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RandySF's JournalSpencer to see special election in the coming week
SPENCER, Iowa (KCAU) — One of the two special elections in Spencer, Iowa, is just around the corner.
Residents will cast their ballots to see who will fill the vacant Ward 4 seat on the city council. Duane Bates and James Vermeer are running for the position.
The last day of absentee in-person voting at the county auditor’s office is Monday at 4:30 p.m.
Election day is April 7, with polls open from 7 a.m to 8 p.m.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/spencer-see-special-election-coming-031342194.html
Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison (R) Announces Re-Election Bid; No Challengers Yet
WENATCHEE — Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison has announced he will seek re-election, asking voters for another term leading the county’s top law enforcement agency.
In a public statement, Morrison reflected on his first term in office, thanking residents for their trust and emphasizing his commitment to serving the community with “integrity, accountability, and respect.”
“The trust you have placed in me over the past four years means more than I can fully express,” Morrison said. “I have never lost sight of the fact that this office belongs to you, and I have approached this role each day with humility and a deep sense of responsibility to serve every member of our community.”
Morrison, who has more than two decades of experience in law enforcement, said his tenure as sheriff has included strengthening partnerships and navigating challenges while maintaining a focus on fairness and constitutional policing.
https://www.yoursourceone.com/columbia_basin/chelan-county-sheriff-mike-morrison-announces-re-election-bid-no-challengers-yet/article_2fe752c9-7c91-4f20-abc8-d0223eb938e1.html
Mason mayor, council woman face possible recall over data center votes
Mason — Alaiedon Township resident Susan Elliott has been threatening a recall effort because of the Mason City Council’s consideration of a now-repealed data center ordinance, and those threats have become real for Mayor Russell Whipple and Councilwoman Elaine Ferris.
Both voted in favor of creating the new M-3 technology innovation district, which would have established rules for data centers in the city, as mentioned in the recall petition language approved by the Ingham County Election Commission on March 25.
The commission's vote kickstarted a 10-day appeal period that Whipple, at least, is not interested in pursuing.
The mayor said he is still bothered by the number of township residents who had the “chutzpah” to rise up during the City Council meetings to protest an ordinance that he said was a proactive attempt to establish guidelines for data centers and their developers.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2026/04/02/mason-mayor-whipple-council-woman-ferris-face-possible-recall-data-center-votes/89435998007/
County recorders, Republican lawmakers push for more say on elections rule book
Arizona’s county recorders, along with Republican legislative leaders, want more say in the creation of the state’s elections rulebook.
Every other year, the Arizona secretary of state is tasked with revising the Elections Procedures Manual, which outlines procedures and rules for county elections officials to implement state election laws. Its policies carry the force of law in most cases.
The secretary is required to get input on the manual from the county boards of supervisors, and the final version must get approval from the governor and attorney general before it’s published.
Arizona’s offices of secretary of state, governor and attorney general are all currently held by Democrats. The Republicans who control the Arizona Legislature took Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to court to challenge numerous changes he made to the 2023 version of the EPM, which they said conflicted with state law. The courts agreed with some, but not all of the legislators’ arguments, and set aside some of the EPM’s provisions.
https://azmirror.com/2026/04/03/county-recorders-republican-lawmakers-push-for-more-say-on-elections-rule-book/
Turning Point USA is 'ballot harvesting' -- the practice its leaders spent years demonizing
In March 2022, Tyler Bowyer, COO of Turning Point Action, the political arm of Turning Point USA, was clear: Anyone who engages in ”ballot harvesting” should be prosecuted.
The practice of third parties collecting ballots from voters and delivering them to county election officials to be counted, a strategy used by Democratic campaigns — particularly in Latino communities — has been illegal in Arizona since 2016.
Bowyer and the late Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point and its face until his murder last year, have both argued that ballot collection is a vector for cheating or stealing elections — without citing proof — often amplifying dangerous conspiracy theorists at the same time.
Such claims were the point of the movie “2000 Mules,” which was an attempt to prove that ballot collection is a vector for fraud in elections. The movie’s claims have been thoroughly debunked — even its creator has admitted the allegations are discredited.
https://azmirror.com/2026/04/03/turning-point-usa-is-ballot-harvesting-the-practice-its-leaders-spent-years-demonizing/
Turning Point USA is 'ballot harvesting' -- the practice its leaders spent years demonizing
In March 2022, Tyler Bowyer, COO of Turning Point Action, the political arm of Turning Point USA, was clear: Anyone who engages in ”ballot harvesting” should be prosecuted.
The practice of third parties collecting ballots from voters and delivering them to county election officials to be counted, a strategy used by Democratic campaigns — particularly in Latino communities — has been illegal in Arizona since 2016.
Bowyer and the late Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point and its face until his murder last year, have both argued that ballot collection is a vector for cheating or stealing elections — without citing proof — often amplifying dangerous conspiracy theorists at the same time.
