Hansi Lo Wang (he/him)
@hansilowang.bsky.social
@npr.org correspondent reporting on how elections, the census, the Postal Service and other parts of the U.S. government work • signal: hansi.01 • email: [email protected] • newsletter: hansilowang.com/stay-in-touch
Pinned
A major census test begins recruiting workers as some warn about delays
The Census Bureau is looking for temporary workers to carry out next year's major field test of the 2030 census in six states, as the national head count's advocates raise concerns about preparations.
www.npr.org
Got a news tip about the Census Bureau or Postal Service?
I'm a @npr.org correspondent who can be reached on Signal at hansi.01 (please use a nonwork device), and here’s my latest article:
I'm a @npr.org correspondent who can be reached on Signal at hansi.01 (please use a nonwork device), and here’s my latest article:
On Nov. 21, the Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit claiming a longstanding Michigan state law allowing U.S. citizens who were born abroad (including those with U.S. military parents) and have never lived in the U.S. to vote in federal and state elections violates the state's constitution
www.documentcloud.org
November 25, 2025 at 4:34 PM
On Nov. 21, the Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit claiming a longstanding Michigan state law allowing U.S. citizens who were born abroad (including those with U.S. military parents) and have never lived in the U.S. to vote in federal and state elections violates the state's constitution
UPDATE: The wait begins for the Supreme Court's final decision on whether Texas can use a new congressional map that could help the Republicans win five more U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm election. Briefs from all of the map's challengers are now in...
www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?...
www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?...
Search
www.supremecourt.gov
November 24, 2025 at 10:02 PM
UPDATE: The wait begins for the Supreme Court's final decision on whether Texas can use a new congressional map that could help the Republicans win five more U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm election. Briefs from all of the map's challengers are now in...
www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?...
www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?...
NEW: The Justice Department says it supports Texas' request for the Supreme Court to clear the way for a new Republican-friendly congressional map to be used for the 2026 midterm election
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25...
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25...
November 24, 2025 at 3:34 PM
NEW: The Justice Department says it supports Texas' request for the Supreme Court to clear the way for a new Republican-friendly congressional map to be used for the 2026 midterm election
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25...
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25...
UPDATE: We're still waiting for SCOTUS to say how it will handle cases out of Alabama, Mississippi & North Dakota about whether private individuals & groups — whose lawsuits have been the main way of enforcing Voting Rights Act’s Section 2 — can keep suing. Next scheduled SCOTUS order day is Dec. 8
November 24, 2025 at 2:41 PM
UPDATE: We're still waiting for SCOTUS to say how it will handle cases out of Alabama, Mississippi & North Dakota about whether private individuals & groups — whose lawsuits have been the main way of enforcing Voting Rights Act’s Section 2 — can keep suing. Next scheduled SCOTUS order day is Dec. 8
JUST IN: The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that found Texas' new, Republican-friendly congressional map to likely be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, as the court considers the state's request to allow the map to be used for the 2026 midterm election
www.documentcloud.org
November 22, 2025 at 12:55 AM
JUST IN: The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that found Texas' new, Republican-friendly congressional map to likely be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, as the court considers the state's request to allow the map to be used for the 2026 midterm election
JUST IN: Texas asks the Supreme Court to clear the way for a now-blocked, Republican-friendly congressional map to be used for the 2026 midterm election. A lower court blocked the map after finding it is likely an unconstitutional racial gerrymander
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
www.documentcloud.org
November 21, 2025 at 11:37 PM
JUST IN: Texas asks the Supreme Court to clear the way for a now-blocked, Republican-friendly congressional map to be used for the 2026 midterm election. A lower court blocked the map after finding it is likely an unconstitutional racial gerrymander
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
NEW: Arizona Attorney General @azagmayes.bsky.social, a Democrat, appeals the state's "fake electors" case to the Arizona Supreme Court after a lower court sent it back to a grand jury, stalling a criminal case against allies of President Trump involved in efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss
mcusercontent.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:10 PM
NEW: Arizona Attorney General @azagmayes.bsky.social, a Democrat, appeals the state's "fake electors" case to the Arizona Supreme Court after a lower court sent it back to a grand jury, stalling a criminal case against allies of President Trump involved in efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss
NEW: The Census Bureau's new acting chief information officer is John Studds, who has replaced Michael Thieme, according to the agency's website
www.census.gov/about/leader...
www.census.gov/about/leader...
