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Vote-by-mail group rushes out guidance for states pondering a switch during pandemic

Amid a national consensus that casting your ballot while "social distancing" is a best practice during the coronavirus outbreak, the leading advocacy group for minimizing reliance on in-person voting is out with an extensive "how to" guide for state and local governments.

"We have the time, if we act now, to mitigate many of the legitimate concerns both elections officials and voters have, and protect the integrity of the 2020 election," the National Vote at Home Institute said Thursday in unveiling its 11-page report.

It was finalized in a hurry as Congress, an array of state legislatures and the Democratic Party all intensified their interest in expanding voting from home and using the mail as the safest way to protect the electorate during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has made gathering in groups a significant health risk.


The report was packed with logistical guidance, from an array of election officials and experts, to be "a roadmap on how to scale-up the use of mailed-out ballots, with the clear understanding that one size will not fit all, and that in-person polling places will need to be maintained."

As the Senate intensifies negotiations over a $1 trillion package to stimulate an economy hobbled by the rapidly spreading virus, Democrats and good government advocacy groups are seeking Republican support for using the bill to deliver perhaps $500 million in funding to the states for an aggressive expansion of absentee voting — even if there's no agreement to shift this year's presidential election to a predominantly vote-by-mail system nationwide.

The Vote at Home group said any state's decision to make a fundamental switch to such a system would need to happen by April 15 in order for reliable and secure systems to be in place by November.

Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah and Hawaii are the states with mail-in ballots for everyone, and such a system is now used in most counties in California, Arizona and Montana.

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Tariff ‘Mission Accomplished’ Hype Is Just That

In an aerial view, a container ship arrives at the Port of Oakland on Aug. 1, 2025, in Oakland, California.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/TNS

Tariff ‘Mission Accomplished’ Hype Is Just That

On May 1, 2003, George W. Bush announced, “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.” He was standing below a giant banner that read, “Mission Accomplished.” At the risk of inviting charges of understatement, subsequent events didn’t cooperate. But it took a while for that to be widely accepted.

We’re in a similar place when it comes to President Trump’s experiment with a new global trading order.

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To Trump, ‘Truth’ Is Only What He Wants It Be

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures while answering questions from reporters as he tours the roof of the West Wing of the White House on Aug. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

To Trump, ‘Truth’ Is Only What He Wants It Be

You know the old philosophical question: “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

Well, in President Trump’s America, the answer would depend on whether or not he wanted it to.

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When Politicians Draw Their Own Victories: Why and How To End Gerrymandering

Alyssa West from Austin holds up a sign during the Fight the Trump Takeover rally at the Texas Capitol on Saturday, August. 16, 2025.

(Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)

When Politicians Draw Their Own Victories: Why and How To End Gerrymandering

From MAGA Republicans to progressive Democrats to those of us in the middle, Americans want real change – and they’re tired of politics as usual. They’re craving authenticity, real reform, and an end to the status quo. More and more, voters seem to be embracing disruption over the empty promises of establishment politicians, who too often live by the creed that “one bad idea deserves a bigger one.” Just look at how both parties are handling gerrymandering in Texas and California, and it’s difficult to see it as anything other than both parties trying to rig elections in their favor.

Instead of fixing the system, politicians are fueling a turbocharged redistricting arms race ahead of high-stakes midterm 2026 elections that will determine control of the U.S. Congress. In Texas, Republicans just redrew congressional lines, likely guaranteeing five new Republican seats, which has sparked Democratic strongholds like California and New York to threaten their own gerrymandered counterattacks.

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