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States given clearance for mail-in voting as US supreme court thwarts Trump | First Thing

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Belam, M. (2026, September 15). States given clearance for mail-in voting as US supreme court thwarts Trump | First Thing. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/15/first-thing-mail-in-voting-us-supreme-court-trump

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-09-15 · by Martin Belam

Quick Summary

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected former President Donald Trump's restrictions on mail-in ballots, allowing states to proceed with their established voting processes ahead of midterm elections. Democratic representative Robert Garcia praised the decision, stating that it prevents interference in American elections. Meanwhile, a Department of Homeland Security whistleblower has revealed concerns over the reliability and legality of data used by DHS officers investigating voter fraud, raising questions about the integrity of such investigations.
Written by AI on 2026-09-15, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Postmaster General David Steiner announced that the U.S. Postal Service has halted work on a controversial computer system developed under President Donald Trump's executive order, aimed at limiting voting by mail. This decision follows Supreme Court rulings striking down the executive order and issuing injunctions against implementing it. The suspension was confirmed in an interview with The Associated Press, where Steiner, who previously worked as CEO of Waste Management, emphasized his agency’s role as independent from political directives despite navigating financial hardships and political turbulence caused by Trump's policies. Unlike Trump, who criticized the court decisions, Steiner avoided commenting on the rulings' merits or implications for voter eligibility ahead of critical midterm elections in November.

Written for “Trump Mail Voting Restrictions” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 46 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Mail Voting Restrictions
Politics · 47 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 16% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Euronews
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 5 of 24 claims Outlet record 60/100
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 32 claims Outlet record 64/100
CBC News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 6 of 31 claims Outlet record 60/100
South China Morning Post
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 6 claims Outlet record 64/100
Mother Jones
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 9 of 73 claims Outlet record 95/100
The Independent
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 28 claims Outlet record 59/100
NBC News
Outlet record 60/100
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans right further right than this Hedges 12 of 133 claims Outlet record 66/100
Los Angeles Times
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 9 of 43 claims Outlet record 95/100
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 13 claims Outlet record 69/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
43
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
16%
7 of 43 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
47
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 1863 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Martin Belam
22 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Martin Belam
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 22 articles by Martin Belam →

Topics

China DHS Democratic Microsoft Texas

Subjects

DHS ORG · 3× Microsoft ORG · 3× Russian NORP · 3× China GPE · 2× ProPublica ORG · 2× Texas GPE · 2× Trump PERSON · 2× Umar Kremlev PERSON · 2× Vladimir Putin PERSON · 2× Donald Trump’s PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Citing records and interviews with three anonymous sources familiar with the event, ProPublica reported that Kremlev, a member of the Russian president’s circle, footed the bill to rent one of the islands where a reception was held and where guests slept, along with other large expenses, including a huge firework show. - Who is Umar Kremlev?
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-15
🔮 We will keep fighting to protect the right to vote of every single citizen in this country.”

Claims (43 extracted, 7 hedged)

