RandySF
RandySF's JournalMI-SEN: Michigan Senate Race Is Wide Open
A new Emerson College poll of the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan finds Mallory McMorrow at 22% support, Haley Stevens at 17% and Abdul El-Sayed at 16%.
A plurality of voters (38%) are undecided ahead of the August primary.
https://politicalwire.com/2026/01/29/michigan-senate-race-is-wide-open/
Legislation headed to SD Senate would authorize challenges to voters' citizenship
PIERRE — Doubts about a person’s citizenship status could be used to challenge their right to vote in South Dakota, if a proposal approved by a legislative committee Wednesday becomes law.
A person initiating a challenge would have to be registered to vote in the same county as the person being challenged. South Dakota’s secretary of state or a local county auditor’s office could also raise a challenge. The challenge would have to be filed with the county auditor at least 90 days before an election.
The Secretary of State’s Office, which oversees elections in South Dakota, requested the bill.
Supporters of the measure said it would strengthen voting integrity.
https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2026/01/28/legislation-headed-to-sd-senate-would-authorize-challenges-to-voters-citizenship/
Doon man cited for election misconduct
DOON—A 26-year-old Doon man was cited Monday, Jan. 26, on a charge of first-degree election misconduct.
The citing of Victory Manuel Gonzalez Pina stemmed from him “knowingly vote or attempted to vote in an election knowing himself not to be qualified” in violation of
the Iowa Code about 10 a.m. March 7, 2023, at the Doon City Office, according to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
The vote was on a $1.5 million bond measure to construct a new Doon Community Center. The measure passed with nearly 76 percent voter approval, 159-51.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=post&forum=1051
Special Election Set for Vacant Tuscaloosa City Council Seat
The specifics have been settled for a spring special election in part of Tuscaloosa to fill a vacant city council seat.
As the Thread reported, District 3 City Councilman Norman Crow was elected earlier this month to the Alabama House of Representatives, where he will replace Cynthia Almond in District 63 and speak for the Tuscaloosa area in Montgomery.
Almond, a former member of the Tuscaloosa City Council herself, left the seat after Governor Kay Ivey appointed her to lead the Alabama Public Service Commission.
In filling the vacancy, Crow left one on the city council - he was re-elected last March and three years still remain on this term. On Tuesday night, the remaining six council members approved the details of a special election to fill the empty seat.
https://tuscaloosathread.com/tuscaloosa-district-3-special-election-set/
VA-SD39: Special election set for Feb. 10 to fill Adam Ebbin's (D) Senate seat in Northern Virginia
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (7News) — A special election is coming up on Feb. 10 to fill the Virginia Senate seat being vacated by longtime lawmaker Adam Ebbin.
Ebbin, who has represented Senate District 39 since 2012, announced Jan. 7 that he’s resigning to take a job in Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration. He’ll serve as a senior advisor at the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. His resignation takes effect Feb. 18.
Before moving to the Senate, Ebbin served eight years in the House of Delegates, starting in 2004.
The special election will decide who represents a district anchored in Alexandria and stretching into parts of Arlington and Fairfax counties. About three-quarters of the district’s registered voters live in Alexandria, with the rest split between Arlington (about 14%) and Fairfax (about 11%).
https://wjla.com/news/elections/virginia-senate-special-election-adam-ebbin-democrat-republican-district-39-state-general-assembly-abigail-spanberger-ballot-alexandria-arlington-fairfax-politics-voters
'No one is making the efforts': Parents renew safety concerns as special election moves inside Buffalo school
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Kristin Barber, a parent at PS 050 North Park Community School, says the fears that she shared with the 7 News-I Team last fall remain unresolved as Election Day approaches.
Last fall, Barber spoke with I-Team investigator Ed Drantch about using public schools as polling places during school hours, arguing that opening buildings to the general public conflicts with security expansions at the school.
Now, with the special election scheduled for February 3, North Park Academy will serve as a polling site.
