Eligible voters of GEORGIA, KENTUCKY and WEST VIRGINIA! You have only days left to register to vote in the May primary elections. Already registered? You may want to check your status, especially if you have moved, changed your name or haven't voted in a while. More at npr.org/vote

ICYMI as we wait for Supreme Court decisions at 10 a.m. ET: The U.S. could be headed toward the largest-ever decline in representation by Black members of Congress, depending on how the Supreme Court rules in Louisiana v. Callais, a closely watched redistricting case about the Voting Rights Act

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Eligible voters of GEORGIA and KENTUCKY: There are only days left to register by April 20 to vote in the May 19 primary elections. Already registered? You may want to check your status, especially if you have moved, changed your name or haven't voted in a while. More at npr.org/vote

TAX DAY PRO TIP if you're filing by mail: Do not rely on a mailbox or a letter carrier today for filing your return on time. Go inside a post office and ask for a free manual postmark at the counter. Otherwise, your tax return may not get an April 15 postmark date and the IRS may apply penalties

NEW: The 15 most common last names in the U.S. according the 2020 census are... 1. Smith 2. Johnson 3. Williams 4. Brown 5. Jones 6. Garcia 7. Miller 8. Rodriguez 9. Davis 10. Martinez 11. Hernandez 12. Lopez 13. Gonzalez 14. Wilson 15. Anderson www.census.gov/library/stor...

NEW: Florida’s Republican state Attorney General James Uthmeier says he's filed a "petition" for the Census Bureau to alter 2020 census results, which have already been used to redistribute U.S. House seats and the 14th Amendment says must include the "whole number of persons in each state”

As we wait for the Census Bureau to release the most common names in the U.S. according to the 2020 census, here are the top 10 most common last names based on the 2010 census: 1. Smith 2. Johnson 3. Williams 4. Brown 5. Jones 6. Garcia 7. Miller 8. Davis 9. Rodriguez 10. Martinez

On April 10, the White House's Office of Management and Budget formally approved the Census Bureau's scaled-back 2026 Census Test, this year’s #2030Census field test in Huntsville, Ala., and Spartanburg, S.C. www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PR...

PRO TIP if you're filing taxes by mail: Your tax return may not get postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service the same day it's dropped off. If you want to make sure your return gets a postmark by the April 15 deadline, go to a post office by Wednesday and ask for one.

NEW: The U.S. Postal Service says it plans to suspend its employer contributions to its pension plan starting Friday to help stabilize the cash-strapped mailing agency. USPS says this will free up $2.5 billion this fiscal year with no “immediate detrimental impact” to current or future retirees

NEW: The U.S. Postal Service is proposing to raise the price of a first-class “forever” stamp to 82 cents starting July 12. USPS says the 5% increase and other postage price hikes are needed to stabilize the cash-strapped mailing agency

My latest @npr.org story: To figure out how to boost student voting, colleges have relied on a study about campus voter registration and turnout rates. A Trump administration probe has cut off new data, leaving schools in the dark in a midterm election year www.npr.org/2026/04/08/n...

NEW: Sen. @wyden.senate.gov of Oregon, the top Democrat on Senate Finance Committee, asks the head of the Social Security Administration to explain how the agency will respond to President Trump's executive order on mail voting, which calls for using people's SSA data to create eligible voter lists

Eligible voters of INDIANA and OHIO: There are less than three days left to register by April 6 to vote in the May 5 primary elections. Already registered? You may want to check your status, especially if you have moved, changed your name or haven't voted in a while. More at npr.org/vote

THREAD: Groups are starting to sue to block President Trump's executive order that calls for restricting voting by mail...

Dear eligible voters of the United States: I know there’s a lot to keep track of right now. So I’ll keep it simple. If you need help with registering to vote, start by going to npr.org/vote ...

NEW: @apwu.bsky.social President Jonathan Smith says Trump's executive order on mail voting "contradicts the fundamental purpose of the USPS and its workforce – to provide universal service to all. The Postal Service serves all Americans; it cannot be used as a tool to disenfranchise voters"

NEW: The U.S. Postal Service is "reviewing" President Trump's executive order on mail-in voting, USPS spokesperson Cathy Purcell told @npr.org in a statement www.npr.org/2026/03/31/n...

NEW: National Rural Letter Carriers' Association's Don Maston says Trump's executive order on mail voting would "impose new administrative burdens on an agency that is already under significant financial strain" and risks "threatening public confidence in both the mail and the electoral process"

NEW: The U.S. Postal Service is proposing to change its standards to allow the mailing of handguns, which is banned by a federal law that the Trump administration says it will not enforce because it finds the law to be unconstitutional. USPS is facing a lawsuit by a gun rights group over the ban

NEW: Colorado's Democratic Secretary of State @jenagriswold.bsky.social told me she is working with the state's attorney general's office to try to stop President Trump's executive order on mail-in voting through a lawsuit www.npr.org/2026/04/01/n...

NEW: With no authority under the Constitution to change election rules, President Trump has signed an executive order that calls for restricting voting by mail. The order is expected to be challenged in court www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

The ruling "would enable a future Congress to resume funding public media if it chose to do so" & "establishes the right of local public media stations that take federal subsidies to make their own programming decisions without government pressure," @davidfolkenflik.bsky.social & Scott Neuman report

NEW: Democratic @markey.senate.gov of Massachusetts calls for the U.S. Postal Service to reverse its proposal for a temporary 8% increase of postage rates for Priority Mail and shipping packages to help cover rising fuel costs. Markey says USPS should transition faster to electric delivery vehicles

Eligible voters of Indiana and Ohio: There's less than a week left to register by April 6 to vote in the May 5 primary elections. And if you're already registered, you may want to check your status, especially if you have moved, changed your name or haven't voted in a while. More at npr.org/vote

BREAKING: Trump admin gives federal agencies one more year to submit public plans for complying with revised government standards on racial & ethnic data approved during Biden admin, including new “Middle Eastern or North African” & "Hispanic or Latino” checkboxes spd15revision.gov/content/spd1...

