<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9" xmlns:news="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-news/0.9" xmlns:image="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-image/1.1"><url><loc>https://www.votebeat.org/national/2026/10/30/nebraska-secretary-state-scott-petersen-mail-early-voting-restrictions/</loc><lastmod>2026-10-30T22:22:53.119Z</lastmod><changefreq>always</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority><news:news><news:publication><news:name>Votebeat</news:name><news:language>en</news:language></news:publication><news:publication_date>2026-10-30T22:22:53.119Z</news:publication_date><news:title><![CDATA[Nebraska secretary of state race centers on Republican’s push to restrict mail and early voting]]></news:title></news:news><image:image><image:loc>https://www.votebeat.org/resizer/v2/YZ5CMPJDZZGXXJ7TYQLG6GNO4Q.jpeg?auth=99a856cb1c3b4a2611d4bd0226addb22e2922ed3639e45a2a70d1b34ce1eec49&amp;smart=true&amp;width=2836&amp;height=2284</image:loc><image:caption><![CDATA[Scott Petersen has been heavily involved in Nebraska Republican politics for decades. He previously served as a Douglas County GOP chairman and a political consultant. He has been a guest on the podcasts of those who promote debunked claims of fraud in the 2020 election, including Steve Bannon, a conservative pundit and former adviser to President Donald Trump. ]]></image:caption></image:image></url><url><loc>https://www.votebeat.org/national/2026/10/30/doj-election-officials-criminal-prosecution-letters-2026-midterms/</loc><lastmod>2026-10-30T22:18:32.109Z</lastmod><changefreq>always</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority><news:news><news:publication><news:name>Votebeat</news:name><news:language>en</news:language></news:publication><news:publication_date>2026-10-30T22:18:32.109Z</news:publication_date><news:title><![CDATA[DOJ again warns election officials of potential criminal prosecution, days before midterm elections]]></news:title></news:news><image:image><image:loc>https://www.votebeat.org/resizer/v2/6MHRCD5WYBD25DQZ2OOOLAZRWQ.jpg?auth=9c9c83df3b63c7e0a9f53697a2f50c642c66c82b06903a2bd0caadbe9d825473&amp;smart=true&amp;width=6000&amp;height=4000</image:loc><image:caption><![CDATA[Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter speaks at a Justice Department press conference in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 22, 2026. McCotter signed letters dated Oct. 29 warning state election officials of criminal penalties for failing to preserve election records.]]></image:caption></image:image></url><url><loc>https://www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/2026/10/30/rural-clerks-say-vote-early-in-person/</loc><lastmod>2026-10-30T22:05:00.589Z</lastmod><changefreq>always</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority><news:news><news:publication><news:name>Votebeat</news:name><news:language>en</news:language></news:publication><news:publication_date>2026-10-30T22:05:00.589Z</news:publication_date><news:title><![CDATA[Mail delays are leading to more early voting. That shift is especially clear in rural Wisconsin.]]></news:title></news:news><image:image><image:loc>https://www.votebeat.org/resizer/v2/556PCEDXYFBIFHBTWIP5QUAEBI.jpg?auth=9b2cb704439056807216a7f943278c87dc88ee372bd8dfc0a4c27c2eaafec28c&amp;smart=true&amp;width=8667&amp;height=5768</image:loc><image:caption><![CDATA[Madison voters prepare to cast in-person ballots. Early voting is up statewide as mail voting goes down.]]></image:caption></image:image></url><url><loc>https://www.votebeat.org/texas/2026/10/30/sb1-ballot-harvesting-restrictions-on-helping-voters-lupe/</loc><lastmod>2026-10-30T21:22:36.211Z</lastmod><changefreq>always</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority><news:news><news:publication><news:name>Votebeat</news:name><news:language>en</news:language></news:publication><news:publication_date>2026-10-30T21:22:36.211Z</news:publication_date><news:title><![CDATA[Voting rights groups, afraid of criminal penalties, cut back on helping some of Texas’ most vulnerable voters ]]></news:title></news:news><image:image><image:loc>https://www.votebeat.org/resizer/v2/6SX6GYVS6NDWZBMKATF3M33U6I.JPG?auth=1e90dc69ab379aa7737a38a7b45c2372786a24a9c083d7a0a5627cfda6fbe921&amp;smart=true&amp;width=3000&amp;height=2000</image:loc><image:caption><![CDATA[Tania Chavez Camacho, executive director of La Unión del Pueblo Entero, embraces and congratulates Sofía Pérez, 83, after she voted on the first day of early voting in Alamo, Texas on Oct. 19, 2026.]]