We love to lift up good local news on Fridays, and there are several stories in today’s round-up that are exactly that. But we had to start with some good news that affects all of us: the courts have decided that Trump cannot stop millions of Americans from voting by mail.
Back in March, Trump issued an executive order that required new designs for mail-in ballots and a new system of “state citizenship lists” through an untested federal portal. Dozens of state and local officials protested that the new requirements would be impossible to put in place in time for the November election.
Since nearly a third of Americans vote by mail, the order could’ve spelled disaster for the midterms.
Luckily, the courts stepped in. Two weeks ago, a federal District Court found the order to likely be unconstitutional and paused USPS from taking any action on it. And this week, the Supreme Court agreed! Justices Thomas and Alito dissented (because of course they did), but the other seven judges agreed that it was unconstitutional to take away so many Americans’ right to vote.
On Wednesday, a memo was sent to all postal service employees that confirmed the agency “will not be enforcing any of these new rules in the 2026 federal election… for Election Mail it is business as usual.”
This is a huge win for voting rights and democracy! Now it’s up to all of us to vote early and make sure everyone we know votes too.
Now, onto our local wins. As usual, there are so many!
In Michigan, a Red Wine & Blue Network group called We The People Demand Justice for All recently held a supply drive for a school in Detroit. The group collected backpacks, school supplies, socks, and snacks for students at Amelia Earhart Elementary-Middle School, where most of the students come from financially struggling families.
The students and teachers were so grateful and invited the group to tour the school. They were given incredibly sweet thank-you cards written by students and got to meet the school’s principal, who the group’s leader Janet says “is a fantastic woman who clearly has the love and respect of the students.”
This is how you make a difference in your own community!
Meanwhile, other Red Wine & Blue members are making that difference by supporting local immigrant-run restaurants.
A few weeks ago, we got to talk to Julie Pospishil on the podcast about how she’s been organizing group dinners at restaurants owned by immigrants in her community. Well, Julie’s great idea has inspired other RWB members to do the same!
In Boulder, Colorado, a Network group called Badass Women of Boulder has been holding their meetings at La Catrina, a local restaurant owned by an immigrant family.
But their activism didn’t stop with delicious food. They’re putting together 200 whistle kits for people to warn others about ICE in the area as well as snack bags for families who are visiting detainees at the ICE detention center in Aurora, CO.
And in a suburb of Pittsburgh, another Red Wine & Blue member held a meeting at a Mexican restaurant that was targeted by ICE this year. At the meeting, they chatted about how to use Rally to talk to their friends and family about voting, including their book club that includes more than 100 people!
One of the organizers said, “Butler County is a very conservative area, and there was an older couple seated near our big table. We were all kind of wary of them watching us, but when they got up to leave, they came over to us and thanked us for what we were doing. The woman signed up!”
From the Supreme Court to local schools and restaurants, positive things have been happening across the country this week. Let’s let these wins fill our sails as we move forward into the midterms!
