RandySF
RandySF's JournalSouth Africa's top court rules former President Zuma banned from election.
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - The Constitutional Court in South Africa has ruled that former President Jacob Zuma cannot run for parliament, just 9 days before what's being seen as the most pivotal vote in South Africa's 30 years of democracy.
It's a significant blow for Zuma and his new uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which is named after the former armed wing of his previous party, the ruling African National Congress. The MK was counting on the 82-year-old's popularity in his home province in KwaZulu Natal to boost their votes.
Zuma was greeted by ecstatic crowds at the MK's manifesto launch rally in Soweto's Orlando Stadium this weekend. The MK has surprised many by polling consistently at 10 percent ahead of next week's election - mainly at the expense of the his former party, the ruling ANC and the radical Economic Freedom Fighters party lead by Julius Malema.
The Electoral Commission had gone to the top court arguing that due to a 15-month prison sentence Zuma was handed in 2021 for contempt of court, the constitution barred him from running for office. The judges, in their ruling on Monday, agreed.
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/20/1252420555/jacob-zuma-banned-from-running-in-south-africas-election
Dominican Republic's President Abinader wins resounding re-election
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader clinched a second term in office with a commanding election win, endorsing his handling of the economy and tough policies toward migration from Haiti, results showed Monday.
The two nations share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, but the much more prosperous Dominican Republic stands in stark contrast to its poverty and gang violence-plagued neighbor.
Abinader’s rivals quickly conceded defeat after Sunday’s vote, with a little over half of ballots counted handing him 51.74 percent of the total. His nearest competitor, former president Leonel Fernandez, had scored 29.34 percent.
The president’s Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) was also headed for a majority in Congress.
https://www.fox28spokane.com/dominican-republics-president-abinader-wins-resounding-re-election/
Right-Wing Groups Appeal Maryland Election Administration Decision to 4th Circuit
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A radical challenge to Maryland’s election administration will now go before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after right-wing groups appealed the dismissal of their case.
On May 8, just in time for the state’s May 14 primary election, a federal judge dismissed a longshot case seeking to upend election administration in Maryland. Filed on behalf of Maryland Election Integrity and United Sovereign Americans — a right-wing group that identifies itself as trying to “get answers to clear questions about election fraud” — the case challenges the state’s voter roll maintenance policies and use of voting machines.
The lawsuit goes as far as requesting that the court prevent the Maryland Board of Elections from certifying any election until the groups’ claims of irregularities and other perceived violations were remedied. The district court declined that request, so now the right-wing plaintiffs are asking the 4th Circuit to consider their case.
In the dismissal of the far-flung challenge, the district court judge found that the plaintiffs lacked the ability to bring their lawsuit and failed to show that the groups would be harmed by the state’s election procedures. “Here, the mere hypothetical possibility of a past, speculative injury,” the judge wrote of the groups’ claims, “does not give rise to a certainly impending injury.”
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/right-wing-groups-appeal-maryland-election-administration-decision-to-4th-circuit/
Pennsylvania school district's decision to cut song from student concert raises concerns
ROARING SPRING, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania school district’s decision to remove a song from a recent student choral concert has divided the community and spurred a review by a civil rights group.
“ Lift Every Voice And Sing,” a late-19th century hymn sometimes referred to as the Black national anthem, was among several songs that were to be performed during the May 7 show by the Spring Cove Middle School chorus. The Altoona Mirror reported that district officials cut the song the day before the concert, saying students had voiced concerns about the song and the “divisiveness and controversy in the nation.”
The district also received several calls from people regarding the song and its inclusion in the concert, officials said. This raised concerns about potential disruptions at the show.
School Board President Troy Wright called the decision a “lose-lose situation” and said parents were threatening to pull their children from the concert over the song.
https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-school-concert-song-removed-65a4849785f77fceb1782b9b0998d6f3?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share
Sherrill (D-NJ) campaigned in Michigan this weekend for Biden, Slotkin (D)
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) went to the battleground state of Michigan this weekend as a surrogate for President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and to stump for one of her closest friends in Congress, Elissa Slotkin, who is seeking an open U.S. Senate seat.
Sherrill was the keynote speaker at the Livingston County Democrats 2024 Winans Dinner as Biden’s representative.
“With so many fundamental freedoms at stake in this election, I was thrilled to campaign in battleground Michigan for President Biden and my dear friend and colleague Elissa Slotkin,” Sherrill said. “We’ve seen the attacks on New Jersey with Trump’s tax plan capping SALT and his efforts which overturned Roe v. Wade. Michigan is no different – six automotive plants, including one in Michigan, were shuttered during his presidency.”
