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The senator from Texas is among legislators questioning the validity of President-elect Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump. What's at stake? The hearts of the Republican voters who strongly back the incumbent president.U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, right, challenged Donald Trump about releasing personal tax returns during a Houston debate on Feb. 25, 2016, when the two were contending for the Republican presidential nomination.U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz once said he wouldn’t “go like a servile puppy dog” back to Donald Trump after denying the presidential nominee his endorsement at the GOP’s 2016 national convention.Now Cruz is leading the charge to challenge the 2020 election results that made Democrat Joe Biden the president-elect and Trump the first incumbent president to lose reelection since George H.W. Bush in 1992.Woof, woof.There is often a difference between what’s happening and what people think is happening.There is a difference, for instance, between allegations and evidence. Cruz shared his rationale for what he’s doing with Fox News on Sunday: “We’ve seen in the last two months unprecedented allegations of voter fraud, and that’s produced a deep, deep distrust of our democratic process across the country. I think we in Congress have an obligation to do something about that.”That flower will wilt or bloom within the next few hours, when Congress convenes to certify the Electoral College votes reported by the states. Cruz and other Trumpsters want to reject Biden’s electors and form a commission to investigate allegations of fraud — in elections that have already been certified, one by one, by the states, and where dozens of legal challenges have been rejected by the courts.Some of the politicos who’d normally be riding with Cruz disagree with him this time. Republican U.S. Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Tom Cotton of Arkansas both plan to oppose the election deniers. So does U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Austin, a former Cruz chief of staff who’s ordinarily right in line with his former boss.The ideological lines are blurred. The political lines are not.The early speculation has Cruz among the Republicans seeking his party’s presidential nomination in 2024, one on a list of names that will change constantly according to the volatile breezes of public opinion and attention. It’s worth remembering that GOP primary voters in Texas gave Cruz 43.8% of their votes in a 13-candidate primary in 2016; Trump was second, almost half a million votes behind the leader.Four years from now, Cruz will be up for reelection to the Senate, if he wants another term. Texas election law has a provision, known as the LBJ law, that would allow him to run for Senate and the presidency at the same time.And those votes have flipped. GOP voters arecrazy for Trump, and Cruz and all the other wannabes want to catch as many of those voters as they can when Trump leaves the White House. It doesn’t matter when that happens, whether it’s in two weeks or four years. Trump’s opinion is a short-term concern for Cruz and company, but those voters will still be here: Offending them now could be costly in four years.Another political campaign would be unlike Cruz’s first run for office, when he shocked the GOP establishment by beating then-Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in 2012 on his way to the U.S. Senate. Or his second one, when the freshman senator from Texas hung in until almost the end of that 2016 presidential race, outlasting much more seasoned politicians before falling, as everyone did, to Trump.You’ll remember that Cruz went out with a bang that year, telling GOP conventioneers to vote their conscience instead of endorsing the victor, blasting Trump for disparaging his wife and his father, and ending with that famous line about the bootlicking puppy.His reelection bid in 2018, after six years of hard political mileage, was rougher than the earlier rounds. Cruz prevailed against U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, who turned animosity toward Trump and Cruz into a maul, raising millions of dollars and turning the race into a close one before falling 2.6 percentage points short of an upset.Cruz won, but it wasn’t the sort of win that makes future opponents think twice, especially those who might be in contention for the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2024. It’s never too early to gather supporters. The 2022 elections are just around the corner — at least in the minds of politicians and consultants and their ilk — and favors won then can be cashed in 2024, when Cruz will need them.First, he needs to be where the voters are, and the Republican voters are with Trump. So’s Cruz.

