Voter suppression

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has repeated his assertion that Israel is "not actually our friend," making the case in interviews with ABC News and MS NOW ahead of his final debate against Republican Mike Rogers. El-Sayed argues Israel has lobbied the U.S. into conflicts, including pushing for action against Iran, and accused the Israeli military of war crimes. He has also faced criticism for deflecting questions about alleged family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and past appearances with controversial streamer Hasan Piker. At the debate in Detroit, El-Sayed also opposed the SAVE America Act's voter ID and citizenship-proof requirements, calling them voter suppression, while Rogers defended the measure as reasonable. The race remains competitive ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

Kansas voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to amend the state constitution to explicitly bar noncitizens from voting. Critics note noncitizen voting is already illegal and virtually nonexistent in Kansas, arguing the measure is designed as a pretext to enact proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration.

The amendment, backed by state Rep. Pat Proctor, a Republican currently running for Kansas secretary of state, passed with near-unanimous GOP support. Opponents say requiring documents such as a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers would create a costly, time-consuming barrier to voting, since a majority of Kansans lack a passport. Women who have changed their name through marriage or divorce would face additional hurdles, needing to produce marriage licenses or divorce decrees to match records. Opponents argue the measure would disproportionately suppress turnout among low-income, young, elderly, and female voters, pointing to Proctor's past legislative efforts restricting voter registration drives and mail-in voting.

California's Proposition 39, on the November 3 ballot, would require government-issued ID at polling places, the last four digits of a designated ID number on mail ballots, a free state voter ID card for those who need one, and a citizenship-verification process using existing state data, along with public reporting on how much of each county's voter roll has been checked. Backers, led by Republican Assembly member Carl DeMaio and State Senator Tony Strickland through Reform California and Californians for Voter ID, gathered more than 1.3 million signatures to qualify the measure, the first citizen initiative to reach the ballot this cycle.

Supporters argue California is among the last large states without ID requirements and note mail voting, early voting, and same-day registration would remain unchanged. Opponents, including Attorney General Rob Bonta, have framed the measure as restrictive; supporters unsuccessfully sued over Bonta's ballot description. The fight follows a similar clash over Huntington Beach's local voter ID ordinance, which prompted litigation with the state.