November 21, 2025 at 9:48 PM
NEW: The Census Bureau's new acting chief information officer is John Studds, who has replaced Michael Thieme, according to the agency's website
www.census.gov/about/leader...
www.census.gov/about/leader...
NEW: A three-judge panel has refused to pause its order blocking Texas’ new Republican-friendly congressional map, as the state prepares to ask the Supreme Court to clear the way for the map to be used for the 2026 midterm election
www.courtlistener.com/docket/60654...
www.courtlistener.com/docket/60654...
November 21, 2025 at 4:23 PM
NEW: A three-judge panel has refused to pause its order blocking Texas’ new Republican-friendly congressional map, as the state prepares to ask the Supreme Court to clear the way for the map to be used for the 2026 midterm election
www.courtlistener.com/docket/60654...
www.courtlistener.com/docket/60654...
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to discuss how it will handle a North Dakota case and a Mississippi case on whether private individuals and groups — whose lawsuits have been the main way of enforcing the Voting Rights Act’s Section 2 — can keep suing.
ICYMI:
ICYMI:
60 years later, Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters face new threats
Sixty years after the Voting Rights Act became a landmark law against racial discrimination, legal challenges heading to the Supreme Court could curtail its remaining protections for minority voters.
www.npr.org
November 21, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to discuss how it will handle a North Dakota case and a Mississippi case on whether private individuals and groups — whose lawsuits have been the main way of enforcing the Voting Rights Act’s Section 2 — can keep suing.
ICYMI:
ICYMI:
NEW: New York's highest court upholds the state's voting rights act by ruling that Newburgh, N.Y., does not have the legal capacity to challenge the law's constitutionality. The town is facing claims that its at-large voting system dilutes Black and Latino voters’ collective power
www.nycourts.gov
November 20, 2025 at 5:09 PM
NEW: New York's highest court upholds the state's voting rights act by ruling that Newburgh, N.Y., does not have the legal capacity to challenge the law's constitutionality. The town is facing claims that its at-large voting system dilutes Black and Latino voters’ collective power
NEW: Justice Department asks to withdraw legal briefs it submitted to the 11th Circuit during the Biden administration for Voting Rights Act cases about Georgia's congressional and state legislative redistricting plans
- www.courtlistener.com/docket/68084...
- www.courtlistener.com/docket/69566...
- www.courtlistener.com/docket/68084...
- www.courtlistener.com/docket/69566...
#167 in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. v. Secretary, State of Georgia (11th Cir., 23-13914) – CourtListener.com
MOTION Withdraw Brief as Appellee filed by USA. Opposition to Motion is Unknown. [167] [23-13914] (ECF: David Goldman) [Entered: 11/20/2025 11:36 AM]
www.courtlistener.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:48 PM
NEW: Justice Department asks to withdraw legal briefs it submitted to the 11th Circuit during the Biden administration for Voting Rights Act cases about Georgia's congressional and state legislative redistricting plans
- www.courtlistener.com/docket/68084...
- www.courtlistener.com/docket/69566...
- www.courtlistener.com/docket/68084...
- www.courtlistener.com/docket/69566...
NEW: Federal court allows the Alliance for Retired Americans, represented by @eliaslawgroup.bsky.social, to defend the Census Bureau in Florida-based lawsuit over the use of statistical technique to fill in missing census data about group-living quarters, as well as differential privacy protections
November 20, 2025 at 3:40 PM
NEW: Federal court allows the Alliance for Retired Americans, represented by @eliaslawgroup.bsky.social, to defend the Census Bureau in Florida-based lawsuit over the use of statistical technique to fill in missing census data about group-living quarters, as well as differential privacy protections
NEW: Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania is the 20th Senate Republican to cosponsor a bill calling for excluding people living in the states without US citizenship, such as green card holders, from #2030Census results that the 14th Amendment says must include “whole number of persons in each state”
www.congress.gov
November 20, 2025 at 1:53 PM
NEW: Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania is the 20th Senate Republican to cosponsor a bill calling for excluding people living in the states without US citizenship, such as green card holders, from #2030Census results that the 14th Amendment says must include “whole number of persons in each state”
NEW: 5th Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, a Reagan nominee, has released an opinion on why he dissented from a three-judge court's ruling that blocks a Texas congressional map that may help Republicans in the 2026 midterms
www.courtlistener.com/docket/60654...
www.courtlistener.com/docket/60654...
