It’s Saturday, March 28, 2026, and here’s your Democracy in the States: Weekly Roundup. If you traveled this week, you might have spent some time waiting in airport security lines. The ongoing Department of Homeland Security funding deadlock has caused TSA staffing shortages and ICE officer deployments at airports nationwide. It’s a clear, personal reminder that the battles in Washington affect your daily life, whether you follow the news or not.
This link between everyday life and national news was especially clear this week. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority showed strong doubts about state laws that count mail ballots arriving after Election Day, which could impact hundreds of thousands of votes. Meanwhile, the Justice Department admitted in court that it has been sharing sensitive voter data with the Department of Homeland Security to look for noncitizen voters, despite earlier denying these plans.
Together, these events shaped the week and pushed states to respond in familiar ways: some fought back in court, others quietly complied, and some rushed to pass new restrictions before the midterms.
Election Administration
The national picture shifted considerably this week, with the Supreme Court, the Justice Department, and a California sheriff all taking steps that could reshape how votes are cast and counted in 2026 and beyond.
Voter data and federal overreach
NATIONAL: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told a conservative conference he didn’t understand why anyone would oppose sending ICE agents to voting sites.
OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma’s attorney general agreed to give the federal government previously private voter data, while voting rights groups quickly went to court to stop the release.
UTAH: The League of Women Voters of Utah is trying to join a federal lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from accessing the state’s unredacted voter rolls.
ARIZONA: A grand jury subpoena from the DOJ requested nearly all records from Arizona’s 2020 legislative election audit, including ballot images.
Court cases
CALIFORNIA: Voters file suit demanding Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco return more than 650,000 ballots he seized from California’s 2025 redistricting referendum.
CALIFORNIA: An investigation found that Sheriff Bianco posted that “some people should never be allowed to vote,” which adds new weight to the lawsuit over the seized ballots.
GEORGIA: A state appeals court sided with Fulton County, overturning an order that would have forced the county to seat two conservative activists on its election board.
GEORGIA: Fulton County attorneys faced off against the DOJ in federal court over more than 650 boxes of 2020 election records that FBI agents seized and that the county wants returned.
INDIANA: A special judge lifted an order blocking three Indiana counties from mailing absentee ballots in a Republican primary where Trump has endorsed a challenger to the incumbent.
NEBRASKA: Nebraska’s Supreme Court ordered Democrat Cindy Burbank restored to the U.S. Senate ballot, ruling the state’s top election official had acted too late to remove her.
NORTH CAROLINA: A federal judge upheld North Carolina’s voter ID law, finding the state NAACP failed to prove it was an unconstitutional infringement on the right to vote.
NORTH CAROLINA: A federal judge upheld a 2023 law that lets officials deny voter registrations after just one undeliverable piece of address-verification mail. This marked a second federal win for GOP lawmakers in one week.
WISCONSIN: Racine County election conspiracy theorist Harry Wait was found guilty of election fraud for requesting absentee ballots on behalf of two elected officials in 2022.
State action
ALASKA: The Alaska House passed a bipartisan elections overhaul bill that streamlines voting processes and updates voter rolls, a move that bucks national trends toward restrictions.
IDAHO: The Idaho Senate approved a bill to reinstate a May presidential primary accidentally eliminated in 2023. However, a competing bill may complicate the path forward.
KANSAS: Kansas Republicans passed a set of election bills that Democrats warned might suppress votes, pushing them through just weeks before the state’s primary.
KENTUCKY: A Kentucky elections “cleanup” bill grew into broad legislation that raises campaign donation limits and requires county clerks to verify citizenship during voter registration.
NEW JERSEY: New Jersey lawmakers are considering a bill to warn voters that upcoming U.S. Postal Service changes ending same-day postmarking might put mail ballots sent near Election Day at risk.
OHIO: An Ohio Republican proposed requiring absentee voters to submit a photocopy of their photo ID with their ballot, a move that may have exceeded even the GOP supermajority’s appetite for restriction.
SOUTH DAKOTA: Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden signed a law requiring proof of citizenship for new voter registrations, mirroring federal SAVE Act requirements.
Redistricting
Gerrymandering made headlines from several angles this week. Citizen-led referendums drew attention in Missouri and Virginia, while efforts to curb gerrymandering in Utah and Maryland faced setbacks.
MISSOURI: Backers of a referendum challenging Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map say they have collected the minimum signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot. However, a Cole County judge ruled that submitting referendum signatures is not enough to suspend a state law, so Missouri’s gerrymandered map stays in effect for now.
VIRGINIA: With four weeks left before Virginia’s redistricting referendum, early voting data shows higher turnout in Republican-leaning areas, a familiar and worrying sign for the “yes” side. However, Virginia Democrats are pushing back on concerns about early GOP turnout advantage.
MARYLAND: Maryland’s House committee quietly attached redistricting language to a Senate elections bill and sent it to the full chamber for a potential vote. The Maryland Senate leader says it’s a nonstarter.
UTAH: The GOP-led push to get Utah voters to repeal the state’s 2018 anti-gerrymandering law failed after thousands of petition signers withdrew their names.
