By CLAIRE RUSH

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators sent a letter Thursday to the U.S. Postal Service, voicing concern that mail processing changes could affect postmark dates for mail-in ballots during an election year that will determine control of Congress.

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Updated agency policy says postmarks might not indicate the first day the Postal Service received the mail but rather the day it was handled in one of its processing centers. Those centers are increasingly likely to be further away from certain communities because of recent USPS consolidations, which could further delay postmarks, the 16 senators wrote.

“Postmark delays are especially problematic in states that vote entirely or largely by mail,” they wrote to Postmaster General David Steiner, noting that many states use postmark dates to determine whether a mail ballot can be counted. “These changes will only increase the likelihood of voter disenfranchisement.”

The consequences could be particularly acute in rural areas where mail has to travel farther to reach regional processing centers, they added.

“In theory, a rural voter could submit their ballot in time according to their state law, but due to the changes you are implementing, their legally-cast ballot would not be counted as it sits in a local post office,” they wrote. “As we enter a year with many local and federal elections, the risk of disrupting this vital democratic process demands your attention and action.”

The Postal Service has received the letter and will respond directly to those who sent it, spokesperson Martha Johnson said.

The agency addresses the issue on its website.

“While we are not changing our postmarking practices, we have made adjustments to our transportation operations that will result in some mailpieces not arriving at our originating processing facilities on the same day that they are mailed,” its website says. “This means that the date on the postmarks applied at our processing facilities will not necessarily match the date on which the customer’s mailpiece was collected by a letter carrier or dropped off at a retail location.”

Johnson said the language in the final rule “does not change any existing postal operations or postmarking practices.” She added that the agency looked forward to “clarifying the senators’ misunderstanding.”

“Our public filing was made to enhance public understanding of exactly what a postmark represents, its relationship to the date of mailing and when a postmark is applied in the process,” she said.

People dropping off mail at a post office can request that a postmark be applied manually, ensuring the postmark date matches the mailing date, the Postal Service’s website says. Manual postmarks are free of charge.

The agency said the “lack of alignment” between the mailing date and postmark date will become more common as it implements its initiative to overhaul processing and transportation networks with an emphasis on regional hubs. The aim of the initiative is to cut costs for the agency, which has grappled with losses in the billions of dollars in recent years.

Under the plan, the Postal Service got rid of twice-daily mail dispatches from local post offices to regional processing centers. That means mail received after the only transfer truck leaves sits overnight until the next daily transfer, the senators wrote.

Election officials in states that rely heavily on voting by mail expressed concern with the change.

“Not being able to have faith that the Postal Service will mark ballots on the day they are submitted and mail them in a timely manner undermines vote-by-mail voting, in turn undermining California and other elections,” California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a statement.

She said her office will “amplify messaging to voters” who use mailed ballots that they must return their ballots early if they plan to use the post office.

Election officials in Washington state, where voting is done almost entirely by mail, are recommending that those who return their ballot within a week of Election Day do so at a drop box or voting center.

“Given the operational and logistical priorities recently set by the USPS, there is no guarantee that ballots returned via mail will be postmarked by the USPS the same day they are mailed,” the secretary of state’s office said in a statement.

The senators urged Steiner to restore “timely postmarks” and fully stand up an election mail task force. The lawmakers who signed the letter represented California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Maine, Connecticut, New Jersey and Maryland. All are Democrats but one, an independent who typically aligns with the Democratic Party.

By JONATHAN J. COOPER

PHOENIX (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema had a romantic relationship with a member of her security detail that led to the breakup of the man’s marriage, his ex-wife alleges in a lawsuit seeking at least $75,000 from Sinema.

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Matthew and Heather Ammel had “a good and loving marriage” with “genuine love and affection” before Sinema interfered, pursuing Matthew Ammel despite knowing he was married, Heather Ammel alleges in her lawsuit.

The Arizona lawmaker’s head of security hired Matthew Ammel after he retired from the Army in 2022, according to the lawsuit, which says he accompanied her on travels to destinations including Napa Valley, California; Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia.

