By Jill Nolin | Editor
On the eve of early voting, we checked in with election officials and voting advocates as the potential of federal intervention looms. Early voting starts Tuesday.
Georgia's ballot marking devices display the candidates and ballot questions for the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Election workers in Bartow County, Georgia conducted their pre-election tests of the voting equipment on Oct. 6, 2026. Maya Homan/Georgia Recorder
VOTING
By Maya Homan
In a warehouse in Bartow County, Georgia, election director Joseph Kirk stands in the middle of a long aisle of voting machines and starts performing his checks.
It’s Tuesday, with only a week to go until the start of early voting. This year one of Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats and all statewide offices are up for grabs. But before voters start casting their ballots, election officials across the state must conduct a sort of dress rehearsal, known as logic and accuracy testing, to ensure that all equipment is working properly.
Researchers at Fort Stewart have helped the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker thrive through their efforts to install cavities (bottom left) for the birds to live in (bottom right). Larry Carlile (top right) has been aiding this effort for more than 25 years. (Stephen B. Morton/WABE)
WILDLIFE
By Emily Jones, WABE/Grist
The Supreme Court once billed the Endangered Species Act “the most comprehensive legislation for the preservation of endangered species ever enacted by any nation.” Federal protections have been key to saving nearly 300 U.S. species — including the bald eagle, American alligator, and grizzly bear — from extinction.
A growing number of state officials fear prediction markets are opening the door to a new era of gambling on elections — a practice many states have long prohibited. In this photo, a voter casts a ballot during the March 3, 2026 primary in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Photo by Katie Adkins/Arkansas Advocate)
2026 ELECTION
By Jonathan Shorman
On Friday morning, the prediction market platform Kalshi gave the Democratic candidate in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race an 87% chance of winning. The volume of trading on the outcome exceeded $1.8 million.
This is exactly the type of activity Minnesota and numerous other states want to shut down.
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ICYMI FROM THE RECORDER
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