#1439 in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Abbott (W.D. Tex., 3:21-cv-00259) – CourtListener.com
DISSENT from 1437 Memorandum Opinion and Order Granting Motion for Preliminary Injunction, signed and issued by Judge Jerry E. Smith. (kc) (Entered: 11/19/2025)
www.courtlistener.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:38 PM
NEW: 5th Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, a Reagan nominee, has released an opinion on why he dissented from a three-judge court's ruling that blocks a Texas congressional map that may help Republicans in the 2026 midterms
www.courtlistener.com/docket/60654...
www.courtlistener.com/docket/60654...
BREAKING: A three-judge court blocks Texas from using the congressional map passed by its Republican-controlled legislature in August for the 2026 midterms as part of the gerrymandering fight sparked by President Trump. An appeal to the Supreme Court is expected
www.courtlistener.com/docket/60654...
www.courtlistener.com/docket/60654...
Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction AND Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction AND Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction AND Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction – #1437 in Leagu...
Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction AND Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction AND Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction AND Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction
www.courtlistener.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:17 PM
BREAKING: A three-judge court blocks Texas from using the congressional map passed by its Republican-controlled legislature in August for the 2026 midterms as part of the gerrymandering fight sparked by President Trump. An appeal to the Supreme Court is expected
www.courtlistener.com/docket/60654...
www.courtlistener.com/docket/60654...
My latest @npr.org story: Some GOP-led states are making moves to change their 2026 midterm-election calendars to prepare for a potential Supreme Court ruling that may spark more gerrymandering by weakening the Voting Rights Act's Section 2 protections against racial discrimination in redistricting
Redistricting deadlines for the midterms loom as states wait for a Supreme Court ruling
Depending on the timing, a Supreme Court ruling that weakens Voting Rights Act protections against racial discrimination may lead to more states redrawing congressional maps before the 2026 midterms.
www.npr.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:06 PM
My latest @npr.org story: Some GOP-led states are making moves to change their 2026 midterm-election calendars to prepare for a potential Supreme Court ruling that may spark more gerrymandering by weakening the Voting Rights Act's Section 2 protections against racial discrimination in redistricting
On Nov. 4, Democratic Rep. @ross.house.gov of North Carolina introduced a House bill that calls for all states to make the congressional redistricting process more transparent by requiring a website, public hearings and a detailed public statement about the proposed final plan
www.congress.gov
November 17, 2025 at 2:47 PM
On Nov. 4, Democratic Rep. @ross.house.gov of North Carolina introduced a House bill that calls for all states to make the congressional redistricting process more transparent by requiring a website, public hearings and a detailed public statement about the proposed final plan
NEW: University of South Florida College Republicans ask a federal judge to rule without a trial that a "new 2020 Census Report" is needed and that the #2030Census can't use a statistical technique to fill in any missing data about group-living quarters, as well as differential privacy protections
Summary Judgment – #50 in University of South Florida College Republicans v. Lutnick (M.D. Fla., 8:25-cv-02486) – CourtListener.com
Summary Judgment
www.courtlistener.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:29 PM
NEW: University of South Florida College Republicans ask a federal judge to rule without a trial that a "new 2020 Census Report" is needed and that the #2030Census can't use a statistical technique to fill in any missing data about group-living quarters, as well as differential privacy protections
NEW: The Census Bureau says it's updating its calendar to reschedule data releases delayed by the federal government shutdown
content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USC...
content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USC...
![Release Schedule Updates
The U.S. Census Bureau today announced updates to its event calendar including 2025 economic indicators that were delayed due to the recent lapse in federal funding.