Candidates & Campaigns
With filing deadlines closing and primary season accelerating, the political landscape for November is beginning to take shape, and in a few places, it has already delivered some surprises.
NORTH CAROLINA: After a hand recount confirmed the result, Senate President Phil Berger, one of North Carolina’s most powerful Republicans for 20 years, conceded his primary race to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.
NORTH CAROLINA: Berger’s loss was one of eight incumbent defeats in the state’s primary, leaving a legislature full of lame ducks whose uncertain futures could change the upcoming short session.
FLORIDA: Florida Democrats won a state Senate seat and a House seat in special elections, marking their biggest election night in years and an early sign of midterm momentum.
ARIZONA: More than 260 candidates filed for Arizona state and federal office before Monday’s deadline, setting up a crowded field for 2026.
ARKANSAS: Voters in six Arkansas legislative districts are heading to runoff elections after no candidate captured a majority in the March 3 primary.
WISCONSIN: A new Marquette University poll shows 56% of Wisconsin voters disapprove of President Trump, a significant shift in a state both parties are watching closely heading into midterms.
Ballot Initiatives & Constitutional Amendments
From voter ID to Medicaid to property taxes, voters in several states are being asked, or soon will be, to weigh in directly on key issues their legislatures haven’t been able or willing to solve.
MICHIGAN: Michigan Democrats formally opposed a 2026 ballot measure that would impose strict voter ID rules starting in 2027, calling it voter suppression.
OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma House lawmakers moved forward a measure asking voters to remove Medicaid expansion from the state Constitution, despite warnings that hundreds of thousands could lose coverage.
OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma Republicans are pushing to add a voter ID requirement to the state Constitution. Critics call it a political stunt, while supporters say it’s about election security.
MONTANA: A Montana lawmaker is pitching a constitutional amendment to cap all property taxes, reviving one of the most divisive fights from the 2025 session.
OREGON: A private equity executive filed many Oregon ballot measures aimed at permanently enshrining a pro-sprawl, anti-tax agenda in the state constitution, reigniting concerns about big money in direct democracy.
ICE & Immigration
Federal immigration enforcement expanded into new areas this week, including weigh stations, airports, and coworking spaces. Meanwhile, states kept dividing into two clear groups: those pushing back and those leaning in.
MONTANA: On legal advice and facing potential financial penalties, Helena’s City Commission voted to rescind a pro-immigrant resolution it had adopted earlier this year.
GEORGIA: Armed ICE agents in tactical gear patrolled Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport during a partial government shutdown that caused long delays and a strong federal presence.
IOWA: Federal court records show ICE agents, with help from the Iowa State Patrol, are using interstate weigh stations to arrest and detain truck drivers suspected of being in the country illegally.
KANSAS: The Kansas House and Senate reached a deal to repeal in-state college tuition for qualified immigrant students.
KENTUCKY: A bill creating a 25-foot buffer zone around police and ICE agents is close to passing, despite Democratic objections that it violates the First Amendment.
MICHIGAN: Two Michigan bills limiting ICE cooperation, including bans on enforcement in schools and churches, moved forward along party lines out of a Senate committee.
MINNESOTA: The 8th Circuit ruled that the Trump administration can detain immigrants without bond while they await deportation hearings. This decision could mean months of detention for thousands in Minnesota.
NEBRASKA: Cases in Nebraska showed the legal confusion around ICE detention, including a 21-year-old Salvadoran woman who spent two months detained before a court ordered her release.
NEW JERSEY: New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed three immigration enforcement limitation bills, including a measure restricting police from cooperating with ICE agents.
SOUTH CAROLINA: South Carolina Republicans pushed a bill requiring over two dozen law enforcement agencies to sign formal cooperation agreements with ICE, despite Democratic objections.
Health & Social Safety Nets
Federal Medicaid work requirements are beginning to bite, and this week made clear that the damage will not be distributed evenly. It will depend almost entirely on where you live.
NATIONAL: All 41 states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA will have fewer covered residents because of new federal work requirements, but state decisions will shape how big those losses are.
IDAHO: Idaho’s House passed a bill requiring the state to implement Medicaid work requirements for expansion enrollees by year’s end, with little debate on the floor.
NEW MEXICO: New Mexico AG Raúl Torrez joined a coalition of attorneys general suing the USDA over changes to nutrition programs the coalition calls unconstitutional and unlawful.
NEW JERSEY: New Jersey nonprofits warn of severe losses under Gov. Sherrill’s $60.7 billion budget proposal, which includes major cuts to family health, HIV/AIDS, and housing programs.
OHIO: New federal food assistance work requirements could lead to 900 premature deaths in Ohio by 2040, according to a new analysis. Costs could rise even more if administrative expenses increase.
Schools & Education
NORTH DAKOTA: A new analysis warns that quiet, informal book removals are restricting access to classic titles in North Dakota libraries, a chilling effect on free expression that gets less attention than formal challenges.
OKLAHOMA: After a year of controversy, Oklahoma’s State Board of Education approved a more neutral set of social studies standards for K-12 schools and sent them to the legislature for final review.
NEBRASKA: Nebraska’s main budget bill failed for the second time in a row as lawmakers remain deadlocked over whether to include controversial private school voucher funding.