And, Virginia takes key step to end an ‘overt and intended effort to block Black people from voting’

• The Virginia Senate also passed a constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights to people with felony convictions. The measure now heads to voters. If approved, thousands of Virginians — particularly Black residents — would no longer be shut out of the democratic process.
  
  
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Trump’s call to cancel elections must be a wake-up call

• As we turn toward the midterms, President Donald Trump is once again escalating his attacks on free and fair elections. This week he said we “shouldn’t even have an election.” Last week he openly lamented that he did not have the National Guard seize voting machines after his 2020 defeat. Before that, he posted on social media that states act as his agents in the tabulation and counting of ballots.
  
  
• Trump’s message is clear: He wants to dictate election outcomes by taking control of voting equipment and ballots — ultimately deciding which votes count and which are discarded.
  
  
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GOP spent $2.9 million to stop Missourians from voting on gerrymander

• A new ethics report showed Republicans spent $2.9 million — nearly all of which went to a Trump Jr.-endorsed political campaign company — in an attempt to stop Missourians from gathering enough signatures to block the GOP's new congressional gerrymander.
  
  
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GOPers, anti-voting activists spread misinformation about Michigan’s voter rolls

• Anti-voting activists are baselessly claiming that a number of noncitizens were illegally registered to vote in Michigan. But experts say the allegations rest on misrepresented data aimed at painting the state’s top Democratic gubernatorial candidate in a negative light.
  
  
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AND NOW FOR THIS WEEK’S GOOD NEWS

Federal court rejects GOP bid to block California’s redistricting plan

• A federal court dealt Republicans a major defeat by refusing to block California’s voter-approved congressional map, rejecting GOP claims that the state engaged in illegal racial gerrymandering. The three-judge panel found the map was driven by open partisanship — a lawful response to Texas’ Trump-backed gerrymander. Republicans have appealed, but even the Supreme Court has already described California’s move as partisan “pure and simple,” leaving the GOP facing steep odds.

Trump DOJ’s crusade for state voter rolls dealt major setbacks

• Federal courts in Oregon and California delivered the first major rebukes to the Trump Justice Department’s nationwide effort to seize state voter rolls, rejecting the administration’s claim that federal law allows it to collect voters’ sensitive personal data. Judges in both states warned that the DOJ’s demands exceed its legal authority and risk chilling voter participation.

Court blocks key parts of Trump’s anti-voting executive order

• ​​A federal judge blocked enforcement of Trump’s anti-voting executive order in Oregon and Washington, ruling that the president has no authority to impose new election rules on states. The decision permanently halts Trump’s attempt to force proof-of-citizenship requirements, ban states from counting mail ballots received after Election Day and strong-arm states by threatening to withhold election funding.

New Jersey expands automatic voter registration

• Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed a new law standardizing automatic voter registration in New Jersey, a shift expected to boost registration and improve voter roll accuracy. Under the change, eligible citizens will be automatically registered to vote when they get or renew a driver’s license or ID, with the option to opt out later. Supporters of the law say the reform reduces barriers to voting and fixes long-standing problems with address changes failing to reach election officials.