Politalking US 
Three debates on October 15 closed out the campaign’s televised exchanges in two states that could help decide control of Congress. In Alaska, Sen. Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola accused each other of dishonesty over the Iran war and prices, and in Maine, Sen. Susan Collins and Troy Jackson held their fourth and final Senate … Read more
About eight in ten American voters say the country needs substantial change or complete upheaval in how it is governed, according to a new AP-NORC poll released October 15. The economy and cost of living top voters’ priorities, and more voters prefer Democratic control of Congress than Republican control. Neither major party is viewed favorably … Read more
The Justice Department has warned California election officials that they could face federal criminal exposure if they knowingly count ballots from people the government identifies as noncitizens. The October 16 warning came one day after the department sued California to stop it from counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 people it describes as likely … Read more
Five governor’s races produced debates between October 12 and 14 that showed how differently candidates treat the format. Georgia’s Republican nominee skipped his debate and left his opponent alone on stage, Illinois’s two candidates talked over each other for an hour, and New York’s Kathy Hochul and Bruce Blakeman fought over an ICE shooting and … Read more
Six Senate races produced debates between October 11 and 14, and four of them were repeat meetings between the same candidates. Georgia’s Jon Ossoff and Mike Collins traded accusations over Jeffrey Epstein, the 2020 election and white nationalism, while Maine’s Susan Collins and Troy Jackson argued over Iran war votes and campaign finance. South Carolina’s … Read more
A federal judge in New York ordered the Trump administration on October 11 to stop using Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funds for a series of television ads featuring President Donald Trump. Plaintiffs say the ads kept airing afterward in hundreds of spots, and Justice Department lawyers have apologized, blaming a delay in passing the … Read more
Voters in 21 states face new rules for registering or casting ballots in the November 3 midterm elections. Nearly 40 laws passed in Republican-controlled states are taking effect for the first time this year, according to a tally cited in an October 12 Associated Press report. Courts have already changed how some of the rules … Read more
Most U.S. adults oppose betting on election results, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released October 12. Opposition crossed party lines, with 69% of Democrats and 61% of Republicans against. The poll arrives as prediction-market companies expand, sign deals with news outlets and face a federal-state fight over who regulates them. Background Prediction markets let customers … Read more
Federal agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington-area home on October 12 as part of a criminal investigation. The Justice Department said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents carried out a judicially authorized search warrant, but it gave no details about the allegations or the evidence. Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, says she has done nothing wrong and … Read more
A federal judge has blocked further tree cutting at East Potomac Golf Links in Washington after National Park Service crews felled at least 430 trees over the October 10 weekend. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes first ordered a 24-hour halt on October 12, then extended it through 2 p.m. Tuesday so she could hear from … Read more
Reading A headline announces that a federal judge has blocked a new government policy. A week later another headline says a higher court has allowed the policy to resume. Did the first judge change their mind? Not necessarily. Courts can issue orders that regulate what happens while a lawsuit continues, and higher courts can pause … Read more
A federal judge ruled October 9 that the Justice Department’s policy of collecting detailed state voter rolls, matching them against federal citizenship records and urging states to remove suspected noncitizens was unlawful. U.S. District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan set aside the policy, including as applied to rolls that states had already handed over voluntarily. She … Read more