Revised dates include:
Construction Spending (Construction Put in Place)
August [originally scheduled for 10/1/25] 11/17/25
Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories and Orders (Full Report)
August [originally scheduled for 10/2/25] 11/18/25
International Trade in Goods & Services (FT900)
August [originally scheduled for 10/7/25] 11/19/25
The Census Bureau will continue updating its event calendar and provide information as soon as it becomes available.
For more information on economic indicators, visit our Economic Briefing Room.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:eijqdygh72wuei7faamrclpc/bafkreib5rnzklmnxgwtpxewoxlnexqoomrpe3ukxuzfcveiolvunvmfpm4@jpeg)
November 14, 2025 at 9:35 PM
NEW: The Census Bureau says it's updating its calendar to reschedule data releases delayed by the federal government shutdown
content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USC...
content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USC...
NEW: The U.S. Postal Service proposes raising its shipping prices starting Jan. 18, 2026, to help stabilize its finances. Prices would go up about 6.6% for Priority Mail, 5.1% for Priority Mail Express, 7.8% for USPS Ground Advantage and 6% for Parcel Select
U.S. Postal Service Recommends New Competitive Prices for 2026 - Newsroom - About.usps.com
WASHINGTON — The Postal Service today filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) for Shipping Services price changes to take effect Jan. 18, 2026.
about.usps.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:33 PM
NEW: The U.S. Postal Service proposes raising its shipping prices starting Jan. 18, 2026, to help stabilize its finances. Prices would go up about 6.6% for Priority Mail, 5.1% for Priority Mail Express, 7.8% for USPS Ground Advantage and 6% for Parcel Select
NEW: "There are no proposals or plans to privatize the Postal Service," Amber McReynolds, chair of the USPS Board of Governors, said at the board's open meeting in response to multiple public comments against selling parts or all of the country's mail service to a private company
Members of the Board of Governors - Who we are - About.usps.com
The current members of the USPS Board of Governors.
about.usps.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:09 PM
NEW: "There are no proposals or plans to privatize the Postal Service," Amber McReynolds, chair of the USPS Board of Governors, said at the board's open meeting in response to multiple public comments against selling parts or all of the country's mail service to a private company
NEW: The U.S. Postal Service — which generally receives no tax dollars to keep running and relies on stamp and service fees — had a net loss of $9 billion in fiscal year 2025, a $500 million smaller loss than the previous year, CFO Luke Grossmann reported at the USPS governing board's open meeting
Members of the Board of Governors - Who we are - About.usps.com
The current members of the USPS Board of Governors.
about.usps.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:10 PM
NEW: The U.S. Postal Service — which generally receives no tax dollars to keep running and relies on stamp and service fees — had a net loss of $9 billion in fiscal year 2025, a $500 million smaller loss than the previous year, CFO Luke Grossmann reported at the USPS governing board's open meeting
NEW: The U.S. Postal Service's governing board has re-elected Amber McReynolds as its chair and Derek Kan as vice chair — both Biden nominees — at the board's last open meeting with Roman Martinez IV, the board's only Trump-nominated governor, who is leaving this month
about.usps.com/who/leadersh...
about.usps.com/who/leadersh...
Members of the Board of Governors - Who we are - About.usps.com
The current members of the USPS Board of Governors.
about.usps.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:52 PM
NEW: The U.S. Postal Service's governing board has re-elected Amber McReynolds as its chair and Derek Kan as vice chair — both Biden nominees — at the board's last open meeting with Roman Martinez IV, the board's only Trump-nominated governor, who is leaving this month
about.usps.com/who/leadersh...
about.usps.com/who/leadersh...
NEW: With the federal government shutdown over, the Bureau of Economic Analysis says it's updating its data release schedule and consulting with the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other data suppliers to "determine the availability of data used to produce our economic indicators"
BEA Advisory: BEA Developing Updated Economic Release Schedule
content.govdelivery.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:42 PM
NEW: With the federal government shutdown over, the Bureau of Economic Analysis says it's updating its data release schedule and consulting with the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other data suppliers to "determine the availability of data used to produce our economic indicators"