Florida lawmakers are reviving a bill that couldn't survive Congress and dressing it up as state law," said SPLC's Matletha Bennette. "This purposely manufactures a crisis for people who have done nothing wrong, and it does so on the backs of naturalized citizens, Black families and working Floridians." The other two lawsuits were filed the same day DeSantis signed the bill in April.

GEORGIA — Georgia’s citizenship review found only about 430 potential noncitizen voters out of nearly 8.2 million registered. Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "I just don't think there were that many in Georgia, quite frankly," said Gabriel Sterling of the secretary of state's office. Biden won Georgia by 11,779 votes — even every disputed vote combined wouldn't have changed that outcome.

MICHIGAN — An independent state audit found 99.99% of Michigan's 8.3 million registered voters had valid, complete records. Votebeat: Just 403 registrations were canceled for citizenship-related reasons over four years. "This actually shows that election officials... are being proactive about maintaining the voter rolls," a state spokesperson said. "It is not evidence of a problem."

MISSOURI — The state Supreme Court must rule by Sept. 8 on whether voters get a say on the GOP's gerrymandered congressional map — and judges spent Wednesday's hearing openly skeptical of the state's case for keeping it off the ballot. Missouri Independent: "What authority do you have that the secretary can incorporate anything they want and staple it to their certification?" Judge Zel Fischer asked. More than 300,000 Missourians signed the petition to get the referendum on the ballot.

What Experts Are Saying

The Center for American Progress says there's a simple legal answer to whether Trump can declare a national emergency to seize control of elections: no. "There is no dispute that presidents lack any power to make or change rules for federal elections, even where there is a purported national security threat or related emergency declaration. Federal courts would invalidate any attempts by a president to claim authority to nationalize elections." — Michael Sozan, Allison McManus, and Dan Herman, Center for American Progress

A leading elections expert warns Trump's mail-voting rule will cause "disastrous consequences" if it's allowed to take effect this year. "I foresee disastrous consequences for the 2026 election if election offices cannot comply with these requirements. It is my expert opinion that election officials, their service providers, and USPS do not have sufficient time or resources to implement the Rule for the 2026 General election." — Tammy Patrick, Chief Programs Officer, National Association of Election Officials, Democracy Docket