The total package was two trillion dollarsSo technically it was trillions, but not necessarily the TRILLIONS of dollars in all caps that you claim got lost in the swarm, whatever that means.After hearing about money being distributed to the Presidents Billionaire Buddy's, I’m reprinting the New York Times article (public domain)The bill includes a wish list of Democrats’ pet issues including:Increased fuel emission standards for airlines receiving funds and carbon offsets:(1) IN GENERAL. Not later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall require each air carrier receiving assistance under section 101, to fully offset the annual carbon emissions of such air carriers for domestic flights beginning in 2025.….(1) IN GENERAL. The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall require each air carrier receiving assistance under section 101 to:(A) make and achieve a binding commitment to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to the domestic flights of such air carrier in every calendar year, beginning with 2021, on a path consistent with a 25 percent reduction in the aviation sector’s emissions from 2005 levels by 2035, and a 50 percent reduction in the sector’s emissions from 2005 levels by 2050, applying the standards, recommended practices, and guidance agreed to by the United States pursuant to the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011Payment for up to $10,000 in student loans: (1) MINIMUM STUDENT LOAN RELIEF AS A RESULT OF THE COVID–19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY. Not later than 270 days after the last day of the COVID–19 emergency period, the Secretaries concerned shall jointly carry out a program under which a qualified borrower, with respect to the covered loans and private education of loans of such qualified borrower, shall receive in accordance with paragraph (3) an amount equal to the lesser of the following:(A) The total amount of each covered loan and each private education loan of the borrower; or(B) $10,000.Same-day voter registration, early voting, voting by mail, ballot harvesting The bill includes several provisions on voting laws and regulations, as Democrats argue that the crisis should force the government to revisit voting regulations to make it easier to vote, allowing same-day voter registration and voting by mail, and mailing out ballots to absentee voters. Other voting fraud watchdogs raised flags about ballot harvesting and grants for conducting risk-limiting audits of election resultsSame-day registration: ‘‘SEC. 325. SAME DAY REGISTRATION. ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—‘‘(1) REGISTRATION.—Each State shall permit any eligible individual on the day of a Federal election and on any day when voting, including early voting, is permitted for a Federal election— ‘‘(A) to register to vote in such election at the polling place using a form that meets the requirements under section 9(b) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (or, if the individual is already registered to vote, to revise any of the individual’s voter registration information); and ‘‘(B) to cast a vote in such election. Online voter registration: (a) REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR VOTER REGISTRATION.— (1) REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR REGISTRATION.—The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 6 the following new section: Ballot harvesting: (2) PERMITTING VOTERS TO DESIGNATE OTHER PERSON TO RETURN BALLOT.— The State— (A) shall permit a voter to designate any person to return a voted and sealed absentee ballot to the post office, a ballot drop-off location, tribally designated building, or election office so long as the person designated to return the ballot does not receive any form of compensation based on the number of ballots that the person has returned and no individual, group, or organization provides compensation on this basis; and ‘(B) may not put any limit on how many voted and sealed absentee ballots any designated person can return to the post office, a ballot drop off location, tribally designated building, or election office. Automatic mailing of absentee ballots: ‘(A) AUTOMATIC MAILING OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS TO ALL VOTERS.—If the area in which an election is held is in an area in which an emergency or disaster which is described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 1135(g)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b- 5(g)(1)) is declared during the period described in subparagraph. Grants for risk-limiting audits: PART 8—GRANTS FOR CONDUCTING RISK- LIMITING AUDITS OF RESULTS OF ELECTIONS ‘‘SEC. 298. GRANTS FOR CONDUCTING RISK-LIMITING AUDITS OF RESULTS OF ELECTIONS.‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS.—The Commission shall make a grant to each eligible State to conduct risk-limiting audits as described in subsection (b) with respect to the regularly scheduled general elections for Federal office held in November 2020 and each succeeding election for Federal office.Preserving collective bargaining powers for unionsSeveral provisions in the bill include carveouts for big labor, including labor protections, collective bargaining, and organizing, as well as overturning President Trump’s executive orders regarding federal employee unions.The expansion of wind and solar tax credits.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other lawmakers specifically called out Democrats for trying to negotiate the expansion of wind and solar tax credits in the bill.Requirements for federal and corporate gender and racial diversity data The bill demands that corporate recipients of financial assistance are required to report racial and gender data regarding salaries, number of employees, supplier diversity, and membership on corporate boards. It also requires federal agencies to use businesses and financial institutions owned by minorities or women.Post Office Bailout UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE PAYMENT TO POSTAL SERVICE FUND For payment to the ‘‘Postal Service Fund’’, for revenue forgone due to the coronavirus pandemic, $20,000,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2022: Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.Automatic extension of nonimmigrant visas. Rep. Paul Gosar flagged a provision regarding the automatic extension of nonimmigrant visas.