Author: TheGuardian

The United States issued its first passport with an “X” gender designation, a milestone in the recognition of the rights of people who do not identify as male or female, and expects to be able to offer the option more broadly next year, the state department announced on October 27. The United States special diplomatic envoy for LGBTQ rights, Jessica Stern, called the moves historic and celebratory, saying they brought the government documents in line with the “lived reality” that there is a wider spectrum of human sex characteristics than is reflected in the previous two designations. “When a...

For decades, election officials have largely been invisible, working out of the public spotlight to ensure the machinery of elections runs smoothly. But as Trump and allies target that machinery as part of an effort to insist something was amiss in 2020, those officials have been thrust into the national spotlight and subject to vicious harassment. Nearly one in three election officials feel unsafe in their job, according to an April survey commissioned by the Brennan Center for Justice. There is also a deep concern that so many election officials are choosing to leave the profession, that it creates...

Nearly 40% of U.S. households have faced serious financial problems, including struggling to afford medical care and food, in the last few months, according to a survey published on October 11. The survey by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health also showed that in those last few months, as the U.S. struggled to contain the infectious Delta coronavirus variant, the percentage of households reporting serious financial problems rose to 59% when they had an income under $50,000 a year. Among those lower-income households, 30% said they had lost all their...