The supreme court has rejected Donald Trump’s mail ballot restrictions, capping a flurry of last-minute legal action with voting in the midterm elections already under way. asserted
court → reject → way
The decision allows states to continue sending out mail ballots under the same processes they have used for years. asserted
they → allow → years
Civil rights groups lauded the decision. asserted
groups → laud → decision
“The supreme court has done the right thing,” said Robert Garcia, a Democratic representative from Long Beach, California, adding: “Donald Trump tried to illegally interfere with our elections and undermine vote-by-mail for millions of Americans and failed. asserted
Trump → do → Americans
We will keep fighting to protect the right to vote of every single citizen in this country.” asserted
We → keep → country
- What has a DHS whistleblower said about “voter fraud” investigations? asserted
whistleblower → say → investigations
An anonymous whistleblower said Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lawyers told officers investigating “voter fraud” they would not be held responsible for violating state laws around accessing voter registration information. asserted
they → say → information
The whistleblower also expressed concern about the reliability of the data DHS was giving officers to review, as well as the lack of transparency into where the data came from. asserted
data → express → where
Microsoft proposes limits on its AI with code of conduct amid safety debate Microsoft has published a provisional “code of conduct” to apply to the training of new artificial intelligence models, taking a step towards limiting the capabilities of the company’s AI as anxiety rises over the prospect that technology companies could lose control of AI products. uncertain
companies → propose → products
Under the code of conduct, Microsoft’s AI models must not consider requests related to weapons development, produce violent or sexually explicit content or help with the procurement of dangerous substances. asserted
models → consider → substances
AI models also should not be built to imitate consciousness and shouldn’t be entitled to rights. asserted
models → build → rights
- Why is Trump facing a bipartisan AI backlash? asserted
Trump → face → backlash
Democrats and some Republicans have been pushing in US Congress for guardrails on the world’s most powerful AI companies. asserted
Democrats → push → companies
Trump dismissed the anxieties, describing them as a “HOAX” and “conspiracy”, but looked increasingly isolated as members of both major parties acknowledged the risks and expressed a desire to act before it was too late. asserted
it → dismiss → desire
- Why is Texas governor Greg Abbott pushing back against datacenters? asserted
Abbott → push → datacenters
Drought-prone Texas has fast become the heart of the US’s datacenter boom, and the Republican governor has directed state regulators to penalize datacenters that fail to comply with state laws requiring them to disclose their water use. asserted
that → become → use
China has dismissed what it said were “fearmongering” calls to block Beijing’s AI industry, however the top Chinese spy chief warned the evolving technology could threaten Communist party rule. uncertain
technology → dismiss → rule
The president of the European Central Bank, meanwhile, has warned Europe must develop its own AI technology and build more datacenters in order to nullify the threat of being cut off by the US or China. asserted
Europe → warn → US
Russian oligarch close to Putin paid for part of Donald Trump Jr’s lavish wedding Donald Trump Jr and his wife, Bettina, confirmed that a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin partially paid for the couple’s wedding celebrations in May, following a ProPublica report revealing Umar Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the events. uncertain
Kremlev → pay → events
Citing records and interviews with three anonymous sources familiar with the event, ProPublica reported that Kremlev, a member of the Russian president’s circle, footed the bill to rent one of the islands where a reception was held and where guests slept, along with other large expenses, including a huge firework show. - Who is Umar Kremlev? asserted
Kremlev → cite → show
Transitioning from a convicted criminal into a powerful boxing promoter, his unwavering loyalty to Vladimir Putin enabled him to amass immense wealth through control of state-backed gambling companies and the acquisition of Russia’s largest car dealership network following its seizure from a regime critic. asserted
loyalty → transition → critic
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ held detainees in cages the size of phone booths Detainees at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” federal immigration jail were frequently locked in outside metal cages no bigger than a phone booth, according to a damning government watchdog report that said the practice “does not align with standards for humane treatment”. uncertain
practice → hold → treatment
The findings from the office of the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security were published on its website and offer rare criticism of the Trump administration by one of its own agencies. asserted
findings → publish → agencies
In other news … - Macklemore has been dropped from the remainder of the US leg of Ed Sheeran’s tour, after the rapper drew headlines for saying “free Palestine” on stage. asserted
rapper → drop → stage
- Nato fighter jets shot down a drone over Lithuania after an alert was issued in the capital, Vilnius. asserted
alert → shoot → capital
- California governor Gavin Newsom will not run for president if Kamala Harris does, he has said in an interview. - The Trump administration has changed the way it counts measles deaths amid a Pennsylvania outbreak, which a former CDC chief medical officer described as “puzzling”. asserted
officer → run → puzzling
- Firefighters have made progress against northern California’s Lucas fire, with 30% contained in what was described as a “big turning point”. asserted
what → make → point
- Mitch McConnell has returned to the Senate after his months-long absence. asserted
McConnell → return → absence
Stat of the day: Democracy indicators in US at lowest levels for 50 years, data shows The Trump administration has been “undermining the rule of law domestically and internationally”, while key indicators of democracy in the US have fallen to their lowest levels in 50 years, according to data from a leading thinktank. uncertain
indicators → show → thinktank
Culture Pick: Emmys 2026 – Widow’s Bay dominates as Matthew Rhys and Jean Smart land historic wins asserted
Rhys → dominate → wins
We have comprehensive coverage of last night’s Emmy awards, in which Matthew Rhys became the first actor to win multiple lead actor awards for performances in different shows in the same year. asserted
Rhys → have → year
We have a write-up of the evening, the full list of who won, the biggest shocks, and perhaps most importantly, a gallery of the best of the red carpet looks. asserted
who → have → looks
Don’t miss this: The pirates arrived with AK-47s. asserted
pirates → miss → AK-47s
They took us hostage – then the torture began asserted
torture → take → us
Chirag Bahri tells his incredible story of being held captive on the Marida Marguerite oil tanker for almost eight months. asserted
Bahri → tell → months
… or this: ‘I believed the hype’ – the white South Africans denied refugee status in the US Rachel Savage reports from Johannesburg where the Trump administration drive to “save” thousands of Afrikaners from false claims of “white genocide” appears to show signs of slowing. uncertain
drive → believe → slowing
Climate check: US ‘super-emitters’ of planet heating methane identified by satellite analysis asserted
emitters → identify → analysis
A new UCLA study using satellite data and public records has ranked oil and gas facilities across the US for their output of methane – a potent greenhouse gas – shedding light on previously unmonitored sources to try to improve regulatory oversight. asserted
study → use → oversight
They’re the sopranos of the forest, so what’s silencing the gibbons’ morning chorus? asserted
what → ’re → chorus
As human development and roads increasingly fragment gibbon habitats, a study suggests traffic noise could be altering the animals’ notoriously loud wake-up call. uncertain
noise → fragment → call
…and 3 more, not listed.
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