Politics and views in the United States

Trump – without proof – alleges vote fraud in California. A North Dakota Republican proposes a SAVE Act workaround and New York lawmakers advance a redistricting amendment.

Transcript

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

We just don't want cheating in our elections.

And you see it happening in California.

They found a lot of mail-in ballots last night, shockingly.

So we don't want that.

President Donald Trump is attacking two of his regular targets, California and mail-in voting, claiming without proof that the primary there is fraudulent.

The state sends mail-in ballots to all 23 million registered voters and gives them a chance to fix any problems that come up after sending them in.

Officials will be counting votes for days or weeks, meaning early results may not hold.

Fox News commentator Steve Hilton took an early lead for governor.

But Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer and former Health and Human Services Secretary Javier Becerra are closing.

Under California's jungle primary system, the top two advance to November's general election.

North Dakota Republican Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak has introduced a bill to help states implement parts of the stalled Save America Act.

It would give grants for states that require federally mandated real IDs to vote, an alternative to proof of citizenship in the original bill.

New York lawmakers approved a partial repeal of a 2014 constitutional amendment creating an independent redistricting commission.

The new amendment, if approved by voters, would allow the state legislature to redraw congressional lines mid-decade.

The state would not redraw congressional maps until after the midterms, and Rachel Foss, with Reinvent Albany, warns that incumbent lawmakers could try to consolidate their personal power.

You saw these situations where a challenger's home would be drawn out of a district by a block.

This has happened to challengers in the past where very intentional line drawing was done to eliminate challengers to incumbents.

The federal government released new work rules to get Medicaid.

Most adults between 19 and 64 would have to prove they are completing 80 hours of work, education, job training, or community service.

Maddie Toomey with Protect Our Care calls for voters to hold Congress accountable for imposing the cuts on needed care.

We need to make sure that we know who is fighting for our health care and who is working to rip it away to benefit billionaires and big corporations.

Trump says he will not name mortgage regulator Bill Pulte to be the head of national intelligence.

A bipartisan chorus argues Pulte has been the president's hatchet man and has no business leading the nation's 17 powerful intelligence agencies.

Former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton will plead guilty to mishandling classified documents.

He faces up to five years in prison.

An American journalist pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China.

Thomas Pocken II was an editor for a state-run Chinese media company.

He admits he provided a phone and laptop for an unnamed administration official to communicate secretly with a Chinese government contact.

Six Senate Republicans joined a failed attempt to block the construction of Trump's White House ballroom without congressional approval.

Three of the lawmakers are in competitive re-election bids and currently trail their Democratic challengers.

After a judge's ruling, the Kennedy Center is scrubbing Trump's name from its building and communications.

Last year, Trump fired multiple board members and appointed new trustees, who unanimously voted to add his name to the center.

I'm Zamone Perez for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.