There is now a SECOND lower court injunction in effect against the USPS's mail-in ballot rules, granted last night by the DC district court (a Tump-appointed judge, FWIW).<\/p>
As with the other injunction, the Supreme Court has been asked to stay it, but has not yet acted. (It could act at any time.) If the court refuses to do so, the new rules are effectively dead for the midterm elections. (And the cases will be fully argued and decided later).<\/p>
https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/26\/26A305\/424032\/20260914104419683_26A305%20--%20Supplemental%20Br.%20and%20App.pdf<\/a><\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270361645051452","status_net":{"notice_id":null}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167972","source":"ActivityPub","repeat_of":"13167911"}},"published":"2026-09-15T05:09:49+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"title":"steter repeated a notice by mattblaze","verb":"share","url":"https:\/\/mastodon.stevesworld.co\/users\/steter\/statuses\/117273237830547403\/activity"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" Notably (and unfortunately), security technology (as used in elections and everywhere else) is generally much better at detecting problems than it is at preventing them.<\/p> Cryptographic authenticators can show whether data has been altered, but doesn't prevent alteration. Physical seals can reveal that something was tampered with, but don't prevent the tampering. Prevention requires much more complex protocols and procedures, and generally provides only fragile assurances.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270718009345466","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270718009345466","objectType":"note","content":" Notably (and unfortunately), security technology (as used in elections and everywhere else) is generally much better at detecting problems than it is at preventing them.<\/p> Cryptographic authenticators can show whether data has been altered, but doesn't prevent alteration. Physical seals can reveal that something was tampered with, but don't prevent the tampering. Prevention requires much more complex protocols and procedures, and generally provides only fragile assurances.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270718009345466","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270679658925160","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270679658925160"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167917","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:55+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270718009345466"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" Anyway, if you take a security course with me (about elections or otherwise), that point about detection not being the same as prevention comes back again and again.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270758058279078","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270758058279078","objectType":"note","content":" Anyway, if you take a security course with me (about elections or otherwise), that point about detection not being the same as prevention comes back again and again.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270758058279078","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270718009345466","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270718009345466"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167918","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:54+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270758058279078"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/mastodon.stevesworld.co\/users\/steter","displayName":"Steve's Place","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/182810-original-tmp20231008190146.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/182810-96-20231008190146.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/182810-48-20231008190146.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/182810-24-20231008190146.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"182810"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/182810-96-20231008190146.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"ASCAP member. Once was in R&D at Apple & Compaq. One NASA launch. Designed stuff. Made things go. Made things stop. Collected data. Sysadmin. Musician. Lead guitarist. Songwriter. Oregonian again after many stops.Profile picture: Head of a man in a hazmat suit from an album.Header picture: Colors of Ukraine.","url":"https:\/\/mastodon.stevesworld.co\/@steter","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"steter","displayName":"Steve's Place","note":"ASCAP member. Once was in R&D at Apple & Compaq. One NASA launch. Designed stuff. Made things go. Made things stop. Collected data. Sysadmin. Musician. Lead guitarist. Songwriter. Oregonian again after many stops.Profile picture: Head of a man in a hazmat suit from an album.Header picture: Colors of Ukraine."}},"content":"RT @steter Judge Nichols' opinion underscores an important point generally about elections: "once the election occurs, there can be no do-over and no redress."This is at the core of why elections (in both law and technology) are such a hard problem. If you discover after the fact that something went wrong, there's generally little or nothing you can do about it. You have to *prevent* problems and get it right the first time.@heidilifeldman","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/mastodon.stevesworld.co\/users\/steter\/statuses\/117273239977532025\/activity","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270619664141622","objectType":"note","content":" No mater which of these three options the Court goes with, all this is only about whether the new rules should take effect right away. The full merits of the cases haven't been ruled on (or even been briefed and argued) in any court yet. That will all happen, with an eventual permanent resolution to the case later (and well after the midterms have happened). It will almost certainly end up back in the Supreme Court.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270619664141622","status_net":{"notice_id":null}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167916","source":"ActivityPub","repeat_of":"13167914"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:50+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"title":"steter repeated a notice by mattblaze","verb":"share","url":"https:\/\/mastodon.stevesworld.co\/users\/steter\/statuses\/117273239977532025\/activity"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" A note on ballot drop boxes: this may or may not be obvious, but drop boxes are for LOCAL voters (those with ballots from the county\/jurisdiction where the box is located), not for absentee voters traveling elsewhere. If you\u2019re away from home, you need to return your ballot by mail, not in a drop box serving a different jurisdiction.