U.S. Supreme Court upholds legality of Mississippi's absentee ballot return law
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Watson v. Republican National Committee that federal law does not preempt a Mississippi law allowing absentee ballots to be received up to five days after the election.
Mississippi is one of 14 states that allow all valid absentee/mail-in ballots postmarked by election day to be counted if they arrive within a set period of time after the election. The state passed a law allowing for a five-day grace period in 2020. Thirty states, including Mississippi, allow at least some military or overseas ballots to be counted if they arrive after election day. The ruling means those laws will continue to be in effect.
U.S. Supreme Court rules 6-3 for presidential removal of independent agency commissioner
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in the case of Trump v. Slaughter that the president may remove a leader of a multi-person independent agency for reasons other than those enumerated in statute. The Court upheld President Donald Trump's (R) 2025 dismissal of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, ruling that the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 unconstitutionally restricted presidential power by limiting the reasons for which a commissioner could be dismissed.
The ruling overturned the 1935 precedent of Humphrey's Executor v. United States, which had identified the reasons enumerated in the Act – "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office" – as the only valid reasons for presidential dismissal of an FTC commissioner. In subsequent jurisprudence, the Humphrey's Executor precedent limited presidential power to remove leaders of multi-member independent agencies to the reasons the U.S. Congress enumerates in statute.
This year’s criminal justice ballot measures continue trend toward increasing criminal penalties and bail restrictions
Every criminal justice ballot measure since 2022 has moved towards more punitive policies, including six this year that would increase penalties or expand the circumstances under which courts could deny or restrict bail. This marks a change from the period from 2012 to 2020, when measures proposing less punitive policies outnumbered those proposing more punitive ones.
Measures defined as more punitive would increase criminal penalties, expand the circumstances under which bail can be denied, or reduce parole opportunities. Measures defined as less punitive would decrease criminal penalties, limit circumstances under which bail can be denied, or increase parole opportunities.
Four of the measures on the ballot this year concern bail policy. On May 19, Alabama voters approved Amendment 1 81.6% to 18.4%. The measure allows a judge to deny bail for defendants charged with certain weapon-discharge offenses or solicitation, attempt, or conspiracy to commit murder. Voters in Indiana, Louisiana, and Tennessee will decide on the three other bail-related measures on Nov. 3. The other two measures, both in Colorado, would increase criminal penalties.
U.S. House campaign committees are targeting a combined 74 districts this election cycle
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) are targeting a combined 74 congressional districts this election cycle.
The DCCC and NRCC are subsidiaries of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, respectively. The goal of both committees is to elect members of their parties to the U.S. House of Representatives. Both committees provide the candidates running in their respective target districts with research, polling, and funding.
Among the 74 districts, the DCCC is targeting 45, and the NRCC is targeting 29.