WIRED found that several employees from the America First Policy Institute, a think tank closely tied to the Trump administration, have been placed inside the Census Bureau with access to sensitive population data. Two of them co-authored an anonymous August report claiming thousands of noncitizens voted in 2020, a study WIRED says relies on flawed methodology. The same group appears to be a larger team almost entirely composed of AFPI-linked staff detailed to the bureau.
wired.com
· 2026-09-15
The Supreme Court voted 7-2 to uphold a lower court injunction blocking a new Postal Service rule that would have required states to submit lists of eligible voters so USPS could verify ballot recipients. Justices Alito and Thomas dissented, while Kavanaugh and Jackson noted the rule could be legally sound but was impractical to apply so close to the 2026 elections, since mail voting had already begun in several states.
wired.com
· 2026-09-15
U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols issued a preliminary injunction stopping the Postal Service from implementing new mail-voting regulations tied to Trump's executive order, mirroring an earlier block by a Boston judge. Nichols ruled that without the injunction, many valid absentee ballots could go uncounted in the midterms. The case comes as the Supreme Court is already reviewing a similar injunction from a separate lawsuit.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-14
Prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket are becoming central to how political campaigns and media frame the midterm elections, with real-money bets on outcomes shaping coverage and strategy. Alongside their growing influence, lobbying spending tied to these platforms has surged, and questions about insider trading on political events are intensifying.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-09
Candidates across parties are campaigning against Flock Safety's AI-powered license-plate camera network, which operates in thousands of U.S. communities and lets police search shared vehicle data. Politicians in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida have called for bans, funding cuts, warrant requirements, or campaigned directly against the surveillance system. Flock defends the technology, citing its role in solving roughly a million crimes and reuniting thousands of missing people with families.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-04
New polling shows roughly 75% of Americans, including many Republican voters, oppose having data centers built near their communities, comparing the intensity of that opposition to resistance against Social Security cuts. Despite this, President Trump is intensifying his support for data center growth just before the midterm elections, and some GOP officials have dismissed the backlash as an orchestrated psyop rather than genuine grassroots concern.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-03
Wealthy donors including tech and finance figures like Elon Musk and George Soros have collectively contributed nearly $1.6 billion toward the 2026 midterm elections. This surge in spending traces back to the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision, which loosened restrictions on campaign finance contributions.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-28
The Supreme Court granted preliminary approval to President Trump's executive order restricting mail voting, allowing it to move forward even though it may not immediately alter any state's election procedures before November. The ruling has instead created widespread uncertainty for the roughly one-third of American voters who typically cast ballots by mail.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-25
The Supreme Court's conservative majority paused a Boston federal judge's injunction that had blocked Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting in 23 states and DC, ruling the states lacked standing to sue because they couldn't prove concrete harm. The court did not rule on whether the order itself is legal, leaving that question for future litigation, while a separate nationwide injunction against the Postal Service implementing the order remains intact for now.
wired.com
· 2026-08-25
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