(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, with respect to any alien whose nonimmigrant status, status under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a), or employment authorization has expired within the 30 days preceding the date of the enactment of this act, or will expire not later than one year after such date, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall automatically extend such status or work authorization for the same time period as the alien’s prior status or work authorization.Restricting colleges from providing information about citizenship status (1) INFORMATION.—Only information requested On the official 2020 decennial census of population form may be provided to the Bureau of the Census pursuant to this section. No institution of higher education may provide any information to the Bureau on the immigration or citizenship status of any individual.Money for Planned Parenthood The Hill reported that Democrats want the bill to prop up Planned Parenthood, just another reason why bipartisan efforts have failed to reach a consensusAccording to the New York Times, March 25, 2020WASHINGTON — The $2 trillion economic stabilization package agreed to by Congress and the Trump administration early Wednesday morning is the largest of its kind in modern American history, intended to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and provide direct payments and jobless benefits for individuals, money for states and a huge bailout fund for businesses.The measure, which the Senate approved unanimously just before midnight on Wednesday, amounts to a government aid plan unprecedented in its sheer scope and size, touching on every facet of American life with the goal of salvaging and ultimately reviving a battered economy.Its cost is hundreds of billions of dollars more than Congress provides for the entire United States federal budget for a single year, outside of social safety net programs. Administration officials said they hoped that its effect on a battered economy would be exponentially greater, as much as $4 trillion.The legislation would send direct payments of $1,200 to millions of Americans, including those earning up to $75,000, and an additional $500 per child. It would substantially expand jobless aid, providing an additional 13 weeks and a four-month enhancement of benefits, and would extend the payments for the first time to freelancers and gig workers.The measure would also offer $377 billion in federally guaranteed loans to small businesses and establish a $500 billion government lending program for distressed companies reeling from the impact of the crisis, including allowing the administration the ability to take equity stakes in airlines that received aid to help compensate taxpayers. It would also send $100 billion to hospitals on the front lines of the pandemic.“This is certainly, in terms of dollars, by far and away the biggest ever, ever done,” President Trump said at the White House, where he veered from his usual partisan vitriol and praised Democrats for their work on the agreement. “That is a tremendous thing because a lot of this money goes to jobs, jobs, jobs — and families, families, families.”The deal is the product of a marathon set of negotiations among Senate Republicans, Democrats and Mr. Trump’s team that nearly fell apart as Democrats insisted on stronger worker protections, more funds for hospitals and state governments, and tougher oversight over new loan programs intended to bail out distressed businesses.Anticipation of the vote sent the markets higher for the second consecutive day, with the S&P 500 up a little more than 1 percent. But investors appeared to grow jittery toward the end of trading as a group of Republican senators delayed a final vote over concerns that the jobless aid was so generous that it could lead to layoffs and discourage people from working.The last-minute snag revealed the tenuous nature of the bipartisan compromise that was at the core of the measure, which emerged from an extraordinary five-day stretch of intense negotiations between lawmakers and White House officials over how to deliver critical financial support to businesses forced to shut their doors, American families and hospitals overwhelmed by the spread of the novel coronavirus. It has already killed more than 900 people and infected more than 68,000 in the United States.The perils of the pandemic, which by Wednesday had spread within the marble halls of the Capitol to infect lawmakers themselves, prompted Republicans to put aside their usual antipathy for big government and spearhead an effort to send cash to American families, while agreeing to astonishingly large additions to the social safety net. Democrats, for their part, dropped their routine opposition to showering tax cuts and other benefits on big corporations — all in the interest of getting a deal.The perils of the pandemic, which by Wednesday had spread within the marble halls of the Capitol to infect lawmakers themselves, prompted Republicans to put aside their usual antipathy for big government and spearhead an effort to send cash to American families, while agreeing to astonishingly large additions to the social safety net. Democrats, for their part, dropped their routine opposition to showering tax cuts and other benefits on big corporations — all in the interest of getting a deal.Though the bill is more than double the size of the roughly $800 billion stimulus package that Congress passed in 2009 to ease the Great Recession, analysts and economists warned it may provide only a few months of financial relief given the unknown breadth of the pandemic’s reach. With lawmakers besieged by an array of lobbyists and special-interest groups, not to mention constituents and businesses desperate for relief, the package more than doubled in size since Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, first introduced legislation last Thursday.