RandySF
RandySF's JournalIn appeal, Madison warns disenfranchisement ruling could trigger wave of election lawsuits
The City of Madison on Monday appealed a ruling that allows it to be sued for monetary damages for disenfranchising nearly 200 voters in the 2024 election, arguing the decision would unrealistically require “error-free elections” and expose municipalities across the state to liability for mistakes.
The appeal comes after Dane County Circuit Court Judge David Conway Feb. 9 ruling that Madison could face potential financial liability for disenfranchising 193 voters whose absentee ballots were unintentionally left uncounted. Notably, the city did not specifically contest the judge’s rejection in that ruling of its earlier argument that absentee voting is merely a “privilege” under state law — a claim that would have shielded it from damages.
Instead, the appeal centers on who has the authority to enforce election laws and whether voters can sue for negligence. The city argues that such complaints must go first to the Wisconsin Elections Commission and asks higher courts to revisit a landmark 1866 case that allowed damages against election officials who deprive citizens of the right to vote.
“It is not difficult to imagine how the circuit court’s ruling may be perceived as an opportunity by partisan actors to influence the election,” attorneys for the city, former Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl, and Deputy Clerk Jim Verbick wrote in the filing.
https://www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/2026/02/26/madison-appeals-case-allowing-damages-for-2024-disenfranchisement/
Californian pulls AI ballot measures, citing OpenAI intimidation
SAN FRANCISCO — The mysterious Californian behind two ballot measures to regulate artificial intelligence in the state said he was intimidated into scrapping them after OpenAI asked regulators to probe his identity.
The initiatives were East Bay resident Alexander Oldham’s first foray into the world of state ballot battles, where propositions can take off seemingly overnight, attracting big bucks and intense opposition.
Oldham said he sent in the papers to withdraw them on Tuesday “due to threats and intimidation from primarily OpenAI.”
“I was naive,” he told POLITICO in a rare interview. “I don’t want any more negative consequences because I was stupid enough to think that I could just put an idea out for people to look at in today’s world.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/27/californian-pulls-ai-ballot-measures-citing-openai-intimidation-00803117
'FIFA is a dictatorship': A former FIFA president lashes out at his successor's Trump ties
On May 27, 2015, plainclothes Swiss police working at the behest of the FBI entered a Zurich luxury hotel and walked out with some of the most powerful people in global soccer. Subsequent indictments by the U.S. Justice Department, built off a multi-year FBI investigation of corruption in soccer, led within months to the downfall of FIFA President Sepp Blatter after 17 years in the post.
Now 89 and suspended by FIFA from official soccer, Blatter has emerged in a new role: as a gadfly critic of his successor, Gianni Infantino, who has assiduously courted President Donald Trump ahead of the first World Cup that will be spread across three countries. Last week Infantino participated in the inaugural meeting of Trump’s Board of Peace while wearing a red USA baseball cap, not long after awarding Trump a specially invented FIFA Peace Prize — activities that Infantino’s opponents both inside and outside FIFA say violate the organization’s rules about political neutrality. (The International Olympic Committee, of which Infantino is a member, has cleared him of wrongdoing.).
The Swiss-born Blatter, who was acquitted of fraud charges in a ruling upheld last year by a Swiss court, spoke recently to the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, to which POLITICO belongs.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/27/fifa-is-a-dictatorship-a-former-fifa-president-lashes-out-at-his-successors-trump-ties-00802745
MN-SEN: Harrison endorses Flanagan in Minnesota Senate race
Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Jaime Harrison is backing Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) in the Democratic primary against Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) to succeed retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.).
“Peggy and I share a deep understanding of what it means to grow up in homes that had to stretch every dollar and lean on their communities to get by. We were both raised by strong, loving families who taught us the value of hard work, service, and never forgetting where you came from,” Harrison said in a statement shared through Flanagan’s campaign on Friday.
“We need more leaders like that in Washington,” he added.
Flanagan, in her own statement, said she was “honored” to have the former DNC chair’s endorsement.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5758661-jaime-harrison-backs-peggy-flanagan/
Mamdani's Gift for Trump: A Front Page Celebrating the President
It was diplomacy through arts and crafts. It was a master class in political psychology, the specific savvy of one New Yorker who knows a son of Queens’s love of a tabloid front page.
