NEW: California asked a judge to toss Trump’s DOJ lawsuit to keep 20,000 Californians it claims are noncitizens from voting in the midterms — arguing the department failed to prove a single person cast an unlawful ballot. The state says the case rests on “a chain of possibilities,” not evidence. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who already ruled against the Trump administration over California’s voter rolls, has a hearing set for Tuesday. California wants a ruling on dismissal by Friday. demdock.com/4jzATDN

Trump’s DOJ admitted that some of the people on their list of 20,000 “likely noncitizens” will turn out to be citizens, saying, “We’re not perfect.” “They’re not perfect,” Marc Elias says, “but they are insisting that the election officials need to be.” Follow us to keep an eye on the people rewriting the rules.

New strict rules for mail voting were approved by North Carolina Republicans hours before mail ballots were sent to voters. Now, those rules are leading to much higher rejection rates than in the past — and the state’s Democratic governor is calling out those responsible: demdock.com/3VMtDKZ

⚠️ A GOP-controlled election board in South Carolina is attempting to suppress the Black vote by closing voting sites ahead of the midterms, a local Democratic official said. Not only that, but ACLU lawyers say the board is also breaking the law: demdock.com/4yvpOqX

One of Texas’s top prosecutors used the first day of early voting in the state to threaten election officials. “He was also playing to an audience of one,” Marc Elias says. “A sad, pathetic man in the White House.” They want you tired and tuned out. Follow us to stay in the fight.

Recent Supreme Court rulings have resulted in partisan gerrymanders that deprived “masses of citizens of their right to voting equality.” That’s coming from one of their own. Justice Elena Kagan says the phenomenon is “very destructive of our democracy.” 🔗: demdock.com/4BCeFrp

🚨BREAKING: Trump’s DOJ is considering suing more states in bid to control how ballots are counted before and after the midterms. democracydocket.com/news-ale…

Trump and his allies are pulling out all the stops to rig the midterms. One of their tactics: declaring a national emergency. In our new Deep Dive series, we break down five threats Republicans pose to our elections. Know the playbook before they try to use it: demdock.com/4sg6pZP

The DOJ is threatening California with criminal charges if they count any of the ballots the Trump administration alleges may be from noncitizens. But there’s a problem with their legal argument — the law does not apply to election workers: demdock.com/4z298bE

ICYMI: Democrats want to block the Trump administration from pressuring states to purge voters, citing how wrong they’ve been in the past. The suit calls out DHS’s claim that 16,000 Nevada voters were noncitizens, then just 185 – all of whom turned out to be citizens: demdock.com/4jtyE4N

NEW: Following the GOP's new restrictions on mail voting, this year's rejection rate of absentee ballots in North Carolina is now sitting at 3.2%. And as the election approaches, there is less and less time for counties to notify voters to cure spoiled ballots. demdock.com/487PCyz

How could Trump rig the midterms? Our reporters are tracking every threat his allies have floated. Five chapters. Free in your inbox. Limited time only. Sign up: demdock.com/4zJ4hvQ

NEW: The same judge who blocked the DOJ’s effort to obtain California’s unredacted voter data will weigh Trump’s bid to disenfranchise 20k voters in the state he alleges are noncitizens — an assignment that could lean in pro-voters’ favor. demdock.com/4yvNb3T

NEW: "You know Trump will do anything...he thinks he can get away with, he'll do it and see if somebody stops him." Trump has refused to concede to the electoral reality in the past, and there's reason to believe he would try again. But can he get away with it? demdock.com/4ixfqdr

NEW: A local Democratic official said she believes the GOP-led election board in South Carolina's Clarendon County is attempting to suppress Black votes by consolidating six voting sites. About 10% of the county’s voters will now have to travel outside their precinct to vote. demdock.com/4hX0h57