Wednesday, May 21

New Republican target: Mail ballot grace periods

• Trump and the GOP have launched a new offensive in their long-running war on voting. Their latest target? Ballots that were postmarked by Election Day, but arrive after.
  
  
• Scrapping grace periods for mail ballots could lead to hundreds of thousands of legitimate voters having their ballots rejected. In some states, advocates say, it could make voting by mail all but impossible. 

Trump admin violates court order on deportations

• A judge said the Trump administration “unquestionably” violated a court order to stop deporting migrants without adequate notice and a chance to object. At issue were deportations to South Sudan, a country to which the deportees had no connection. 

To impose abortion ban, Missouri GOP aims to stymie direct democracy

• Since Missouri voters approved a ballot measure to codify the right to abortion and overturn the state’s ban, Republican lawmakers have engaged in attacks to undermine the will of the people. Last week the legislature passed a deceptively worded referendum asking voters to repeal the recent amendment and approve a new ban.
  
  
• “It’s a reminder that conservatives don’t support voters having a say on abortion via direct democracy — when Republicans claimed they wanted to send the issue of abortion back to the states, they meant returning power to themselves alone,” Susan Rinkunas writes in a new piece.

Hearing coming up tomorrow 

• A hearing will take place in a pro-voting lawsuit challenging Florida’s new restrictions on the ballot initiative process. Plaintiffs argue the restrictions violate the First and 14th Amendments and are seeking a court order to block enforcement as litigation continues. Floridians have historically used ballot initiatives to enact popular reforms despite opposition from state leaders.

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