President Trump signs absentee/mail-in voting executive order
On March 31, President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order requiring the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to mail absentee/mail-in ballots only to an approved list of voters eligible to vote in federal elections.
The order, entitled Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections, requires the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to use federal data to create a list of U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote in each state and submit each state’s list to its respective chief election official. Those voters would still need to register to vote to cast a ballot.
Every state has a method allowing voters to cast ballots without visiting a physical polling place.
Fourteen states require voters to provide a valid excuse to vote by mail. Twenty-eight states allow any eligible voter to cast an absentee/mail-in ballot. Eight states have all-mail voting systems in which every eligible voter is automatically sent a mail ballot.
December redistricting vote shapes Republican primaries for the Indiana Senate
Republican primaries for the Indiana Senate will happen on May 5. These primaries are taking place against the backdrop of the state Senate’s rejection of a mid-decade redistricting bill in December 2025.
The bill sought to redraw the state's congressional map to net two additional seats for Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. Currently, Indiana's U.S. House delegation includes two Democrats and seven Republicans.
The effort passed in the Indiana House of Representatives 57-41, but the state Senate rejected it 31-19. Twenty-one Republicans in the state Senate joined all 10 Democrats in voting against redistricting.
Ten of the 21 Republicans who voted against the effort are up for re-election this year. Two of those 10 Republicans — Eric Bassler and Kyle Walker — are not running for re-election.
President Trump has endorsed primary challengers against five of the eight Republicans who voted against the effort and are running for re-election.
Alabama enacts bill ending state judicial deference, Georgia General Assembly passes similar bill
On March 31, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed SB 167, ending judicial deference in state courts. Judicial deference is a practice in which courts adopt an agency’s reading of an ambiguous statute, regulation, or other document in cases involving that agency.
Alabama is the second state to comprehensively end judicial deference so far this year. Kansas passed a similar bill on Feb. 6.
The Alabama Senate passed the bill 34-0 (seven Democrats and 27 Republicans voting yes) on Feb. 5. The Alabama House of Representatives passed it 105-0 (29 Democrats and 76 Republicans voting yes) on March 17.
The Georgia General Assembly passed a similar bill, HB 1247, on April 3. It would prohibit state courts from deferring to agency interpretations “when interpreting this state's Constitution, statutes, or published rules.” As of writing, the bill awaited action from Gov. Brian Kemp (R).
Ballotpedia has identified 23 bills in 13 states related to judicial deference in 2026, including the Alabama and Georgia bills.