RandySF
RandySF's JournalNH: Judge allows DNC's lawsuit over affidavit ballots to continue over state's objection
A state superior court judge is allowing the Democratic National Committee’s lawsuit against the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office to proceed, ruling that a newly implemented affidavit ballot system backed by Republicans could negatively impact some qualified voters.
Two previous lawsuits brought by voter advocacy groups and the ACLU of New Hampshire challenging the constitutionality of the same law, SB 418, which took effect in January 2023, were dismissed on procedural grounds. Those cases are now on appeal to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
Under the law, which was backed by Republicans and signed by Gov. Chris Sununu, first-time New Hampshire voters who register at their polling locations without identification are able to cast provisional numbered ballots. The would-be voter is then given seven days to mail necessary documents to the Secretary of State’s office to prove their eligibility. If that paperwork is not received in time, the city or town is notified and required to pull the marked ballots from totals, and amend the final election results.
Republicans argued the change was necessary to prevent illegal voting in state elections. Under the previous law, voters were able to sign an affidavit swearing to their eligibility, with potential legal penalties for fraudulent voting. Even if criminal charges were subsequently filed for wrongful voting, however, those votes would remain in the final tallies.
https://www.nhbr.com/judge-allows-dncs-lawsuit-over-affidavit-ballots-to-continue-over-states-objection/
Two Florida Supreme Court justices qualify for the 2024 ballot
After being appointed during the past two years by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Supreme Court Justices Renatha Francis and Meredith Sasso qualified this week to appear on the November ballot for merit-retention elections.
Francis was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2022, while Sasso was appointed in 2023.
Under Florida law, Supreme Court justices and appellate court judges go on the ballot every six years for voters to determine whether they should be retained.
They do not run against other candidates.
https://www.wmnf.org/two-florida-supreme-court-justices-qualify-for-the-2024-ballot/
Malcolm Kenyatta (D) makes history after winning primary for Pa. Auditor General
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) became the first openly gay man to be nominated by a major party for statewide office in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
Kenyatta defeated Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Auditor General.
The Associated Press called the race with Kenyatta leading Pinsley throughout the evening and Kenyatta will face Republican incumbent Auditor General Timothy DeFoor in November.
Kenyatta was the favorite to win the primary election and received endorsements from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and all the major unions from across the commonwealth after promising to restore public school audits and establish a Bureau of Labor and Worker Protections, which will investigate wage theft and union busting.
https://keystonenewsroom.com/story/malcolm-kenyatta-makes-history/
Local DFL committee affirms decision to endorse Minnesota House candidate with criminal past
A local DFL party unit in northwestern Minnesota is resisting a state party call to rescind the endorsement of a House candidate convicted of second-degree assault.
In a statement, the Minnesota Senate District 12 committee said officials there did not find sufficient cause to take action against Judd Hoff. Earlier this month, the committee endorsed Hoff in the District 12B race. Hoff is running against Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria.
In August 2020, Hoff assaulted a person with a machete after a confrontation. According to court documents, Hoff argued he was using self-defense.
Hoff received a 13-month prison sentence. He served about eight months in the St. Cloud prison before being put on supervised release for the remainder of the sentence, which was completed in January 2023. Franson has also accused him of stalking her in the neighborhood where both live.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/04/25/local-dfl-committee-affirms-decision-to-endorse-minnesota-house-candidate-with-criminal-past
Changes are ahead on the Minnesota Supreme Court as one justice steps into retirement
After nearly 20 years on Minnesota’s Supreme Court, Justice G. Barry Anderson is retiring.
Anderson is the longest-tenured current justice and the last to have gained his seat through the appointment of a Republican governor.
Coming up Friday at noon, MPR News host Brian Bakst talks with Anderson about his time in the Minnesota Supreme Court, his career in the courtroom and his view on political pressures on the judiciary.
Later, a look at how the nation’s finances will factor into the 2024 election campaign with MPR News senior economics contributor Chris Farrell.
