US midterm mail-in voting begins in North Carolina

Mail-in voting for the US midterm elections commenced on Friday as North Carolina became the first state to issue absentee ballots to voters.

Scheduled for 3 November, the congressional elections will decide all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate. The outcome will determine the balance of power in Washington for the next two years and serve as a significant test of public support for President Donald Trump's second-term agenda.

The start of voting coincided with a ruling by US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, who issued a preliminary injunction blocking a Trump administration measure that sought to give the US Postal Service control over mail-in ballot distribution, according to NBC News.

Judge Talwani, who had previously halted a related policy, found the Postal Service regulation governing ballot transmission was likely unconstitutional and unlawful.

WAM