Michigan’s sixteen electoral votes are critical for both candidates in the November presidential election. A New York Times/Siena poll released last Monday has the race in Michigan statistically tied, with Biden leading Donald Trump by only one percentage point, 47%-46%.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/sherrill-campaigned-in-michigan-this-weekend-for-biden-slotkin/
NJ: Longtime ELEC lawyer will be new executive director
The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission is expected to select Amanda S. Haines, a 19-year veteran of the campaign watchdog agency, as its new executive director.
She will become the first woman to lead the 51-year-old commission, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed.
Brindle announced his retirement last summer after fourteen years as executive director. That came five months after Gov. Phil Murphy had sought to oust him over an email sent to a staffer last fall that mocked National Coming Out Day.
Haines joined ELEC in 2005 after graduating from Temple University Law School, and served as deputy legal director before becoming acting director following the departure of Demery Roberts. She is a Hammonton native and a graduate of Princeton University.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/campaigns/longtime-elec-lawyer-will-be-new-executive-director/
NYC: Epstein to declare run for Council
The Democratic mayoral primary isn’t the only 2025 election that’s heating up. Flanked by two former representatives of the district, Democratic Assembly Member Harvey Epstein will officially declare his candidacy for City Council District 2 – the block stretching from the Lower East Side to Kips Bay currently represented by term-limited Council Member Carlina Rivera – at a press conference Saturday.
Epstein’s bid to represent the district – which overlaps with his current Assembly district – was expected since last week, when his registration was reported. In addition to former Council Members Margarita Lopez and Rosie Mendez, Epstein is announcing a slate of endorsements from tenant association presidents and other local leaders, including several district leaders. The endorsements from tenant association leaders suggests Epstein’s campaign will highlight progressive credentials, including his work on housing issues and prior role as a tenant member of the Rent Guidelines Board.
Epstein, who joined the Assembly in 2018, already has competition in the primary, including from Manhattan Community Board 3 Chair Andrea Gordillo and Vice Chair Sarah Batchu.
https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2024/05/epstein-declare-run-council/396693/
In chaotic close, Minnesota lawmakers fail to pass projects bill, equal rights amendment
he Minnesota Legislature stumbled toward a tumultuous end late Sunday night in a chorus of shouting and snap votes in a final day sure to damage the ability of the parties to work in concert in the future.
Lawmakers wrapped up their last day of voting without approving a substantial borrowing plan to pay for construction projects or one to put an equal rights amendment before voters. The House will reconvene Monday for retirement speeches and other formalities before breaking for the year.
In an unprecedented display of discord, shouting rang through both chambers for much of the last hour — “Point of order!” “Follow the rules!” “You are out of line!” “This is not Russia!” “Absolutely shameful!” — with Democrats trying to speed up votes over the vociferous objections of Republicans. The presiding officers were shouted down but ignored the calls to stop the votes.
“Tensions are always high,” said Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, after enduring 30 minutes of interrupted yelling about his refusal to recognize Republican motions.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/05/19/in-chaotic-close-minnesota-lawmakers-fail-to-pass-projects-bill-equal-rights-amendment
Milwaukee Dems prepare for special showdown
After a months-long wait, the special election to fill a heavily Democratic state Senate seat in the Milwaukee area is set.
Scheduled for July 30, the election will fill the vacancy created by Lena Taylor, a longtime state senator who was appointed by Gov. Tony Evers to a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judgeship in January.
The outcome of the race will likely be determined by the results of a July 2 primary, given that the district is more than 80% Democratic.
The Democratic primary currently features two members of the Assembly: Reps. Dora Drake and LaKeshia Myers — two of more than a dozen Assembly Democrats retiring or seeking other offices.
https://wisconsinwatch.org/2024/05/milwaukee-wisconsin-senate-special-election-democrat-drake-myers/
Katie Britt introduces bill to punish low-income Americans if a states block IVF.
WASHINGTON — Two Republican U.S. senators have teamed up to try to prevent states from banning in vitro fertilization, months after the Alabama state Supreme Court upended access to the procedure by ruling fertilized embryos were children under state law.
Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama and Ted Cruz of Texas introduced a three-page bill on Monday that would cut off a state’s Medicaid funding if that state were to bar in vitro fertilization.
“As a mom, I know firsthand that there is no greater blessing than our children, and IVF helps families across our nation experience the joyous miracle of life, grow, and thrive,” Britt wrote in a statement. “This commonsense piece of legislation affirms both life and liberty — family and freedom, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact it into law.”
Cruz wrote that “IVF has given miraculous hope to millions of Americans, and it has given families across the country the gift of children.”
https://alabamareflector.com/2024/05/20/u-s-sen-katie-britt-introduces-bill-to-end-a-states-medicaid-funding-if-it-blocks-ivf/
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