<\/p> If you put your ballot in a \u201cforeign\u201d box, they might or might not be able to get it to your home county. But at best it will be delayed.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117213437983336712","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117213437983336712","objectType":"note","content":" A note on ballot drop boxes: this may or may not be obvious, but drop boxes are for LOCAL voters (those with ballots from the county\/jurisdiction where the box is located), not for absentee voters traveling elsewhere. If you\u2019re away from home, you need to return your ballot by mail, not in a drop box serving a different jurisdiction.<\/p> If you put your ballot in a \u201cforeign\u201d box, they might or might not be able to get it to your home county. But at best it will be delayed.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117213437983336712","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117213138079998658","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117213138079998658"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167900","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:29+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117213437983336712"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" North Carolina apparently sent out its first batch of ballots yesterday, despite not being fully compliant with Trump's EO and the new postal regulations. So far I've heard no reports of the USPS refusing to accept them (but it's possible that news hasn't reached here yet). <\/p> Assuming they accepted them, that's a significant development. It suggests that the postal service is following the prelim injunction.<\/p> Hopefully voters get their ballots delivered uneventfully.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117220151322026638","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117220151322026638","objectType":"note","content":" North Carolina apparently sent out its first batch of ballots yesterday, despite not being fully compliant with Trump's EO and the new postal regulations. So far I've heard no reports of the USPS refusing to accept them (but it's possible that news hasn't reached here yet). <\/p> Assuming they accepted them, that's a significant development. It suggests that the postal service is following the prelim injunction.<\/p> Hopefully voters get their ballots delivered uneventfully.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117220151322026638","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117213437983336712","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117213437983336712"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167901","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:28+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117220151322026638"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" NC votes chiefly in person at local precincts; mail ballots are sent only to the fairly small fraction of NC voters who specifically request them. Friday's batches were for voters who had already asked for them, though the final deadline for doing so isn't until next month.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117220181272004722","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117220181272004722","objectType":"note","content":" NC votes chiefly in person at local precincts; mail ballots are sent only to the fairly small fraction of NC voters who specifically request them. Friday's batches were for voters who had already asked for them, though the final deadline for doing so isn't until next month.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117220181272004722","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117220151322026638","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117220151322026638"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167902","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:27+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117220181272004722"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" One thing about the USPS's apparent acceptance of NC's first batch of ballots: this creates a new fact in the case that's probably going to be helpful to the plaintiffs (for this election). The USPS has now accepted \"non compliant\" ballot mailings for some voters. (And compliance is effectively impossible at this point). <\/p> If the USPS later starts refusing ballots, SOME voters will have been allowed to receive mail ballots, while others will have been denied them.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117220884709353391","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117220884709353391","objectType":"note","content":" One thing about the USPS's apparent acceptance of NC's first batch of ballots: this creates a new fact in the case that's probably going to be helpful to the plaintiffs (for this election). The USPS has now accepted \"non compliant\" ballot mailings for some voters. (And compliance is effectively impossible at this point). <\/p> If the USPS later starts refusing ballots, SOME voters will have been allowed to receive mail ballots, while others will have been denied them.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117220884709353391","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117220181272004722","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117220181272004722"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167903","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:26+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117220884709353391"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" The first batches of mail-in ballots from North Carolina were apparently accepted by the USPS on Friday (sent only to voters who had requested them), despite Trump's contested executive order and new USPS regulations.<\/p> Is anyone here a mail-in voter from NC? Have you received your ballot yet? They should start arriving this week.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117236274948135283","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117236274948135283","objectType":"note","content":" The first batches of mail-in ballots from North Carolina were apparently accepted by the USPS on Friday (sent only to voters who had requested them), despite Trump's contested executive order and new USPS regulations.