In early 2024, Ammel’s wife discovered “romantic and lascivious” messages he’d exchanged with Sinema over the Signal messaging app. That summer, he stopped wearing his wedding ring and Sinema gave him a job as a national security fellow in her Senate office while he continued to work for her campaign as a bodyguard, the lawsuit alleges.

Sinema also paid for psychedelic treatment for Ammel, who has struggled with post-traumatic stress, substance abuse and traumatic brain injuries tied to his military deployments in Afghanistan and the Middle East, according to the lawsuit.

Sinema and her attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit was quietly filed late last year in Moore County, North Carolina. It captured global attention this week when it was moved to federal court.

North Carolina is one of a handful of states that allow jilted spouses to sue for “alienation of affection” to seek damages from a third party responsible for the breakup of their marriage.

Sinema left Congress after the 2024 election. She declined to seek reelection to the Senate, capping a tumultuous single term in which she alienated liberals and left the Democratic Party to become an independent.

She now works for the Washington-based legal and lobbying firm Hogan Lovells. She has lobbied for data center development and research funding for the psychedelic drug ibogaine.

By SCOTT BAUER

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Talk to any Wisconsin Democrat about their hopes for 2026 and it’s not long before the T-word comes up.

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No, not Trump.

Trifecta.

Democrats think new district boundaries in the Senate and Assembly ordered by the liberal-controlled state Supreme Court, an open race for governor and a favorable midterm election cycle this year may allow them to take back total control in the Statehouse for the first time in 16 years.

That would be a dramatic shift in a perennial battleground state that served as a focal point for the nation’s conservative movement in the 2010s, when Wisconsin slashed taxes, reduced the power of labor unions and started requiring voters to show identification at the polls.

Republicans acknowledge that Democrats have a clear shot at running the table, which would allow them to expand Medicaid, increase funding for public schools and restore collective bargaining for public workers.

“It’s a difficult time in national politics,” Democratic Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer told The Associated Press, “but we’re hopeful about the future and have been working for many years to be in a position where a Democratic trifecta is possible in Wisconsin and our state is able to go in a new direction.”

Wisconsin once had a ‘Cheesehead Revolution’

Republicans solidified political control in the state in 2010, when they gained majorities in the state legislature and Scott Walker was elected governor.

The ascendance began what became known as the “Cheesehead Revolution,” with Wisconsin natives Reince Priebus leading the Republican National Committee from 2011 to 2017 and Paul Ryan becoming U.S. House speaker from 2015 to 2019.

Walker championed conservative policies in the state, helped by state legislative maps that tilted the playing field in Republicans’ favor. He was briefly seen as a frontrunner to be the party’s presidential candidate, but he bowed out of the race before any primary votes were cast as Donald Trump bulldozed his way to the 2016 nomination.

FILE – This photo combination shows: from left, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus speaks in National Harbor, Md., March 4, 2016, House Speaker Paul Ryan speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 23, 2016. and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks in Eureka, Ill., Sept. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster J. Scott Applewhite Seth Perlman)

Now Republicans could see their work undone.

“If there’s a Democratic trifecta, Republicans in Wisconsin have to be ready for all kinds of things that they fought for for decades to be long gone,” said Brian Reisinger, who worked on one of Walker’s campaigns.

Democratic candidates for governor are optimistic about their party’s chances.

“Let’s finally get a blue trifecta in Wisconsin in 2026!” Mandela Barnes, one of the leading Democratic candidates and a former lieutenant governor and 2022 U.S. Senate candidate, said in a December fundraising plea.

Current Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, another leading candidate, struck a similar chord in a social media post.

“Wisconsin has a real shot at a Democratic trifecta next year,” she posted on X. “Let’s go win it.”

Democrats look to bounce back after Trump win

Wisconsin remains a fiercely contested battleground state, and Trump won there in 2016 and 2024. However, Democrats hope that a strong showing this year will give them momentum before the 2028 presidential race. Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s term is also up that year.

Reisinger, who has also worked for Johnson, said “the reality is that the electorate is going to remain evenly divided for a long time.” Right now the governor, Tony Evers, is a Democrat, but Republicans have a majority in the Assembly and Senate.

Liberals are also voicing concerns about winning back the Statehouse.