"No one is making the efforts to make that change," Barber said. "Instead, everyone is sacrificing the safety and regular routines of these children to just go along with the status quo and make things easier."
https://www.wkbw.com/news/i-team/no-one-is-making-the-efforts-parents-renew-safety-concerns-as-special-election-moves-inside-buffalo-school
Denton City Council election filing underway with two more newcomers entering local races
It’s been two weeks since Denton’s city secretary began accepting candidate filings from those seeking one of the five City Council seats that will be on the ballot in the May 2 election, and so far 12 candidates have filed to run for District 1 and 2, citywide Places 5 and 6 and the mayor’s seat.
The filing deadline is Feb. 13.
Most of the candidates have previously announced their intentions to campaign for office on social media, and made it official with filing. Those candidates include council member Brian Beck, former council member Chris Watts, local activist Nick Stevens, Robert J. Archer III, Denton Left co-founder Kris Cox, and Jordan Villarreal, a former Denton Planning & Zoning Commission member.
Place 6 council member Jill Jester filed for reelection. Jester won her first term in 2024.
https://dentonrc.com/news/election_2020/denton-city-council-election-filing-underway-with-two-more-newcomers-entering-local-races/article_4036396d-fe7d-45a9-a0ac-0d9bd7e22d23.html
Richland School District levies on upcoming special election ballot
RICHLAND, Wash. – The Richland School District's four-year Educational Programs & Operations and Capital Projects Technology Levies are up for a vote on Feb. 10 with significant implications for the district's funding.
Voters approved these taxes in 2022, but they are set to expire at the end of this year. They are renewals, not new taxes. The district emphasizes that the levies fund programs, services and daily school operations not covered by the state.
The Educational Programs & Operations levy, which taxes $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value, supports staffing, athletics, before and after-school programs, student support services and more. The Capital Projects Technology levy, taxing 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, funds digital curriculum, Chromebooks, classroom technology, and cybersecurity.
For an average home valued at $500,000, total taxes, including another current bond and levy, would exceed $2,200 annually. The district said these levy dollars are essential to cover funding gaps due to insufficient state funding for basic K-12 education, serving 13,000 students across 21 schools.
https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/richland-school-district-levies-on-upcoming-special-election-ballot/article_6e0ef0e7-6300-48b7-8ba7-677194972ddf.html
Is Huntington Beach's Voter ID Law Finished?
Huntington Beach residents might not see voter ID at their local polls after the California Supreme Court declined to hear the city’s arguments on why it should be allowed.
Wednesday’s denial came after an appeals court ruled the city could not move forward with requiring voters to show their ID if they voted in person, saying it wasn’t up to the city to decide that but state legislators.
“In recent years, a vigorous nationwide debate has arisen over whether voters should be required to present identification at the polls to vote,” the appeals court judges wrote in their November decision. “We are not called upon to resolve this debate.”
“Instead, this case presents us a much narrower, simpler question: is voter identification a matter of ‘integrity of the electoral process,’ which our Supreme Court has held is a matter of nationwide concern,” they continued. “We conclude it is.”
https://voiceofoc.org/2026/01/is-huntington-beachs-voter-id-law-finished/
In fiery interview, former Gov. Jerry Brown blasts SF term-limit ballot measure
Former Gov. Jerry Brown doesn’t often speak up about local issues these days. But something spurred him to break his silence this week — and it had nothing to do with Minneapolis.
Brown, 87, who lives on a ranch in Colusa County, is speaking out against a proposed San Francisco charter amendment that would bar anyone who has served two full terms as a supervisor or mayor from ever running for those offices again.
“I think a lifetime ban is a bad idea,” Brown said in a fiery phone interview with The Standard. “It’s a proposal that doesn’t deserve the dignity of the whole process of a charter amendment.”
Brown was first elected as California’s governor in 1975, serving two terms, and returned to office after winning two additional terms in the 2010s. The San Francisco proposal would not affect the governor’s office or state-level races.
https://sfstandard.com/2026/01/26/jerry-brown-term-limit/
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