Rural Caucus Newsletter, June 19th 2026

Written By Butler County Democrats .

Missouri’s election officials are already juggling a gerrymandered map, short staffing, and the usual primary‑season chaos - and now they’re staring down Trump’s mail‑in voting executive order, treated like some grand, earth‑shaking decree carved into stone. Local election officials reel over 'logistical nightmare' of Trump's vote-by-mail order • Missouri Independent.  Local clerks have called it a “logistical nightmare” because an executive order is not a law, it can’t rewrite Missouri election rules, and it sure as hell can’t override the Constitution. And just as counties are trying to figure out what this even means for November, a federal judge has now limited the legal challenges against the order:  Federal judge limits challenges to Donald Trump mail-in voting order narrowing the path to push back. That leaves rural counties, already stretched thin, trying to run fair elections under an executive order that could reshape who gets a mail ballot in the first place.


So what can we do? You can pen your opposition. USPS is required by law to accept public comments before Trump's rule can move forward, but only through July 2 and Stand Up, America has made it easy: Don’t Let Trump Sabotage Vote by Mail! Stand Up America! Stand Up America - Demanding the Democracy We Deserve is a terrific organization to follow. We've been following them for several years.


And if that's not bad enough, Rural Democrats, Trump is also rushing ahead with the first phase of his Federal voter‑list executive order. According to a June 8 DHS memo States to get citizenship lists before voters can check for errors, new memo on Trump’s anti-voting order makes clear - Democracy Docket, Missouri election officials will get access to the federal citizenship database by June 30 - weeks or even months before regular voters have any way to check whether the government’s information about them is correct. The memo flat‑out admits the public portal won’t be ready in time, even as Trump's administration pushes ahead with a system that election experts say is unconstitutional and designed to restrict mail voting by limiting ballots to people on a federal list. Missouri rural counties already struggle with staffing and the gerrymandered map is throwing us a curveball. This rushed rollout means that unless a valid, registered Missouri voter appears correctly in this new federal database, USPS won’t deliver their mail ballot at all. This puts perfectly eligible Missourians at real risk of being knocked off the rolls with almost no way to fix it before Election Day.


Reorganization

Every two years, Missouri Democrats reorganize from the ground up - and 2026 is our year to do it. The Missouri Democratic Party has released its official Reorganization Plan (attached), which county central committee officers received this week. It lays out how township mass meetings, county committee elections, and leadership selections will roll out across the state.


For rural counties, this isn’t just paperwork - it’s our chance to rebuild local committees and strengthen the backbone of the party where it’s needed most. Reorganization is how we reset, reconnect, and make sure every county - no matter how small - has a seat at the table heading into 2026. The Rural Caucus will reorganize during our November meeting - after the General Election on Nov. 3. 


Rural Caucus Friendly Reminders:

  1. We’re hosting two virtual informational workshops with Amy Blouin, President and CEO of the Missouri Budget Project, on Wednesday, June 24 and Monday, June 29, both at 7 PM:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86501717003?pwd=cnYSH7meUmRSqoUDLeqTY7sKzOndiu.1

  2. Help us with our future messaging: The Rural Caucus "What Issues are Important To YOU" - Google Forms. Our only goal here is to hear from you about what issues matter most. Be sure to share with friends, family and on your social media!

  3. Volunteer: State Fair Booth Sign-Up - 2026 - Google Sheets and give what you can: Missouri Democratic Party - Non-Federal — Donate via ActBlue or mail a check to: Missouri Democratic Party, 407 Jefferson St., Jefferson City, MO 65101. Please note on your check that it's for the State Fair tent.

Missouri News

  • Kehoe and Amazon are out here acting like a data center is just a big ol’ Brita pitcher, but the county’s own “AWS Proposed Project” document says otherwise: Amazon to build $10B data center campus in mid-Missouri | FOX 2. It spells out that it could chug around 50 million gallons of water a year and would need wells drilled 1,500 feet down - all at the expense of a rural community of 2,800 people.

National News

  • More than 770,000 children nationwide have already lost SNAP under Trump’s new rules, and Missouri is certainly part of that trend: More Than 770,000 Children Are No Longer Receiving SNAP Benefits — ProPublica. Missouri doesn’t report age‑specific data so there isn't an official state number. However, based on Missouri’s caseload and the share of children removed in reporting states, a reasonable estimate is that 10,000 to 30,000 Missouri children have likely been pushed off SNAP. Trump and Republicans claimed SNAP cuts wouldn't impact our children. They lied.

Other News

  • Although long, this is a really interesting article on H.R.1, which created the Rural Health Transformation Program: H.R. 1 Funding Cuts Will Overshadow Gains from Rural Health Program | Commonwealth Fund  Bottom line: H.R. 1 hands Missouri a tiny rural‑health grant while yanking away far more in Medicaid, ACA, and SNAP funding which will hit Missouri’s rural hospitals first. Lower‑income Missourians lose about $1,200 a year while the wealthiest gain $13,600. And with fewer jobs and less tax revenue, And you know what that means: reduced funding for schools, senior services, disability supports, and basic local needs. In short: the “grant” is a Band‑Aid, and the cuts blow a hole straight through Missouri’s budget and the small safety net we have.

  • In 2025, in a swap approved by Trump, the Forest Service approved a land swap that handed nearly 4,000 acres of public land to the Yellowstone Club - an ultra‑rich resort that’s been gobbling up acres of Montana - thousands of acres of what used to belong to all of us is now part of the private luxury‑resort life: The billionaires’ club at the center of America’s public lands fight - High Country News. And to make the whole thing even more corrupt, Doug Burgum, the current Secretary of the Interior, has financial ties to the same “Club.”

  • The National Park Service employees have been ordered to wear Trump's SWAG pins promoting Freedom 250, Trump Administration Tells Federal Employees to Wear “Freedom” Pins—Or Else – Mother Jones a semi-private group that he's used to turn celebrations of our country’s 250th anniversary into a partisan party for himself. Freedom 250 is Trump’s all‑access pass to throw campaign rallies on the taxpayer’s dime. It lets him stage political events, quietly scoop up corporate money from folks hoping to stay on his good side, and dodge telling the public what this patriotic‑themed money pit is actually costing us.

In closing...


Today is Juneteenth, Rural Democrats. It marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in Galveston, Texas finally learned they were free - more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s a reminder that freedom in this country has never arrived all at once or for everyone equally, and that the work of justice continues in places big and small. And if you want to test what you know - or maybe learn something new - AP News has a great Juneteenth quiz right here: How much do you know about Juneteenth? Test your knowledge | AP News

Joshua Dunne

Chair

Jacqueline Farr

Vice-Chair

John Parks

Treasurer



MDP Reorganization 2026
Butler County Democrats .
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