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RandySF's JournalPaige Bueckers pledges $50,000 to help children and families in Minneapolis area.
Paige Bueckers, the burgeoning WNBA superstar from Hopkins, has pledged a $50,000 matching donation to the Hopkins Strong Relief Fund to support children and families struggling with “the heightened stress and uncertainty” in her home state.
Bueckers was the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year last summer after averaging 19.2 points, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals in her first professional season with the Dallas Wings. The Hopkins Education Foundation announced Bueckers’ donation in a release Thursday.
Hopkins Strong is a partnership between the Hopkins Education Foundation and the ICA Food Shelf to support the Hopkins Public Schools community. According to the release, Hopkins Education Foundation has raised $50,000 “and, with Paige’s help, hopes to reach $250,000 total to provide ongoing support.”
“With families in Paige’s childhood school district (especially immigrant families) facing food insecurity and struggling with rent and utilities due to the heightened stress and uncertainty in our state, Paige committed her matching donation to the #HopkinsStrong Relief Fund this week,” Hopkins Education Foundation said in its release.
https://www.twincities.com/2026/01/22/paige-buckers-pledges-50000-to-help-children-and-families-in-hopkins/
Tri-Cities school districts seek levy renewals in February election
TRI-CITIES, Wash. — Ballots for the Feb. 10 special election in Benton and Franklin counties are on their way to voters, with all three Tri-Cities school districts—Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland—seeking renewal levies.
These levies, which currently provide 10 to 20 percent of the school districts' budgets, are set to expire. Dr. Joey Castilleja, executive of fiscal services for the Pasco School District, noted, "It's only allowed to be used on things that aren't funded by the state, so an example of this is a big one that people often think about easily is athletics. There is no money that comes in from the state or anywhere else, for that matter, to fund an athletic program, and so our local dollars go right into things like that."
If the levies aren't approved, all three districts would have to make cuts from things not paid for by Washington state, including security, athletics, and other extracurricular activities.
Lance Hansen, superintendent of the Kennewick School District, emphasized the importance of the levies, stating, "One, it's a replacement of expiring levies... And two, it fills the gap between what we receive and what we need to ensure our kids have the appropriate supports, opportunities, and safety so that they can be well prepared for success—post-secondary education, work, and life."
https://keprtv.com/news/local/tri-cities-school-districts-seek-levy-renewals-in-february-election
Early voting kicks off Saturday for Feb. 7 primary election
LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Some voters in Southwest Louisiana will be able to cast their votes early for the seat of Dist. 37 State Representative starting on Saturday.
The seat opened up when former State Rep. Troy Romero submitted his resignation in December 2025.
The early voting period runs Saturday, Jan. 24 through Saturday, Jan. 31 (excluding Sunday, Jan. 25) from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office.
To find out where you can vote early by parish, click HERE or contact your parish’s registrar of voter’s office.
https://www.kplctv.com/2026/01/23/early-voting-kicks-off-saturday-feb-7-primary-election/
Republican lawmakers seek opinion of Arizona Supreme Court on election canvassing
PHOENIX — The state’s top two Republican lawmakers are asking the Supreme Court to rule that county supervisors don’t have to accept the vote total figures they get from election officials.
In a new filing, attorneys for Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Steve Montenegro argue that supervisors have “discretion’’ to determine whether to certify the vote tallies as official. To rule otherwise, they said, would “transform the boards into rubber stamps.’’
The pair are specifically suing Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.
He produced an Elections Procedure Manual which said that the duty of the supervisors, in essence, is strictly ministerial: Take the report given to them by the county employees who have run the election and declare them valid. What makes that important is the manual has the force of law, complete with criminal penalties for violations.
https://www.pinalcentral.com/arizona_news/republican-lawmakers-seek-opinion-of-arizona-supreme-court-on-election-canvassing/article_e7dd547e-834f-4db4-82e4-372d9fd92cd7.html
TX-18: Early voting Sunday for District 18 special election canceled because of weather
HOUSTON — Early voting for the Congressional District 18 special runoff election will be suspended Sunday because of severe winter weather, the Harris County Clerk’s Office announced.
County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth said all early vote centers will remain open Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but will close Sunday, Jan. 25.
“The safety of employees, election workers, and voters is my top priority,” Hudspeth said. “I strongly encourage voters who are eligible to participate in this election to cast their ballots today and Saturday.”
It’s all because of a winter storm that will begin affecting the region Saturday evening and continue into early next week.
https://www.khou.com/article/weather/early-voting-sunday/285-d4ed8df6-d67c-4485-b9aa-82351631bb58
Labor, business on collision course for June ballot battle over taxes
The likelihood of a business-vs.-labor tax-policy duel at the June ballot box is rising as the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and its allies have settled on a tax-cut initiative, while unions push forward with their own effort to get voters to increase The City’s Overpaid Executive Tax.
