“Every week we have seven, eight, 10 different families being affected by ICE. Dads who leave for work and don’t come back,” says César Díaz, Frederick’s city council president.

Votebeat reports on several election clerks in Michigan missing the deadline to send absentee ballots to voters:

“The pressure to exclude non-citizens from apportionment is a partisan move that is decades in the making, rooted deeply in a xenophobic and isolationist history,” says an expert on the census in a new Q&A.

“I’m proud we are promoting California values and prioritizing rehabilitation,” says a California assemblymember. “Visitation reduces recidivism, improves behavior behind bars, and helps people successfully return to their communities.”

A Democrat running for sheriff in Wisconsin wants to end his county’s 287(g) contract with ICE “on day one.” “Entering into the agreement to act as federal agents,” he said, “is going around state law.”

The Appeal reports on local leaders who are blocking ICE from using city-owned parking lots:

Voters will decide thousands of offices with tremendous power in these midterms. Which ones should you be watching? In our guide, we highlight over 660 elections up and down the ballot: judges and governors, school boards and mayors, and so much more.

Los Angeles is often referred to as the “wage theft capital” of the U.S. The city attorney plays a key role in ensuring that local labor protections are enforced, and Angelenos will elect a new one this November.

Under-radar stakes: Supreme Court elections. Justices who’ve upheld restrictions on abortion are up next month in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Texas. Justices who have sided with abortion access are up in Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Wyoming.

A new law guarantees that young Californians held in juvenile detention facilities have the right to hug their families during visits. It’s been called the Hug Act.

How have past presidents interfered with the census? What is President Trump looking to do? How have census workers responded to hostility? You asked us questions about the census, and we answered:

A great way to support Bolts, and to keep up with our coverage throughout the year, is to sign up for our weekly newsletter. We share election updates and stories about voting rights and criminal justice, plus behind-the-scenes insights from our team:

The Guardian reports on defendants who have formed a union while facing prosecution for protesting:

After driving hours to visit her son in prison, Anita Wills was told she’d need to remove the underwire from her bra to enter. Prison officials didn’t have scissors, so they gave her a paperclip. “I did not get a chance to see my son that day,” she says.

“In my mind, what makes the proposal to ask about citizenship terrifying is… that a large number of people will avoid the census taker to begin with,” says an expert on the census.

How much should local prosecutors pursue reforms, or emphasize punishments? Voters all around the country are facing stark choices in local elections, including in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Spokane.

Idaho is keeping people in prison even when they’ve been granted parole, InvestigateWest reports:

Ethnographer and author danah boyd interviewed hundreds of civil servants in the lead-up to the 2020 census. Now, she answers your questions about the census’s inner workings, and current federal efforts to take control of it.