<\/p> Is anyone here a mail-in voter from NC? Have you received your ballot yet? They should start arriving this week.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117236274948135283","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117220884709353391","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117220884709353391"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167904","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:25+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117236274948135283"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" Update: it looks like NC ballots are starting to be delivered, which is good news all around. <\/p> https:\/\/fwoof.space\/@BorrisInABox\/117236292965060238<\/a><\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117236303396803405","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117236303396803405","objectType":"note","content":" Update: it looks like NC ballots are starting to be delivered, which is good news all around. <\/p> https:\/\/fwoof.space\/@BorrisInABox\/117236292965060238<\/a><\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117236303396803405","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117236274948135283","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117236274948135283"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167905","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:24+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117236303396803405"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" To get a sense of how much variety there is in how elections are done across different US states, NC has already printed and sent out ballots for the November general election, while NH is just holding its primaries today. <\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117236331034046492","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117236331034046492","objectType":"note","content":" To get a sense of how much variety there is in how elections are done across different US states, NC has already printed and sent out ballots for the November general election, while NH is just holding its primaries today. <\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117236331034046492","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117236303396803405","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117236303396803405"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167907","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:23+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117236331034046492"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" All the filings and responses are in at the Supreme Court for the USPS's request for a stay of the lower court's injunction that prohibits it from enforcing the new postal voting rules. I believe at this point the next step will the court's ruling, which will come when it comes.<\/p> For those following at home, the SCOTUS docket (with all the filings) is here: https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/search.aspx?filename=\/docket\/docketfiles\/html\/public\/26a305.html<\/a><\/p> (Most of the docket entries are amicus briefs from outside parties.)<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117249795904388260","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117249795904388260","objectType":"note","content":" All the filings and responses are in at the Supreme Court for the USPS's request for a stay of the lower court's injunction that prohibits it from enforcing the new postal voting rules. I believe at this point the next step will the court's ruling, which will come when it comes.<\/p> For those following at home, the SCOTUS docket (with all the filings) is here: https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/search.aspx?filename=\/docket\/docketfiles\/html\/public\/26a305.html<\/a><\/p> (Most of the docket entries are amicus briefs from outside parties.)<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117249795904388260","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117236331034046492","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117236331034046492"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167908","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:22+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117249795904388260"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" Note that the court is not actually being asked to rule on the full merits of the legality of the executive order and USPS rules. That's a long way away.<\/p> Rather, this is \"just\" a procedural matter, but a critically important one. The lower court issued a preliminary injunction against the USPS enforcing the new rules while the case proceeds. The Supreme Court was asked (by the USPS) to overturn that injunction so the rules can take effect for the midterms.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117249818906601552","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117249818906601552","objectType":"note","content":" Note that the court is not actually being asked to rule on the full merits of the legality of the executive order and USPS rules. That's a long way away.<\/p> Rather, this is \"just\" a procedural matter, but a critically important one. The lower court issued a preliminary injunction against the USPS enforcing the new rules while the case proceeds. The Supreme Court was asked (by the USPS) to overturn that injunction so the rules can take effect for the midterms.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117249818906601552","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117249795904388260","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117249795904388260"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167909","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:21+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117249818906601552"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" So the Court's next ruling here (which could come at any time) will effectively decide whether the new rules will apply to *this* election. But whichever way the Court rules now, the lower court (and, surely, eventually the Supreme Court) will later hear the full case and make a final ruling on the legality of the EO and USPS rules. But that won't be for a while.