Hartmann Report

Voting by mail offers a tidy solution for voters who are unable—because of either physical or time constraints—to vote in person at a polling place. Voting by mail has also been thoroughly tested at the state and local levels across the United States, and 22 states have provisions for certain elections to be held entirely by mail-in ballots. The way it works is simple, as the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) explains: “All registered voters receive a ballot in the mail. The voter marks the ballot, puts it in a secrecy envelope or sleeve and then into a separate mailing envelope, signs an affidavit on the exterior of the mailing envelope, and returns the package via mail or by dropping it off.” In many ways, vote by mail reflects the United States’ original election system up until 1844, when voters cast ballots over the period of a month.

The Best of the Rest of the News. — Are we seeing the beginnings of World War III brought to us by Trump and Putin? — Trump’s Cronies Just Took an Axe to America’s Nuclear Watchdogs—And It’s Exactly What Putin Wants. — Seven Justice Department prosecutors have now resigned rather than being “enough of a fool or coward” to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams. — JD Vance brings his culture war to Europe. — Musk’s teenage wonder-boys left a backdoor open on the DOGE website, leading to its capture by hackers. — California, Oregon, and Washington state have been invited to join Canada.

The SAVE Act is the most dangerous voter suppression bill in modern history… The Republican Taliban doesn't want my wife, Louise Hartmann, to vote. And they may well put that desire into law this year. Republicans have always been wary of women voting or even engaging in politics, while Democrats are welcoming of women.

No American leader has ever pledged loyalty to a foreign dictator — until now… The betrayal of our Democratic allies has begun. It's treason: there is no other way to describe the statements made yesterday by Trump and Hegseth after Trump called Putin to kiss his ass and beg for his approval. Putin the butcher played Trump like a fiddle at a country fair.

History will remember the cowards — will you be one of them? Dear Republicans, When I was a kid, my dad was a Republican activist. He gave me John Stormer's None Dare Call It Treason when I was around 10; the summer I was 13, I went door-to-door with him for Barry Goldwater, even though he insisted on calling himself an "Eisenhower Republican" or, when he was feeling expansive, a "Lincoln Republican." My younger brother was a Republican political consultant in the 1970s before abandoning the GOP. I know what the Republican Party used to be — for both better and worse — and there's very little of it left today. And yet it may well be the only institution that can save democracy in America, if a few of its members can begin to show some courage.

How authoritarian regimes fool their supporters — until the cost comes due… A new poll from CBS News finds that most Americans agree with Trump's policies of gutting protections for women and Black people while arresting and deporting Brown people here without documentation. Roughly two-thirds of respondents called him "tough," "energetic," "focused" and "effective." They think they are free.

Welcome to James Madison's nightmare: The very definition of Tyranny... So, JD Vance is now saying that he and Trump don't have to obey federal judges, tweeting, "judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power." This is how autocrats run things; it's an extraordinarily dangerous moment.

If the United States can get every eligible citizen registered to vote for a given election, the next hurdle is to make sure that voters are able to go to a polling place and actually cast a ballot. Fully 14 percent of registered voters who did not vote in the 2016 election reported that they were too busy or had a conflicted schedule, with another 12 percent reporting that they had an illness or disability, and another 8 percent reporting that they were out of town or away from home, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data in 2017. The US Constitution doesn’t specify when elections are to be held. Until 1845, each state was able to set its own date for elections. Before 1845, states held elections in the 34 days before the electors in the Electoral College voted.

The Best of the Rest of the News. — Why every American should care about CBS settling 'dangerous' Trump lawsuit, even MAGA. — Elon Musk demands firing of 'disgusting and cruel' WSJ reporter who uncovered DOGE employee's racist tweets. — Trump tries to intimidate The Washington Post and columnist Eugene Robinson. — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor calls out the Court's rightwingers on presidential immunity. — GOP bill bans prosecutors from going after officials who refuse to certify elections..say what?! — Trump administration orders states to halt EV charging programs.

Spies, secrets, and sabotage: America's adversaries couldn't have scripted a better betrayal than what Musk and Trump are doing… Donald Trump and Elon Musk have created a national security nightmare. On purpose. An unelected billionaire and his merry hacker band are rooting through our nation's secrets, poking around in your personal financial and medical records, and reportedly altering the computer code involved in paying our nation's bills. Most recently they gave a 23 year-old working for Musk access to our Department of Energy, which manages America's nuclear weapons arsenal. One of his teenage colleagues who is also rummaging through our nation's secrets reportedly runs websites in Russia.