US midterms open as judge extends mail-voting block

The US midterm election season opened on September 4 as North Carolina began sending mail ballots, while a federal judge extended a temporary block on President Donald Trump's plan to impose new mail-voting requirements.

The November 3 elections will determine control of Congress for the final two years of Trump's term. Republicans hold narrow congressional majorities, and a Cornell University forecast gives Democrats an eight-in-10 chance of taking the House, projecting a roughly 226-209 majority.

Judge Indira Talwani extended her previous temporary block on Friday, a day after warning that hurried changes could cause widespread disruption. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the new order to the Supreme Court.

Trump's March executive order would require states to provide the US Postal Service with lists of eligible mail voters through a new federal portal. Ballot envelopes would also need individual barcodes and other design features, with USPS able to refuse mailings that fail to meet its requirements. The administration says the rules are meant to protect election integrity.

Voting systems already differ widely by state. Some states automatically send ballots to registered voters, others require voters to request them, and rules vary on identification, return deadlines and how late-arriving ballots are counted.

North Carolina officials said Friday's mailings would proceed normally and that the state has no plans to use the federal portal at the center of the dispute. Friday also marked 60 days before Election Day, the deadline Trump's order envisioned for states to submit voter information. Another 18 states are expected to begin distributing ballots roughly 45 days before November 3.

Concerns grew after an anonymous USPS whistleblower alleged that the ballot portal had been developed through a "rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed" process. The whistleblower warned that under a proposed "zero-percent failure" policy, one barcode that fails to scan or match could lead to an entire batch containing thousands of ballots being rejected until checked again.

USPS told AFP that no mandatory verification procedures were being performed and that election officials would initially use the portal only voluntarily.