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117249834248618012","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117249834248618012","objectType":"note","content":" So the Court's next ruling here (which could come at any time) will effectively decide whether the new rules will apply to *this* election. But whichever way the Court rules now, the lower court (and, surely, eventually the Supreme Court) will later hear the full case and make a final ruling on the legality of the EO and USPS rules. But that won't be for a while.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117249834248618012","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117249818906601552","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117249818906601552"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167910","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:20+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117249834248618012"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" There is now a SECOND lower court injunction in effect against the USPS's mail-in ballot rules, granted last night by the DC district court (a Tump-appointed judge, FWIW).<\/p> As with the other injunction, the Supreme Court has been asked to stay it, but has not yet acted. (It could act at any time.) If the court refuses to do so, the new rules are effectively dead for the midterm elections. (And the cases will be fully argued and decided later).<\/p> https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/26\/26A305\/424032\/20260914104419683_26A305%20--%20Supplemental%20Br.%20and%20App.pdf<\/a><\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270361645051452","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270361645051452","objectType":"note","content":" There is now a SECOND lower court injunction in effect against the USPS's mail-in ballot rules, granted last night by the DC district court (a Tump-appointed judge, FWIW).<\/p> As with the other injunction, the Supreme Court has been asked to stay it, but has not yet acted. (It could act at any time.) If the court refuses to do so, the new rules are effectively dead for the midterm elections. (And the cases will be fully argued and decided later).<\/p> https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/26\/26A305\/424032\/20260914104419683_26A305%20--%20Supplemental%20Br.%20and%20App.pdf<\/a><\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270361645051452","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117249834248618012","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117249834248618012"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167911","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:19+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270361645051452"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" Just to summarize:<\/p> * There are now two lower court injunctions halting the new USPS mail-in voting rules from being enforced. By all indications, USPS is respecting them and delivering ballots.<\/p> * The Supreme Court has been asked to stay these injunctions. If it does so, the new rules take immediate effect. If it doesn't, the rules won't change for the Midterms and the cases will be decided later.<\/p> * The Court operates on its own timetable. No deadline for decisions.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270581322048804","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270581322048804","objectType":"note","content":" Just to summarize:<\/p> * There are now two lower court injunctions halting the new USPS mail-in voting rules from being enforced. By all indications, USPS is respecting them and delivering ballots.<\/p> * The Supreme Court has been asked to stay these injunctions. If it does so, the new rules take immediate effect. If it doesn't, the rules won't change for the Midterms and the cases will be decided later.<\/p> * The Court operates on its own timetable. No deadline for decisions.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270581322048804","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270361645051452","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270361645051452"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167912","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:18+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270581322048804"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" The Supreme Court can do one of three things at this point:<\/p> * Stay the injunctions, allowing the new rules to take immediate effect for the midterms<\/p> * Refuse to stay the injunctions, leaving things as they are until the cases are decided later (after the mideterms)<\/p> * Do nothing, which has the same legal effect as refusing to stay the injunctions but leaves everyone hanging, confused, and annoyed.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270599463429206","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270599463429206","objectType":"note","content":" The Supreme Court can do one of three things at this point:<\/p> * Stay the injunctions, allowing the new rules to take immediate effect for the midterms<\/p> * Refuse to stay the injunctions, leaving things as they are until the cases are decided later (after the mideterms)<\/p> * Do nothing, which has the same legal effect as refusing to stay the injunctions but leaves everyone hanging, confused, and annoyed.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270599463429206","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270581322048804","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270581322048804"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167913","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:17+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270599463429206"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" No mater which of these three options the Court goes with, all this is only about whether the new rules should take effect right away. The full merits of the cases haven't been ruled on (or even been briefed and argued) in any court yet. That will all happen, with an eventual permanent resolution to the case later (and well after the midterms have happened). It will almost certainly end up back in the Supreme Court.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270619664141622","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270619664141622","objectType":"note","content":" No mater which of these three options the Court goes with, all this is only about whether the new rules should take effect right away. The full merits of the cases haven't been ruled on (or even been briefed and argued) in any court yet. That will all happen, with an eventual permanent resolution to the case later (and well after the midterms have happened). It will almost certainly end up back in the Supreme Court.