Today’s notice: The Postal Service may not be able to deliver Trump’s mail-in package. Using AI to decide your vote. Jamie Raskin readies his investigation list. And: How easy is it to rename things “America”?
THE LATEST
Donald Trump’s plan to employ the U.S. Postal Service to screen voters for eligibility for mailed ballots in this year’s midterms is tied up in court battles. But even if — and that’s still a big IF — all the legal wrangling were resolved and the Trump administration prevailed at the Supreme Court, with less than 70 days until the election, the Postal Service has little time to figure out how to deliver a system to check ballots against state-provided voter rolls.
Some postage-paid ballots from county clerks could land at local post offices in weeks. And any screwups in the yet-to-exist system, even assuming a small error rate, could disenfranchise a lot of voters. It’s way more complicated than getting your impulse-purchased Amazon package that last mile; a late or denied delivery here could prompt an election-wide fiasco.
Trending
“This is not something where you just flip the switch and turn it on,” Tom Day, a Postal Service executive for 35 years, told NOTUS’ Eric Katz, who penned a detailed look at how Trump’s mail-in ballot plan may not arrive on time. “I don’t know how the hell they’re going to do it.”
The Postal Service would normally spend a year to roll out a system like this, Day said, and push educational efforts for the tens of thousands of postal clerks across the country. “To do it in three weeks,” he said, “my God, there’s no way.”
Open tabs: Meta to pay 47 states up to $17.1B in landmark child safety settlement (Stateline); House GOP leaders eye quick vote on Senate-passed stopgap (Politico); Maryland Judge Strikes Down Democratic Redistricting Ballot Measure (NOTUS); Years Late, Billions Over Budget: California’s High-Speed Rail Hasn’t Laid a Track (WSJ); U.S. weapons shortage from Iran war alarms allies confronting China (WaPo)
From the campaign trail
Hey, Grok, who should I vote for? A recent study shared exclusively with NOTUS looked at how voters might be using AI chatbots to answer political questions, including which candidates they should support, NOTUS’ Elena Schneider writes. Some Democratic strategists are warning their campaigns not to ignore the answers. Artificial intelligence apps, to our dismay, aren’t just using news sites for info but rather leaning on campaign website pages, YouTube interviews and a candidate’s digital footprint.
From the Hill
Request to revoke: California Democratic Party delegates are circulating a petition urging the state party to rescind its endorsement of Rep. Jimmy Gomez as he faces a sexual misconduct investigation by the House Ethics Committee, NOTUS’ Oriana González tells us. The petition, which has been signed by more than 50 state delegates, including 11 from Gomez’s district, comes as the Ethics Committee is days away from hitting a 60-day preelection blackout period that would bar it from releasing any findings ahead of the midterms.
On notice: Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is lining up his focus in case Democrats reclaim the majority, NOTUS’ Jose Pagliery reports. Last week, Raskin sent letters to U.S. attorneys in five districts, including D.C.’s Jeanine Pirro, warning that he’s investigating whether DOJ attorneys misled judges.
NOTUS PERSPECTIVES
Dana Milbank scrutinized the Republican Party’s message on inflation as the midterms approach. He found that it boils down to: Stop whining!
NOTUS METRO
Sign up for our local newsletter, written by Martin Austermuhle and Zara Norman.
Local news: D.C. Could Receive Up to $130M From Meta as Part of Massive Settlement, by Jenny Gathright
Talk to Tom: A Great Tavern-Style Pizza Joint in Dupont, by Tom Sietsema
Sports desk: The Commanders Have Their Offensive Issues Exposed in Joint Practice, by Martenzie Johnson
NEW ON NOTUS
Nomenclatural considerations: Earlier this week, Trump threatened to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” But is that even possible? NOTUS’ Dave Levinthal writes that in essence, yes.
Normally, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names takes months or years to review name-change requests. But, Dave writes, when Trump signed an executive order last year mandating the “Gulf of Mexico” be renamed the “Gulf of America,” he upended that entire process and it moved rapidly. Trump threatened to do it again this week.
But even if the name is legally changed, Dave writes, Trump cannot force anyone to use the name, even if he really, really wants to. One such example — all the local jurisdictions that have already defied the president, including Florida residents who voted to keep their “Gulf of Mexico Drive.”
More: The Senate’s NATO Backstop Is About to Lose Its Biggest Champions, by Hamed Ahmadi
A Judge Says Texas Authorities Can Release an ICE Agent Who Shot a Man by Jose Pagliery
Pentagon Claims Hegseth’s Afghanistan Withdrawal Probe Found ‘Hidden’ Files, by Angie Orellana Hernandez
AOC Officially Rejoins DSA as 2028 Speculation Heats Up, by Jenna Monnin
Josh Shapiro and RFK Jr. Trade Barbs Over Deadly Measles Outbreak, by Torrie Herrington
Rep. Beatty Says Trump Is Using Mob-Like Tactics in Kennedy Center Battle, by Torrie Herrington
NOT US
- Everyone is making a U-turn on data centers as public support craters, by Andrew Howard for Politico
- In Virginia’s Navy Country, the Iran War Tests a G.O.P. Incumbent, by Olivia Diaz for The New York Times
- Before Hegseth fired him, top general was advised to drop Kid Rock probe, by Dan Lamothe and Noah Robertson for The Washington Post
Thank you for reading! If you liked this edition of the NOTUS Newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please sign up — it’s free! Have a tip? Email us at tips@notus.com. And as always, we’d love to hear your thoughts at newsletters@notus.com.
The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr and Andrew Burton. Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/AP.
Author