“This is not a moment of celebration, but one of necessity,” Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said before the vote. “To all Americans, I say, ‘Help is on the way.’”Still, some states said they needed far more government aid than it planned to provide. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, whose state is battling by far the largest outbreak of the virus in the United States, said Wednesday that the package was “terrible” for New York, and that the $3.1 billion earmarked to help the state with its budget gap was not nearly enough.“We need more federal help than this bill gives us,” he said.Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California endorsed the deal, and planned to push it through the House on Friday by voice vote — meaning that no roll call would be taken — given that the chamber is in recess and its members are scattered across the country, some in places that have imposed travel restrictions and quarantines.“Members who want to come to the House floor to debate this bill will be able to do so,” Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat, wrote in a letter to his colleagues. “In addition, we are working to ensure that those who are unable to return to Washington may express their views on this legislation remotely.”The Senate vote unfolded as Covid-19 took its toll on that chamber, as well. Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, was absent because he has contracted the coronavirus, while two Utah Republicans, Senators Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, remain in self-isolation out of an abundance of caution after spending time with Mr. Paul. Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Senate Republican, missed the vote because he was not feeling well, a spokesman said, and had returned home out of an abundance of caution.The agreement came together after a furious final round of haggling between administration officials led by Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, and Mr. Schumer after Democrats twice blocked action on the measure as they insisted on concessions.It would allocate $100 million for additional rural broadband and $150 million for arts and humanities grants to bring cultural programming to Americans stuck at home. It would increase funding for domestic violence shelters and hotlines and set aside $425 million to deal with mental health and substance abuse disorders related to the pandemic. $400 million would become available to protect and expand voting for the 2020 election cycle.Once passed by both houses, the measure would be the third emergency bill approved by Congress this month to address the pandemic. Mr. Trump previously signed into law both $8.3 billion in emergency aid and a sweeping package providing paid leave, free coronavirus testing and additional aid for families affected by the pandemic.In the final measure, most Republicans agreed to Democrats’ demands for a substantial expansion of jobless benefits, including $600 extra per week on top of the usual amount provided by states.On Wednesday afternoon, four Republican senators said they were concerned the new benefits would be larger than some people’s wages, prompting employers to lay off workers and some employees to prefer staying home and collecting unemployment payments.“If this is not a drafting error, then this is the worst idea I have seen in a long time,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. “We need to create a sustainable system.”Mr. Mnuchin said the extra payments were calculated as a way to ensure that states could get money out quickly, saying that he did not believe it would create any perverse incentives. Most Americans, he said, “want to keep their jobs.”Still, the Republicans’ threat to hold up the bill because of the issue prompted Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont and a Democratic presidential contender, to issue his own warning that he, too, would seek to block the legislation for being too lenient on corporations. Later, in a speech on the floor, Mr. Sanders said he would support the bill despite his many reservations.Encapsulating the sentiment of many lawmakers in both parties about the hastily negotiated package, Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, one of the Republicans who sought to cap the jobless aid, said while he disagreed with Mr. Sanders, “I appreciate his candor in admitting that this is kind of a big crap sandwich.”In the end, though, not a single senator voted “no.”The hardest-fought concessions were related to the $500 billion aid fund for distressed businesses, which would include $425 billion for the Federal Reserve to leverage for loans to help broad groups of distressed companies and $75 billion for industry-specific loans to airlines and other hard-hit sectors.Democrats insisted on stricter oversight, in the form of an inspector general and a five-person panel appointed by Congress. Republicans also agreed to require companies that accepted money through the fund to halt any stock buybacks for as long as they were receiving government assistance, plus an additional year.On Wednesday afternoon, four Republican senators said they were concerned the new benefits would be larger than some people’s wages, prompting employers to lay off workers and some employees to prefer staying home and collecting unemployment payments.