There stood Mayor Zohran Mamdani, relatively straight-faced with just a hint of impish smile. At his side in the Oval Office sat the president of the United States, beaming.
Mr. Mamdani went to Washington on Thursday carrying props: two mock-ups of a Daily News front page, one with the famous headline that recorded President Gerald Ford’s snubbing of New York at a moment of crisis and the other with a new faux headline celebrating the current president.
“Ford to City: Drop Dead” read the headline from 1975. Thursday’s version was tailor-made for a president whose name is emblazoned on New York skyscrapers: “Trump to City: Let’s Build.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/nyregion/mamdani-trump-photo-newspapers.html
Wyoming Senate rejects post-election audit bill on third reading
CHEYENNE — Another bill aimed at changing the way Wyoming conducts its elections was shot down Thursday by the state Senate after calls to hit the brakes on the measure came from Wyoming county clerks.
Although House Bill 85 received approval from the House, it could not make its way through the Senate on third and final reading, and died on a 9-21 vote.
HB 85 sought to mandate that county clerks take formal minutes during post-election audits and provide those records to the Secretary of State’s Office. It also required the presence of at least two electors from different political parties to observe the audit procedures and results, giving them the legal authority to register “observed errors or other objections.”
The bill would have codified a more rigid structure for public and political observation than currently exists in state statute.
https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/wyoming-senate-rejects-post-election-audit-bill-on-third-reading/article_1fe4efb3-cc2e-495a-b729-047c4f76f56c.html
Staples-Motley Referendum 2026 Election Guide
STAPLES — The Staples-Motley School District is asking voters to approve $42.5 million in bonds to address a long list of maintenance and design needs impacting students' safety, education and extracurriculars.
The district said it has spent months gathering community and professional feedback on its plan to renovate, update and expand its facilities ahead of the April 14 election.
There's no one major project the money would go toward. Rather, the referendum would help pay for the laundry list of issues that come with facilities that are, on average, over 50 years old, like outdated brickwork and roofing and undersized classrooms.
The district has highlighted the need for new career and technical education spaces. Classes in welding, woodworking, automotive technology, machining and meat cutting are highly sought after by students, but a lack of space and outdated equipment limit educational opportunities.
https://www.kaxe.org/elections/2026-02-26/staples-motley-referendum-2026-election-guide-what-to-know
Tybee mayor proposes election system change
TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WSAV) — Tybee Island city officials discussed the possibility of how residents are able to vote in the future on Thursday.
A referendum to amend the city’s revised elections procedure was on Thursday’s city council agenda but was removed. The reason they took it out was because some city leaders wanted more time to review the topic.
City of Tybee Mayor Brian West proposed a referendum to change the way the city council election system works. Currently the top three people with the most votes get a seat.
Now, West is proposing a change to make each seat a position, meaning residents would vote for three specific seats.
https://www.wsav.com/news/local-news/tybee-mayor-proposes-election-system-change/
Douglas County Election Commissioner announces polling place changes for May's primary election
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Neb. — Heads up Douglas County voters: your voting location may have changed.
Information can be found on the Douglas County Election Commission's website.
The Douglas County Election Commission said up to 7% of polling places are affected.
The changes are due to construction, scheduling conflicts and changes in building ownership.
https://www.ketv.com/article/douglas-county-polling-place-changes-may-primary-election/70521480
Syracuse GOP candidate charged with campaign finance fraud, must repay taxpayers $238K
A former candidate for New York state Senate in Syracuse must pay back $238,000 in public campaign matching funds after cheating taxpayers in a massive election fraud scheme, a state investigation has concluded.
Caleb Slater, a Republican who lost his bid for the 48th Senate District seat in 2024, is accused of giving donors gift cards in exchange for contributions and falsely attributing some contributions to fake donors.
Those donations fraudulently inflated the share of public matching funds Slater received for his campaign by more than $61,000, according to a notice of enforcement from the New York Public Campaign Finance Board.
The notice, obtained by syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, said the board is seeking a total of $286,052 in penalties and repayments from Slater for violations of election law and the state’s public campaign matching funds program.
https://www.syracuse.com/politics/cny/2026/02/syracuse-gop-candidate-charged-with-campaign-finance-fraud-must-repay-taxpayers-238k.html
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