“A lot of the ingredients for success are there, but there’s no guarantees,” said strategist Melissa Baldauff, who formerly worked for Evers. “It’s not going to be just the nature of things lining up for this to be a good year for Democrats. That doesn’t guarantee anything. It takes a lot of hard work, it takes good candidates.”

Fundraising sheds light on open governor’s race

Liberals have already gained a majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and are looking to increase their hold in an April election. In another sign of Democratic momentum, the liberal candidate this week reported raising 10 times as much as her Republican-backed opponent: $2 million versus $200,000.

The November race for governor is open for the first time since 2010 after Evers decided against seeking a third term. Democrats have never held the Wisconsin governor’s office for more than eight years in a row.

FILE -In this photo combination Sara Rodriguez, lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, speaks during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago and Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes speaks at a rally Oct. 29, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, Morry Gash)

The crowded field on the Democratic side features Barnes and Rodriguez, plus two current lawmakers, the top elected official in Milwaukee County, the former state economic development director and Evers’ former top aide.

Barnes, who lost the 2020 Senate race to Republican Sen. Ron Johnson by just under 27,000 votes, is seen by many to be the frontrunner. Barnes reported Thursday that he had raised $555,000 in his first 29 days as a candidate.

Rodriguez, the first candidate to get into the race in July, reported Thursday that she raised $650,000 for the year.

Presumptive Republican frontrunner U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a staunch supporter of Trump, said he has raised more than $2 million since getting in to the race in September.

He faces Josh Schoemann, the Washington County executive, in the Republican primary. Schoemann, who is far less known and has a smaller base of support than Tiffany, raised $1 million last year.

Democrats hope to flip Legislature

The November election is the first where all the legislative seats are under district boundary lines in new maps ordered by the state Supreme Court to replace more Republican-friendly ones.

Democrats need to flip two seats in the Senate and five in the Assembly to take the majority.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, whose job it is to recruit and support candidates to maintain the majority, expressed confidence even if it’s a year when there is “wind at our face.” He also faulted Democrats for spending too much time focused on “anti-Trumpism” and not what they would do if elected.

“Their issues are all focusing on fighting what Donald Trump is delivering on,” Vos said.

Longtime Wisconsin liberal activist Scot Ross encouraged Democrats to put forward a plan for “real substantial change to get people excited.”

“Trifecta isn’t a strategy and it’s not a message,” he said. “I love that Dems in Wisconsin want to talk aggressively about getting power, but people have to believe you will use that power to actually make your lives better.”

A Minnesota Republican state lawmaker is seeking an impeachment of Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.

Rep. Mike Wiener, R-Long Prairie, posted the impending four articles of impeachment to Facebook earlier week. Wiener said after working for about two months on the effort, the articles were drafted by the Minnesota House Research Department.

The overarching theme is fraud that has reached estimates of $9 billion, according to federal prosecutors. The articles of impeachment accuse Walz of concealing it, allowing it and failing to stop it once it all came to light. Wiener said he has the support of 10 GOP lawmakers.

Wiener said he introduced the articles before the start of the Minnesota legislative session on Feb. 17 to give himself time to convince more lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, to come to his side, saying this should not be a partisan issue.

Wiener represents District 5B, which includes the cities of Wadena and Long Prairie, and parts of Cass, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties.

He said he owes this to the taxpayers even though Walz is not running for a third term.

“I owe it to them to hold our politicians responsible for this waste, fraud and abuse. I take this serious. It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle this was on,” Wiener said. “We are supposed to be stewards of the taxpayer dollar, whether we’re running for office or not, is irrelevant. I would like to see some restitution. I would like to see some checks coming back to the taxpayers.”

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With the state House still locked at 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats, Wiener would have to have bipartisan support to get a majority to pass his articles. If passed by the House, it would go to the Minnesota Senate, where it would require a two-thirds vote to remove Walz.

In a statement provided to WDAY, a spokesperson from the governor’s office said, “These legislators are apparently trying to capitalize on the president’s vow for ‘retribution’ against the state. Respected career attorneys have resigned over the DOJ’s behavior. The federal government is attempting to pull billions from their constituents. It is shameful that this is how they’re choosing to spend their time, and we urge them to get serious.”