“If this is not a drafting error, then this is the worst idea I have seen in a long time,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. “We need to create a sustainable system.”Mr. Mnuchin said the extra payments were calculated as a way to ensure that states could get money out quickly, saying that he did not believe it would create any perverse incentives. Most Americans, he said, “want to keep their jobs.”Still, the Republicans’ threat to hold up the bill because of the issue prompted Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont and a Democratic presidential contender, to issue his own warning that he, too, would seek to block the legislation for being too lenient on corporations. Later, in a speech on the floor, Mr. Sanders said he would support the bill despite his many reservations.Encapsulating the sentiment of many lawmakers in both parties about the hastily negotiated package, Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, one of the Republicans who sought to cap the jobless aid, said while he disagreed with Mr. Sanders, “I appreciate his candor in admitting that this is kind of a big crap sandwich.”In the end, though, not a single senator voted “no.”The hardest-fought concessions were related to the $500 billion aid fund for distressed businesses, which would include $425 billion for the Federal Reserve to leverage for loans to help broad groups of distressed companies and $75 billion for industry-specific loans to airlines and other hard-hit sectors.Democrats insisted on stricter oversight, in the form of an inspector general and a five-person panel appointed by Congress. Republicans also agreed to require companies that accepted money through the fund to halt any stock buybacks for as long as they were receiving government assistance, plus an additional year.The agreement also includes $350 billion for lending programs for small businesses, but only those that kept their payrolls steady through the crisis. Small businesses that pledged to keep their workers would also receive cash-flow assistance structured as federally guaranteed loans. If the employer continued to pay workers for the duration of the crisis, those loans would be forgiven.Airlines stand to benefit from multiple provisions, according to Senator Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania. He pointed to an additional $25 billion in grants for them, with the potential for equity to benefit taxpayers. He also said that $17 billion is available for direct loans to companies related to America’s national security.It would allocate $100 million for additional rural broadband and $150 million for arts and humanities grants to bring cultural programming to Americans stuck at home. It would increase funding for domestic violence shelters and hotlines and set aside $425 million to deal with mental health and substance abuse disorders related to the pandemic. $400 million would become available to protect and expand voting for the 2020 election cycle.

every military person stationed overseas vote absentee ballot—-been going on for a long time———anybody unable to be at home to vote can vote absentee ballot——been going on for a long time——-As the coronavirus pandemic continues to grip the country, more states have embraced mail-in voting as a way to prevent large crowds from gathering at polling places.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended states encourage voters to cast ballots through the mail and a number of governors and elections officials have begun taking steps to make doing so easier while litigation over the issue continues.But President Trump and other Republicans have suggested the practice invites fraud, despite studies suggesting otherwise.Five states — Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Utah — currently conduct elections almost entirely by mail.The rest of the states can be divided into two categories: those that allow any registered voter to apply for mail-in ballots, and those that require an excuse.Increasing voting by mail also comes at a cost for states. Though the CARES Act allocated $400 million in election assistance for states, experts say more is required, even as states face budget fallouts spurred by the sudden economic crisis.Here is where all the states currently fall on mail-in voting:All mail-in votingThese states automatically send all registered voters mail-in ballots:Colorado: Colorado has been sending all registered voters mail-in ballots since 2013.Hawaii: Hawaii will move to an all-mail election system this year for the first time, starting with its Aug. 8 primary, followed by the Nov. 3 general election.Oregon: Oregon has been processing mail-in ballots longer than any other state, and in 2000 became the first state to conduct a presidential election completely by mail.Utah: Of the states that primarily vote through the mail, Utah is the only one that leans Republican. Sen. Mitt Romney (R) has used his state as an example to push back on claims from the president that voting by mail disadvantages