The outcome could significantly affect city finances — backers of the union-sponsored measure say that it would add about $200 million a year into The City’s coffers, but The City could lose tax revenue if the business-backed measure wins.
The union-backed Stand Up for SF coalition has already collected the 10,643 valid signatures it needs to qualify its “Overpaid CEO Act” for the ballot, according to coalition spokesperson Scott Mann. He said the campaign will celebrate the milestone Wednesday at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. The Chamber of Commerce-led group has until Feb. 2 to submit its signatures.
Mann said the increase to the Overpaid Executive Tax is needed to prevent cuts to essential public services, largely as a result of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by President Donald Trump in July. Among other provisions, the law includes historically large cuts to Medicaid that the City Controller said will cost San Francisco more than $200 million per year by 2027-28.
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/politics/sf-overpaid-executive-tax-june-2026-ballot-battle/article_756cd74f-7b47-450a-beb9-4da371f3275a.html
Early Voting for NYS Senate Seat on West Side Postponed
The special election for the New York State Senate seat on the West Side of Manhattan in District 47 which pits Democrat Erik Bottcher against Republican Charlotte Friedman has postponed the start of early voting on Sunday, Jan. 25.
In making the announcement to postpone that race and two others in the city–including the race for the NYS Assembly seat held by Zohran Mamdani before he took office as Mayor–Hochul said the second day of early voting on Monday Jan. 26 could be postponed as well, depending on the severity of the storm.
The district includes Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen as well as parts of Greenwich Village and part of the UWS up to W. 113th St.
Bottcher, the incumbent city council member from that side of Manhattan, has picked up a slew of endorsements from other leading Dems in his run for NYS Senate including Congressman Jerry Nadler, comptroller Mark Levine, City Council speaker Julie Menin, Democratic majority leader in the city council Shaun Abreu and upper west side assembly member Micha Lasher. Botthcer, who is gay is running with strong support from the LBGTQ+ community and is running on a platform stressing affordability, addressing mental health crisis, environmentalism and defense of democracy.
https://www.otdowntown.com/news/early-voting-for-nys-senate-seat-on-west-side-postponed-NF5502582
New lawsuit claims Alaska's description of a proposed elections ballot measure is biased
Supporters of Alaska’s election system filed a lawsuit against the Alaska Division of Elections on Thursday, alleging that the state’s description of a roll-back-the-clock ballot measure is biased and inaccurate.
The state has defended its language, with a spokesperson calling it “accurate, neutral, and consistent with prior initiatives.”
This fall, voters will be asked with Ballot Measure 2 if they want to return Alaska’s election system to what it was in 2020. The state’s description would be printed on ballots alongside the measure.
Until 2020, political parties determined who could vote and run in primary elections, voters were required to pick just one candidate in the general election, and people could donate secretly to nonprofits that could then pass money to candidates.
https://alaskabeacon.com/2026/01/23/new-lawsuit-claims-alaskas-description-of-a-proposed-elections-ballot-measure-is-biased/
Judge rejects election challenge, upholds Orlando Commissioner Rose's November win
ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando commissioner received a welcome piece of news to end their week after a judge threw out a challenge to their November election win.
Chief Judge Lisa Munyon ruled now-former commissioner Regina Hill presented no evidence to support her claims that Rose’s supporters bribed voters in their efforts to battle Hill’s comeback bid.
https://www.wftv.com/news/local/judge-rejects-election-challenge-upholds-orlando-commissioner-roses-november-win/2IPVY6XLDRDETE7K3ZFV266AZ4/?outputType=amp
Chester County pollbook mishap resulted from human error and flawed systems, report finds
Human error was the primary cause of a pollbook printing issue that forced thousands of voters in Chester County, Pennsylvania, to cast provisional ballots in the 2025 municipal election, according to a report by outside investigators.
Early on on Nov. 4, 2025, voters and election officials realized that the pollbooks — the printed voter lists used to check people in at polling places — didn’t include the names of Chester County’s more than 75,000 unaffiliated and third-party voters. Those voters had to either wait for supplemental pollbooks to be delivered or use a provisional ballot, an option used when there is some question about a voter’s eligibility.
According to the report — from West Chester-based law firm Fleck Eckert Klein McGarry LLC and released Thursday by the county — the “two inexperienced employees” who generated the pollbook files mistakenly selected the option to include “only voters from the major parties.” The report said the employees had “limited election experience, no formal SURE system training, and no direct supervision during a critical task performed under compressed statutory deadlines.” SURE, or the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors, is Pennsylvania’s voter registration database.
As a result of the error, about 12,600 provisional ballots were cast in the county, accounting for roughly 6.4% of the county’s total vote, more than in any other election in the county’s recent history. The vast majority of the provisional ballots were counted after the county confirmed the voters’ eligibility.
https://www.votebeat.org/pennsylvania/2026/01/23/chester-county-pollbook-problem-2025-election-investigation-report-provisional-ballots/
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