Stories

Browse major news stories and see what officials have said.

May 28, 2026

Federal Judge Allows Trump's Mail-In Voting Executive Order to Stand

On May 28, 2026, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols — a Trump appointee in Washington, D.C. — declined to temporarily block President Trump's March 31 executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration to build citizenship lists for mail ballot eligibility. Nichols ruled it was premature to block the order because it has not yet been implemented. The executive order directs DHS to compile lists of confirmed adult U.S. citizens in each state, with the U.S. Postal Service then delivering mail ballots only to verified citizens. Democrats and voting rights groups sued immediately, arguing the order risks disenfranchising millions of lawfully registered voters because the underlying data can be outdated or contain errors. A parallel legal challenge filed by a coalition of Democratic-led states is pending before U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, who was scheduled to hear arguments June 2. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer led Democratic condemnation of both the order and the ruling.

South Carolina Senate Rejects Trump's Redistricting Push, Saving Clyburn's Seat

On May 26, 2026, the South Carolina state Senate rejected President Trump's push to redraw congressional maps before the midterm elections, preserving Rep. Jim Clyburn's majority-Black district. Twelve Republican state senators joined Democrats to defeat cloture on a special session called by Gov. Henry McMaster, citing that early voting had already begun with record turnout. The failed redistricting attempt would have dismantled Clyburn's 6th district — held by the longtime Democratic congressman for over three decades — in an attempt to give Republicans an additional House seat ahead of the midterms. Republican state senators who broke ranks cited concerns about the rushed timeline, the fact that voters were already casting ballots, and the outsized role of Washington consultants in driving the process. The outcome was a significant bipartisan rebuke of Trump's aggressive redistricting campaign, and leaves more than a dozen Congressional Black Caucus members' districts potentially vulnerable in other states where similar efforts continue.

Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Voter-Approved Redistricting Amendment

On May 8, 2026, the Virginia Supreme Court voted 4-3 to strike down a voter-approved constitutional amendment that would have redrawn Virginia's congressional map to give Democrats an advantage in 10 of the state's 11 seats. The court ruled that Democratic lawmakers violated procedural requirements by holding the first vote on October 31, 2025, after early voting had already begun — with roughly 40% of ballots already cast — depriving over 1.3 million Virginians of the opportunity to weigh the issue when choosing their representatives. The ruling leaves the existing 6-5 Democratic congressional map in place for the 2026 midterm elections. Virginia Democrats immediately appealed to the US Supreme Court, asking the high court to reinstate the congressional map.