August 11, 2026 · PM Edition

Hennepin and Ramsey counties kept Justice Department election monitors outside polling places Tuesday; Minnesota officials sent teams to watch the federal observers as primary voting continued.

The Justice Department says its Civil Rights Division personnel are assessing compliance with the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and Help America Vote Act.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and Attorney General Keith Ellison say the personnel still need local permission to enter polling rooms and must remain beyond the 100-foot boundary.

Nothing says cooperative federalism like assigning observers to observe the observers.

1. Privilege’s guest list — DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel said executive privilege may cover confidential official-policy advice from private presidential advisers; its 21-page opinion is nonbinding—because even privilege apparently needs a guest list.

2. Faster disability decisions — Social Security added 14 conditions to its Compassionate Allowances list, bringing the total to 314 and speeding disability determinations for qualifying severe illnesses.

3. Storm disruption — By midafternoon, severe storms had knocked out power to more than 600,000 customers in Illinois and Indiana and temporarily halted flights at both major Chicago airports.

Information current as of 4:19 p.m. Central Time on August 11, 2026.