Republicans.Utah typically allows people to vote in-person if they choose, but the June 30 primary will be counted entirely by mail-in and drop-off voting due to the coronavirus pandemic. Plans for the Nov. 3 general election have not yet been finalized.Washington: Every registered voter in Washington receives a mail-in ballot prior to an election.No-excuse mail-in votingThese are states where you can apply for a mail-in ballot and do not need an excuse:Alaska: Voters in Alaska do not need to cite a reason for why they choose to vote absentee. The Alaska state legislature in March passed a law that gives Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer (R) the power to host all mail-in elections throughout 2020.However, in May Meyer announced that the state’s August primary election and November election are on track to take place as usual, with extra sanitary precautions.Arizona: Arizona voters do not need an excuse to vote through the mail, and according to the Arizona Secretary of State site, most residents already do.Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) announced in March that the state is sending mail-in voting applications to every registered voter in light of the pandemic.California: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced in May that the state would be sending mail-in ballots to every registered voter in the state, a decision that’s been challenged by the state’s Republican Party.Trump also blasted the announcement, claiming on Twitter the move would lead to widespread fraud in the election.Newsom’s executive order applied only to the Nov. 3 presidential election. In every other election California voters can request a mail-in ballot without having to cite a reason for doing so.District of Columbia: Voters in Washington, D.C., can request a mail-in ballot without citing an excuse.The District’s Board of Elections has begun encouraging mail-in voting to avoid long lines at polling locations, as was the case during their primary election on June 2 because some voters didn’t receive absentee ballots in time, NPR reported.Florida: Voters who live in Florida can vote absentee without having to cite an excuse. Trump, who changed his residency from New York to Florida last year, has used Florida’s mail-in voting system.Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC, filed a lawsuit against the state demanding it relax voting laws. The group is asking the state to accept ballots sent by election day, instead of the current policy requiring the ballots to be received by election day, and argues the postage required to send the ballot amounts to a poll tax.Georgia: Georgia election officials sent absentee ballot request forms to the state’s 6.9 million registered voters for the June 9 primary.Voters in Georgia don’t need to cite a reason for wanting to vote absentee. They can request their ballot up to 180 days before an election.Idaho: Any registered voter in Idaho can apply for mail-in voting.Secretary of State Lawrence Denney (R) has said that although the state has seen an increase applications for absentee ballots, it does not anticipate moving to an all-mail system anytime soon.Illinois: Registered voters in Illinois do not need an excuse to vote absentee. Last month, the state legislature passed a bill that would expand mail-in voting by sending ballot applications to any voter who applied for an official ballot in the 2018 general election, the 2019 municipal elections or the March 2020 primary.Iowa: Any registered voter in Iowa qualifies for mail-in voting.Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate (R) announced Wednesday that the state’s June 2 primary saw record-breaking turnout after he decided to mail absentee ballot request forms to every registered voter and extend the early voting period for mailed ballots from 29 days to 40 days.Kansas: Voters in Kansas do not need an excuse to request a mail-in ballot.Local election officials can decide whether to send mail-in ballot applications to all voters or only those who request them. Kansans are requesting mail-in ballots for the August primary and November general election at record rates.Maine: All registered voters in Maine can request an absentee ballot.Maryland: All registered voters in Maryland are able to request absentee ballots.In an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the state planned to send every registered voter a mail-in ballot for the June 2 primary election. According to The Washington Post, at least a million of those were delayed.Michigan: All registered voters in Michigan are eligible for mail-in voting. Last month the state invested $4.5 million in sending 7.7 million registered voters mail-in ballot applications ahead of the August primary and November general election.That prompted Trump to threaten to withhold federal funding from Michigan, claiming incorrectly the secretary of state had sent ballots — not ballot applications — to voters and had done so illegally.Minnesota: All registered voters in Minnesota are eligible to vote by mail.Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has said he favors expanding mail-in voting in the state and is considering the “next steps” before the state's Aug. 11 primary and the Nov. 3 presidential election.Montana: All registered voters in Montana are able to vote by mail.This year the Montana secretary of state decided the state’s June 2 primary would be primarily by mail, and the state saw record-breaking turnout.However, it’s still unclear if the general election will be held the same way since the governor’s state of emergency expires in July.Nebraska: Any registered voter in Nebraska is eligible to vote by mail.The state broke records for voter turnout in its May 12 primary.Nevada: Nevada will have an all mail-in election for its June 9 primary as part of a temporary rule the state put in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus. A state court has decided that it will not rule on lawsuits challenging the temporary policy until July, so until then it is not clear to what extent Nevada voters will be able to vote through the mail or in-person in the November presidential election.Before the temporary rule, Nevada registered voters were able to obtain an absentee ballot without having to provide an excuse.New Jersey: Any registered voter in New Jersey is eligible to vote by mail.The state held its first completely mail-in election in May, which had greater turnout but saw delayed results. Election officials in the state are preparing for another primarily mail-in election for their July 7 primary.New Mexico: All registered voters in New Mexico qualify to vote by mail. This year every eligible voter was sent an application without having to request one.North Carolina: Any registered voter in North Carolina is eligible for mail-in voting.The state legislature passed a bill last week that would divert funds to make it easier for people to vote by mail as the state anticipates higher turnout by mail in upcoming elections.North Dakota: All registered voters in North Dakota are able to vote by mail in the state’s June 9 election.An injunction granted Wednesday by a federal judge bars North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger and other election officials from rejecting any mail-in ballot on the basis of a "signature mismatch" without having in place adequate notice and remedy procedures.Ohio: Though every registered voter in Ohio is able to vote by mail, the Democrats in the state legislature and Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose disagree on how to proceed with the general election.Democrats introduced legislation that would increase voting by mail and LaRose has proposed extending early voting to avoid close contact at polls.Oklahoma: The Oklahoma state legislature passed a bill that allows all voters in the 2020 elections that meet certain coronavirus-related criteria to cite “physically incapacitated” as a reason to vote by mail.State and county election officials have seen an influx of people requesting absentee ballots this year for the state’s June 30 primary, the Oklahoman reports.Pennsylvania: Most Pennsylvania voters who participated in the June 2 primary did so by mail, which led to delayed results, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.The state legislature passed a law allowing anyone who votes by mail in the primary to easily request a mail-in ballot for the November election.South Dakota: This year South Dakota sent mail-in ballot applications to all registered voters in the state for the June 2 primary, which resulted in record-breaking numbers of mail-in ballots, the Argus Leader reported.Vermont: All voters in Vermont can request a mail-in ballot.The state legislature is poised to pass a bill that would give Vermont’s Democratic Secretary of State Jim Condos unilateral authority to expand mail-in voting without approval from Republican Gov. Phil Scott.Condos and Democrats in the state legislature are seeking to send every registered voter in the state a returnable ballot for the November presidential election, the VTDigger reports.Virginia: Under current law, Virginians must list a state-authorized reason for why they cannot vote in person. But a law passed this year that will take effect in July allows voters to cast absentee ballots without any formal excuse.Last month a federal judge in Virginia denied a request from voters seeking to challenge the state's newly passed absentee voting legislation.Wisconsin: Voters in Wisconsin are eligible for mail-in voting without having to provide an excuse. In May, the Wisconsin Elections Commission approved a plan to send absentee ballot applications to more than 2.7 million registered voters, whether or not they requested one.Wyoming: Voters in Wyoming don’t need to cite a reason for wanting to vote absentee.Excuse required for absentee votingThese are states where you can apply for a mail-in ballot but must list an excuse for why you are not voting in person:Alabama: In Alabama you can apply for a mail-in ballot if you are away from the state, ill, are working a shift greater than 10 hours on a polling day, are a caregiver or incarcerated.Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) tweeted at the president last month assuring him that the state would not move toward having direct mail-in voting, as others have amid the pandemic.Arkansas: In Arkansas you can apply for an absentee ballot if you are disabled, ill, away from home, or “Uniformed Services, merchant marines or the spouse or a dependent family member and are away from your polling location due to the member’s active duty status.”Connecticut: In Connecticut you can vote by mail if you are out of town, sick or disabled, in the military, or if your “religious beliefs prevent you from performing secular activities like voting on Election Day.”Last month Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill (D) said the state will send out absentee ballot applications to every registered voter in the state and pay