DEADLINES FOR REGISTERING TO VOTE IN PRIMARIES 4/6 — INDIANA & OHIO — in-person, mail, online 4/14 — VIRGINIA redistricting referendum — mail, online (4/21 for in-person) 4/15 — LOUISIANA — in-person, mail (4/25 for online) 4/20 — GEORGIA & KENTUCKY — in-person, mail, online More at npr.org/vote

Dear registered voters: When was the last time you checked your registration status? Eligible voters can be removed from lists, especially if they have moved, changed their name or haven't voted in a while. You can find the links for checking your status at npr.org/vote

NEW: The U.S. Postal Service has proposed a temporary 8% increase of postage prices for Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select to help cover rising transportation costs. If approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the increase is set for April 26-Jan. 17

NEW: The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to discuss on April 17 whether to take up a Pennsylvania case about whether it violates the Constitution to not count mail ballots that arrive on time but in envelopes without correct dates handwritten by voters www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?...

ICYMI as we wait for Supreme Court decisions at 10 a.m. ET: The United States could be headed toward the largest-ever decline in representation by Black members of Congress, depending on how the Supreme Court rules in a closely watched redistricting case about the Voting Rights Act

NEW: GOP Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the House Oversight Committee's chair, asks the Census Bureau to hand over by April 7 documents about how it's working to ensure "partner organizations remain politically neutral and unbiased during any and all work they perform" during the #2030Census & tests

NEW: Democratic Del. @eleanornorton.bsky.social of the District of Columbia has reintroduced a House bill that would ban census forms from including questions about citizenship, nationality and immigration status www.documentcloud.org/documents/27...

NEW: US Postal Service proposes to change its overweight/oversize fee policy starting July 12 by charging $200 for any item found to be over 70 pounds or 130 inches in length & girth combined after it's been accepted. Currently, there's no fee if the item's found & picked up at the same post office

NEW: Census Bureau says it will ask households in Huntsville, Ala., & Spartanburg, S.C., to participate in this year's #2030Census field test starting May 1. From June 1 through Aug. 31, census workers & USPS letter carriers may visit households that don't self-respond www.census.gov/newsroom/pre...

Voter Registration Deadlines for 2026 Primaries 4/6 - INDIANA & OHIO - in-person, mail, online 4/14 - VIRGINIA redistricting referendum - mail, online (4/21 for in-person) 4/15 - LOUISIANA - in-person, mail (4/25 for online) 4/20 - GEORGIA & KENTUCKY - in-person, mail, online More at npr.org/vote

THREAD: Why did @npr.org make a voter registration guide at npr.org/vote? I wrote about it in today's Up First newsletter — and I'll explain it here too... view.nl.npr.org?vawpToken=Z3...

ICYMI: If the Supreme Court weakens Voting Rights Act protections against racial discrimination in redistricting, it could usher in the largest-ever drop in representation by Black members of Congress www.npr.org/2026/01/08/n...

NEW: All sides in the New York congressional redistricting lawsuit have agreed to dismiss the case, ending efforts to redraw Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis' district, which a state judge had found dilutes Black and Latino voters’ collective power iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewD...

NEW: A Commerce Department inspector general’s report finds the Census Bureau may have compromised #2030Census preparations during the Biden administration by selecting locations for this year's field test without a formal, documented methodology as required by its own statistical quality standards

UPDATED @npr.org: If the Postal Service doesn't change how it runs as a self-funded agency, Postmaster General David Steiner says it may be out of money as soon as October — or by February 2027 if it defaults on more obligations. Steiner says "everything" is under consideration, including layoffs

NEW: For this year's #2030Census field test, postal workers are set to take part in two pilots — one as sworn Census Bureau employees, another as just USPS employees — to see if they can interview households "faster, better, cheaper," Postmaster General David Steiner says, adding it'll cost ~$200K

My latest @npr.org story: The U.S. Postal Service’s leader says the mailing agency — which is mainly funded by stamps and service fees, not tax dollars — is set to run out of money in less than a year and may have to stop deliveries if it doesn't change its business model

NEW: The US Postal Service — which is mainly funded by stamp and service fees, not tax dollars — is on track to run out of cash and may have to stop mail deliveries in less than a year if it doesn't change its business model, Postmaster General David Steiner tells the House Oversight Committee

NEW: The Census Bureau has released updated neighborhood-level predictions of the percentage of households likely to not self-respond to the #2030Census. You can find each census tract's "Low Response Score" on this map mtgis-portal.geo.census.gov/arcgis/apps/...

Upcoming Voter Registration Deadlines for 2026 Primaries • Tue, 3/17: ILLINOIS - in-person • Mon, 4/6: INDIANA and OHIO - in-person, mail and online • (Tue, 4/14: VIRGINIA - mail and online for redistricting referendum) • Wed, 4/15: LOUISIANA - in-person, mail and online More at npr.org/vote

So you’re already registered to vote? You sure about that? Eligible voters can be removed from lists if they have moved, changed their name or haven't voted in a while. You can find the links for checking your status at npr.org/vote

NEW: The Census Bureau's internal watchdog has concerns about how the bureau conducts and monitors the quality of the American Community Survey to ensure the reliability of the results, which are used to guide federal funding, according to this Commerce Department inspector general's report

NEW: US Postal Service's Board of Governors held a special closed meeting on March 9 to discuss "strategic matters," according to this Federal Register notice, days before Postmaster General David Steiner is set to testify in Congress on USPS' financial future www.federalregister.gov/public-inspe...