US midterms begin with chaos over mail-voting crackdown

The US midterm elections have begun with confusion over mail voting. North Carolina became the first state authorized to begin sending out ballots, formally launching an election season that culminates on November 3 and will determine control of Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump's term.

Voters and election officials still do not know what rules may govern millions of mail ballots, as Trump asks the Supreme Court to revive curbs blocked by a federal judge and as states scramble to prepare for changes that could come after voting has begun. A federal judge extended her previous temporary block on Trump's plan, warning that hurried changes could cause widespread disruption.

The dispute has been compounded by whistleblower allegations that a new Postal Service verification system was rushed, inadequately tested and could delay or even disqualify entire batches of ballots because of a single barcode problem, according to The Jakarta Post and Channel News Asia. A judge reportedly told a lawyer defending the restrictions that "we're not playing an intellectual puzzle game, we're talking about people's right to vote," as cited by New Straits Times.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch, The Jakarta Post, Channel News Asia, Le Monde English, New Straits Times — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.