the postage for their ballots.Merrill is pushing the state legislature to add “a global pandemic” to the list of reasons somebody can vote by mail.Delaware: In Delaware, voters can vote by mail if they are out of town, sick or disabled, have a religious commitment or are in the armed services. This year the state will be sending absentee voting applications to all registered voters.Gov. John Carney’s (D) state of emergency order includes a measure that allows voters concerned about the coronavirus to qualify as "sick" or "physically disabled,” allowing them to vote absentee. Voters in Delaware can also request an absentee ballot online.Indiana: Despite Indiana amending its mail-in voting rules to allow all registered voters to qualify for mail-in voting in the June 2 primary, IndyStar reported many still opted to vote in person.Outside a pandemic, voters in Indiana could qualify for mail-in voting if they are 65 or older, disabled or sick, have a religious commitment, are a member of the military or a public safety officer, can’t find transportation to a polling station or are designated as a "serious sex offender" by the state.Kentucky: The state announced in April that due to the coronavirus pandemic, any registered voter is eligible to vote absentee for elections happening this year, but voters normally need to provide a reason when requesting a ballot.Louisiana: Louisiana voters can vote by mail if they are out of town, sick or disabled, have a religious commitment, are in the armed services, are incarcerated or have jury duty.In May the state legislature rejected a bill that would have expanded mail-in voting.Massachusetts: Under Massachusetts law, anyone who is disabled, out of town on Election Day, or has a religious belief preventing them from voting at their polling place can qualify for mail-in voting.The state legislature passed a bill this year adding that any person taking precautions related to COVID-19 can also qualify for mail-in voting this year.Mississippi: Voters in Mississippi can vote by mail if they are above 65, if they are sick or disabled, have work conflicts, are away from home or have educational commitments.Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson (R) has opposed expanded mail-in elections, but said voters can apply for a mail-in ballot claiming “temporary illness” and it would be up to local election officials to approve it or not.Missouri: Voters in Missouri can qualify for mail-in voting if they are out of town, sick or disabled, have a religious commitment or are in the armed services.The state legislature passed a bill that would allow anyone with a notary’s signature to qualify for mail-in voting, but it awaits the governor’s signature and would only apply to the state’s August election and the November presidential election.New Hampshire: Voters in New Hampshire can qualify for mail-in voting if they are sick, disabled, in the military, out of town, have a religious commitment or working during polling hours.New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) announced in April that any registered voter will be allowed to vote mail-in throughout the end of the year.New York: Voters in New York can request a mail-in ballot if they are away from home on Election Day, if they are ill or disabled, a resident of a veteran's hospital or incarcerated.In April, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed an executive order that requires election officials to send mail-in ballot applications to all eligible voters, including inactive voters, for this year’s June 23 primary and Nov. 3 general elections.Any voter is able to cite “temporary illness” as a reason for voting by mail during the pandemic.Rhode Island: Rhode Island lists several excuses to vote absentee, but also gives the option to choose “No specific reason necessary.” The state’s June 2 primary had widespread use of mail-in ballots, with election officials reducing the number of polling locations in the state from about 180 to 47.South Carolina: Voters in South Carolina can vote absentee if they are out of town, sick or disabled, have a religious commitment or are in the armed services.The state legislature voted in early May to allow anyone to vote absentee during the 2020 elections during the pandemic.Tennessee: On Thursday a Tennessee court ruled the state must make absentee voting available to every eligible voter for all elections in 2020, including the Aug. 6 primary and Nov. 3 general election.Outside of that ruling, only people who are sick, disabled, traveling or elderly or eligible for mail-in voting.Texas: The Texas Supreme Court ruled last week that being afraid of contracting the coronavirus alone is not a “disability” and therefore all self-identified able-bodied people living in the state must gather at a polling location. However, Texas voters are still able to self-identify as disabled without having to produce evidence.FEC commissioner: 'Substantial chance' of no results on election nightTrump, Biden tactical battle intensifiesOn Thursday a federal court temporarily blocked a lower court’s sweeping ruling that would have allowed all Texas voters to qualify to vote by mail during the coronavirus pandemic.West Virginia: In West Virginia, voters are eligible for mail-in voting if they are disabled or ill, are working a shift greater than 10 hours on a polling day, are a caregiver or incarcerated.The state amended that rule for all 2020 elections, where all registered voters in West Virginia are eligible to vote absentee.