The changes would tighten the window for postmarking and tracking absentee ballots in the thirty-one states that accept them by mail. They cannot take effect until a federal judge lifts an injunction issued last month.
The 68–31 vote funds the government through December 19 and leaves every contested item — disaster aid, health subsidies and a farm package — for a lame-duck session.
Live-caller surveys and online panels disagree by six to nine points in the same states. The gap is largest among voters under 35, which is exactly where turnout is hardest to model.
Two observers from opposing campaigns, one bipartisan counting board, and a procedure designed on the assumption that nobody in the room trusts anybody else.
Judges have twice ordered a map redrawn. With candidate filing eight weeks away, the practical question is no longer which map is lawful but which map is usable.