></image:caption></image:image></url><url><loc>https://www.votebeat.org/national/2026/10/30/when-to-expect-midterm-election-results-2026/</loc><lastmod>2026-10-30T20:21:19.733Z</lastmod><changefreq>always</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority><news:news><news:publication><news:name>Votebeat</news:name><news:language>en</news:language></news:publication><news:publication_date>2026-10-30T20:21:19.733Z</news:publication_date><news:title><![CDATA[When to expect the results of the 2026 election]]></news:title></news:news><image:image><image:loc>https://www.votebeat.org/resizer/v2/E3DNMLINFBBURANSWSMPWOPR4Y.JPG?auth=b8aa07280002b9965bdcd0d17127379f14540e3204b62442afe4072493412f9f&amp;smart=true&amp;width=5472&amp;height=3648</image:loc><image:caption><![CDATA[Election workers process absentee ballots for the 2024 general election at the Baird Center in Milwaukee on Nov. 5, 2024.]]></image:caption></image:image></url><url><loc>https://www.votebeat.org/arizona/2026/10/30/apache-county-2024-election-navajo-nation-pollbooks-fontes-2026/</loc><lastmod>2026-10-30T19:15:44.837Z</lastmod><changefreq>always</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority><news:news><news:publication><news:name>Votebeat</news:name><news:language>en</news:language></news:publication><news:publication_date>2026-10-30T19:15:44.837Z</news:publication_date><news:title><![CDATA[Apache County’s 2024 election was worse than reported, records show. Now, it faces another test at the polls.]]></news:title></news:news><image:image><image:loc>https://www.votebeat.org/resizer/v2/N34JT2BHFFH3FJZRZHO7IZ2CTI.jpg?auth=a46805310d3cddb14f462f53891111829749d4f476d286ade29d6f1cfb08c745&amp;smart=true&amp;width=2364&amp;height=1576</image:loc><image:caption><![CDATA[Ship Rock, located in New Mexico, looms like a distant castle from the rural highways of northeastern Apache County. Voters in New Mexico have different protections than in Arizona thanks to New Mexico’s Native American Voting Rights Act, which allows Native American communities to have a say in polling locations, ballot box placements, and precinct boundaries.]]></image:caption></image:image></url><url><loc>https://www.votebeat.org/national/2026/10/29/voting-machines-midterm-problems-safeguards/</loc><lastmod>2026-10-30T13:46:54.455Z</lastmod><changefreq>always</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority><news:news><news:publication><news:name>Votebeat</news:name><news:language>en</news:language></news:publication><news:publication_date>2026-10-30T13:46:54.455Z</news:publication_date><news:title><![CDATA[Voting machines malfunction every election. But manufacturers and election officials have safeguards in place]]></news:title></news:news><image:image><image:loc>https://www.votebeat.org/resizer/v2/LB7PDQIYGJC3TA5TV7A7QG32JQ.JPG?auth=f90381f27b9d4573bd961141c4082d7c4a6d6f66e84b6fc6c73e405aaa72a578&amp;smart=true&amp;width=2500&amp;height=1668</image:loc><image:caption><![CDATA[A voting machine in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 11th 2026. Complaints surface every election of problems with voting machines, but experts say safeguards prevent tampering.]]></image:caption></image:image></url><url><loc>https://www.votebeat.org/national/2026/10/29/mail-early-voting-midterm-trump-usps/</loc><lastmod>2026-10-30T02:50:39.263Z</lastmod><changefreq>always</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority><news:news><news:publication><news:name>Votebeat</news:name><news:language>en</news:language></news:publication><news:publication_date>2026-10-30T02:50:39.263Z</news:publication_date><news:title><![CDATA[More early voters casting ballots in person after Trump attack on voting by mail]]></news:title></news:news><image:image><image:loc>https://www.votebeat.org/resizer/v2/KUMKKWCSDRHVZF27JLZFCKQOEQ.JPG?auth=41605f2c2478c516323ee62e26fe92078fcb9cfee00044693823d9a267d9fd1a&amp;smart=true&amp;width=6500&amp;height=4333</image:loc><image:caption><![CDATA[A voter drops off his ballot at a drop box in Philadelphia in 2024. More Americans are heading to the polls and relying less on mail ballots this election as voter preferences shift.]]></image:caption></image:image></url></urlset>