Such claims were the point of the movie “2000 Mules,” which was an attempt to prove that ballot collection is a vector for fraud in elections. The movie’s claims have been thoroughly debunked — even its creator has admitted the allegations are discredited.
https://azmirror.com/2026/04/03/turning-point-usa-is-ballot-harvesting-the-practice-its-leaders-spent-years-demonizing/
NJ-12: Reynolds-Jackson (D) posts $144k 1st quarter
Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-Trenton) raised around $144,000 in the 1st quarter of 2026 and has raised $214,000 overall since launching her bid for New Jersey’s 12th congressional district, her campaign announced today.
“This is a people-powered campaign, and we’re doing the work every single day across this district,” Reynolds-Jackson said in a statement. “We have talked to people in every corner of this district, listening to their concerns, answering their calls, and working to meet their needs. That is what drives this campaign. We will keep showing up, and we are going to keep building real momentum across this district.”
Reynolds-Jackson entered the race for retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing)’s seat in November of last year, and raised $70,000 during her first month and a half in the race. Sixty-two percent of the donations she’s received were under $100, her campaign said, and 88% came from within New Jersey.
The fundraising numbers mean that Reynolds-Jackson – who has represented Trenton and its suburbs in the Assembly since 2018 and who is the near-unanimous choice of the Mercer County Democratic establishment to replace Watson Coleman – will go into the final two months of the 12th district campaign at something of a financial disadvantage.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/reynolds-jackson-posts-144k-1st-quarter-in-nj-12-race/
SEIU-UHW submits signatures for California ballot initiatives capping executive pay and requiring clinics to spend 90% o
Service Employees International Union — United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) filed signatures for two citizen initiatives that would enact laws limiting executive pay and requiring clinics to spend 90% of their revenue on patient care.
Initiative #25-0008, also referred to as the Clinic Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, would require nonprofit federally qualified health centers to spend at least 90% of their annual total revenue on expenses that advance the FQHC’s mission. The initiative defines this as the mission-spend ratio, which would be calculated annually by the California Attorney General. The mission spend ratio would apply to each clinic's first full fiscal year that begins at least six months after the initiative's approval.
The initiative would authorize the state Department of Public Health to levy penalties for failing to meet the 90% mission-spend ratio. The penalty would be equal to the difference between the 90% requirement and the amount the clinic spent on mission-related expenses in that year.
Initiative #25-0009, referred to as the Health Care Executive Compensation Act of 2026 by proponents, would create a fair compensation limit for CEOs, executives, administrators, and managers of healthcare corporations. The fair compensation limit would be $450,000 and would increase annually by 3.5% or by the yearly cost-of-living increase. Under the initiative, compensation would include salaries, bonuses, and some benefits.
https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/04/03/seiu-uhw-submits-signatures-for-california-ballot-initiatives-capping-executive-pay-and-requiring-clinics-to-spend-90-on-patient-care/
NM-SEN: Democrats are so far the only major party with a ballot-qualified candidate in the U.S. Senate general election
Voters in New Mexico will elect one member to the U.S. Senate in the general election on November 3, 2026. As of March 31, 2026, Democrats were the only major party with a ballot-qualified candidate. If a Republican candidate does not qualify, it would be the first since 1914 without candidates from both major parties on the ballot.
Larry Marker (R) submitted enough valid signatures to run as a write-in candidate in the June 2 Republican primary.
Since Marker is running as a write-in candidate, his name will not appear on the Republican primary ballot for the U.S. Senate. However, there will be a space under the office where voters can physically write in his name. For Marker's name to appear on the general election ballot, he will need to win 2,351 votes in the Republican primary.
One other candidate — Christopher Vanden Heuvel (R) — submitted signatures to have his name appear on the Republican primary ballot. However, on Feb. 10, 2026, the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office determined that Vanden Heuve did not submit enough valid signatures for his name to appear on the Republican primary ballot.
https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/04/03/democrats-are-so-far-the-only-major-party-with-a-ballot-qualified-candidate-in-the-u-s-senate-general-election-in-new-mexico/
FL-28: Florida Democrats aim to put another GOP district in play
Businessman Hector Mujica announced Thursday that he would challenge Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez in Florida’s 28th Congressional District, a Miami-area constituency Democrats hope to put in play if Donald Trump continues to alienate Latino voters.
Mujica, a longtime Google employee who most recently headed its Americas Philanthropy program, previously launched a bid for Senate last fall. That campaign didn’t generate much attention, but he’s predicting he’ll have much better luck in his new endeavor.
A day before he switched contests, Mujica’s team publicized an internal poll showing him trailing Gimenez by a 46-40 margin. That relatively narrow spread would represent a huge turnaround from 2024, when Gimenez defeated Navy veteran Phil Ehr 65-35 as Trump carried the 28th District 62-37.
But the two firms that conducted the poll early last month, EDGE Communications and MDW Communications, argued that Gimenez would be in for a very different race this fall. In a memo, the pollsters wrote that the congressman’s “nominal lead” was “built on a fragile foundation: a politically toxic environment for Republicans and a district where the defining issues — affordability and corruption — favor a challenger.”
https://www.the-downballot.com/p/morning-digest-florida-democrats-eb2
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