National: Election deniers now hold posts on local US election boards, raising concerns for midterms | George Chidi/The Guardian

A number of people who deny the legitimacy of the 2020 election, and often of other elections in which Republicans have not been victorious, have been elevated to positions of power since Donald Trump’s re-election, raising concerns about the potential for partisan meddling in critical parts of the country such as Arizona and Georgia. State by state, activists aligned with the “election integrity” movement have found their way on to local elections boards and elections offices, raising red flags for Democrats who have already started efforts to have them removed. “I think Republicans want to put us in jail,” Fulton county commissioner Dana Barrett said, moments after a contempt hearing in an Atlanta, Georgia, courtroom in August, where she and five other county commissioners were fighting a battle to reject the appointment of two Republican election denialists to the Fulton county board of registrations and elections. Read Article

National: Some Americans abroad can’t send mail to U.S. because of tariffs | Meryl Kornfield/The Washington Post

Since President Donald Trump’s latest push in tariffs, shoppers are seeing higher costs for foreign goods. Postal traffic to the United States has plunged. And Christy Sweet is running out of days to prove to the government that she’s still alive. The 64-year-old American living in Thailand must mail a Social Security form required annually for beneficiaries living abroad within 60 days to get her retirement benefits, but there has been an unexpected problem: Her local mail office told her that she can’t mail anything to the U.S. without paying $65 for a premium shipping service. She has scoured the Social Security website, sought help from Thai and U.S. officials, and considered paying to ensure that she can continue getting her only income, an $800-per-month retirement check. “I need this money,” she said. “If I don’t get it, I’m screwed.” Sweet isn’t the only American expat stuck in this mail maelstrom. A worldwide community of Americans living abroad relies on snail mail every year to stay in touch with friends and family who are stateside, receive government services and vote. Read Article