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270619664141622","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270599463429206","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270599463429206"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167914","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:16+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270619664141622"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-original-tmp20230313183855.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-48-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-24-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"20679"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/20679-96-20230314144041.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong.","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"mattblaze","displayName":"Matt Blaze","note":"Scientist, safecracker, etc. McDevitt Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown. Formerly UPenn, Bell Labs. So-called expert on election security and stuff. https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattblaze on the Twitter. Slow photographer. Radio nerd. Blogs occasionally at https:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/blog . I probably won't see your DM; use something else. He\/Him. Uses this wrong."}},"content":" Judge Nichols' opinion underscores an important point generally about elections: \"once the election occurs, there can be no do-over and no redress.\"<\/p> This is at the core of why elections (in both law and technology) are such a hard problem. If you discover after the fact that something went wrong, there's generally little or nothing you can do about it. You have to *prevent* problems and get it right the first time.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270679658925160","object":{"id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270679658925160","objectType":"note","content":" Judge Nichols' opinion underscores an important point generally about elections: \"once the election occurs, there can be no do-over and no redress.\"<\/p> This is at the core of why elections (in both law and technology) are such a hard problem. If you discover after the fact that something went wrong, there's generally little or nothing you can do about it. You have to *prevent* problems and get it right the first time.<\/p> @heidilifeldman<\/a><\/p>","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270679658925160","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze\/statuses\/117270619664141622","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270619664141622"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13167915","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-15T04:47:15+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/federate.social\/@mattblaze\/117270679658925160"},{"actor":{"id":"https:\/\/c.im\/users\/msbellows","displayName":"M.S. Bellows, Jr.","status_net":{"avatarLinks":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/80532-original-tmp20221225165317.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/80532-96-20221225165317.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/80532-48-20221225165317.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":48,"height":48},{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/80532-24-20221225165317.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":24,"height":24}],"profile_info":{"local_id":"80532"}},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/avatar\/80532-96-20221225165317.webp","rel":"avatar","type":"image\/webp","width":96,"height":96},"objectType":"person","summary":"Twitter diaspora. Agamemnon sucks: we do the fighting, he gets the girls. (Oregonian. Mediator\/lawyer\/writer; bylines in The Guardian, Alternet, HuffPost\/OffTheBus, more.) Dad of the best adult kids ever; 3+ decade husband to the best woman ever. Ex-mountain rescue volunteer, USFS firefighter, aircrash litigator, prosecutor, swimming pool digger, bartender. Other stuff. 317.1 ppm. Kindness is king.","url":"https:\/\/c.im\/@msbellows","portablecontacts_net":{"preferredUsername":"msbellows","displayName":"M.S. Bellows, Jr.","note":"Twitter diaspora. Agamemnon sucks: we do the fighting, he gets the girls. (Oregonian. Mediator\/lawyer\/writer; bylines in The Guardian, Alternet, HuffPost\/OffTheBus, more.) Dad of the best adult kids ever; 3+ decade husband to the best woman ever. Ex-mountain rescue volunteer, USFS firefighter, aircrash litigator, prosecutor, swimming pool digger, bartender. Other stuff. 317.1 ppm. Kindness is king."}},"content":" @steter<\/a> @mattblaze<\/a> @heidilifeldman<\/a> There is no way in hell I'm even returning my ballot by mail this year. It is going in a drop box come hell or high water.<\/p>","generator":{"id":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-10-21:notice-source:ActivityPub","objectType":"application","status_net":{"source_code":"ActivityPub"}},"id":"https:\/\/c.im\/users\/msbellows\/statuses\/117221111167480293","object":{"id":"https:\/\/c.im\/users\/msbellows\/statuses\/117221111167480293","objectType":"note","content":" @steter<\/a> @mattblaze<\/a> @heidilifeldman<\/a> There is no way in hell I'm even returning my ballot by mail this year. It is going in a drop box come hell or high water.<\/p>","url":"https:\/\/c.im\/@msbellows\/117221111167480293","status_net":{"notice_id":null},"inReplyTo":{"objectType":"note","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.stevesworld.co\/users\/steter\/statuses\/117221084439783445","url":"https:\/\/mastodon.stevesworld.co\/@steter\/117221084439783445"}},"to":[{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/users\/heidilifeldman"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/federate.social\/users\/mattblaze"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/person","id":"https:\/\/mastodon.stevesworld.co\/users\/steter"},{"objectType":"http:\/\/activitystrea.ms\/schema\/1.0\/collection","id":"http:\/\/activityschema.org\/collection\/public"}],"status_net":{"conversation":"tag:gnusocial.jp,2026-09-03:objectType=thread:nonce=5c0f3d380f366057","notice_info":{"local_id":"13131994","source":"ActivityPub"}},"published":"2026-09-05T23:53:51+00:00","provider":{"objectType":"service","displayName":"GNU social JP","url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/"},"verb":"post","url":"https:\/\/c.im\/@msbellows\/117221111167480293"}],"links":[{"url":"https:\/\/gnusocial.jp\/conversation\/6668153","rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html"}]}