We’ll also hear some sounds and voices from the Capitol this week, and some insight from members of our MPR News politics team.
https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2024/04/26/politics-friday-minnesota-supreme-court-justice-anderson-retirement
Public weighs in on rules for Wisconsin election observers
Members of the public weighed in Wednesday on a plan that would spell out what election observers can — and can’t do — at Wisconsin polling places.
The proposed rule by the Wisconsin Elections Commission comes months before the state’s closely watched presidential election, when it could be one of six states that tip the balance in this year’s presidential race.
Unlike poll workers or election officials who help run elections, election observers are people who’ve signed up to watch the voting process. They have rights under state law, but the same law gives a polling place’s chief inspector or a municipal clerk some discretion to restrict where people are allowed to observe.
The WEC rule would let observers stand as close as 3 feet away from voters, but no closer. It would also let them stand as far as 8 feet away, but no farther.
https://www.wpr.org/politics/public-testimony-rules-wisconsin-election-observers
MI: 4 of 5 Ann Arbor City Council races uncontested as primary filing deadline passes
ANN ARBOR, MI — It may be a light election year in Ann Arbor at the city level with only one contested race for City Council heading into the August 2024 primary.
While five council seats are up for grabs, only in one ward did more than one candidate file by the filing deadline for partisan candidates Tuesday, April 23.
Council Member Jen Eyer, D-4th Ward, faces a repeat challenge from Democrat Mozhgan Savabieasfahani in the ward that covers southwest Ann Arbor.
In three other wards, Democratic incumbents are running unopposed with no Democratic or Republican challengers this year. That includes Lisa Disch in Ward 1, Travis Radina in Ward 3 and Erica Briggs in Ward 5, all seeking second four-year terms.
https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2024/04/4-of-5-ann-arbor-city-council-races-uncontested-as-primary-filing-deadline-passes.html
This East Texas town hasn't held a city council election in at least 18 years
There is no living memory of the last contested election in Kennard. And the Texas Secretary of State, which oversees most elections, does not keep records on municipal races.
As many Texans head to the polls for city council and school board elections May 4, most voters in Houston County — where Kennard is located — will not have a chance to vote. Their local elections have been canceled due to a lack of contested races.
This is not unusual, as thousands of small U.S. towns cancel local elections each year after the filing period to run for office closes and no one challenges the incumbents.
In 2022, nearly 70% of races went uncontested in the U.S., according to Ballot Ready, a company that aggregates data on elections. In Texas, nearly 76% of local races went uncontested that year.
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/25/texas-rural-local-elections/
Missouri House sends initiative petition bill back to Senate with 'ballot candy' reinstated
Legislation seeking to make it harder to change Missouri’s constitution through the initiative petition process was approved by the Missouri House on Thursday, sending it back to the Senate for a possible showdown between Republicans and Democrats over “ballot candy.”
The bill was initially approved earlier this year after Democrats ended their 21-hour filibuster in exchange for the removal of “ballot candy” provisions — referring to unrelated additions to a ballot measure designed to win voters who are skeptical of a proposal’s main focus.
On Thursday, the House added language to the bill that would ask Missourians if they want to change the constitution to define legal voters as citizens of the United States as well as whether they want to prohibit foreign entities from sponsoring initiative petitions.
Democrats called the additions “unnecessary” and “deceptive.”
“This feels to me like another situation where this body is being asked to bend to the will of the Senate,” said state Rep. Eric Woods, a Democrat from Kansas City. “We are putting this bad stuff back on to send it back over there and watch the Senate explode again as if we aren’t already in enough turmoil in this building.”
https://missouriindependent.com/2024/04/25/missouri-initiative-petition-bill-ballot-candy-reinstated/
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit Area, MI
Home country: USA
Current location: San Francisco, CA
Member since: Wed Oct 29, 2008, 02:53 PM
Number of posts: 58,786