RandySF
RandySF's JournalArizona Republicans Are Divided Over Abortion. For Progressives, This Is a Political Opportunity.
he Arizona Supreme Court resurrected its zombie pre-statehood criminal abortion ban earlier this month, which is slated to go into effect as early as June. In doing so, the Arizona court effectively nullified the state’s 2022 15-week gestational limit ban, claiming it did not “actually create a right to abortion, and therefore did not supersede or modify the territorial law.”
Cloaking the result in arcane rules of statutory construction, the court’s true guiding compass appears to have been Arizona’s fetal personhood statute which confers upon “the unborn child … all rights, privileges and immunities available to other persons.”
A majority of registered voters in Arizona believe abortion should be legal, according to recent polls. The resurrection of this zombie law, which took many by surprise, has sent Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion activists in the state into a strategic tailspin as they seek to stymie widespread outrage over the decision and voters’ potential to transform Arizona into a state that prioritizes reproductive freedom during the November elections.
The U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) presents a crucial race, which Republicans believe may be their best chance to flip the Senate. The race is almost certain to be between Democratic hopeful Ruben Gallego and far-right Republican nominee Kari Lake. When Lake was running for governor of Arizona in 2022, TIME magazine characterized her as the “new face of the MAGA right,” and more recently, she told supporters we “are going to put on the armor of God [and] maybe strap on a Glock on the side of us, just in case.”
https://msmagazine.com/2024/04/22/arizona-republicans-abortion/
Supreme Court Denies Bid to Expand No-excuse Mail-In Ballots in Texas
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a legal challenge to a Texas law that requires voters under the age of 65 to provide justification to vote by mail, meaning that the Democrat-aligned attempt to sharply expand “no-excuse” mail-in ballots in the Lone Star state has failed, with implications for other states.
According to an April 22 order list, the high court denied petition for a writ of cetriorari in a case that stems from a federal lawsuit filed in 2020 on behalf of the Texas Democratic Party and several voters who requested that Texas lift its age-based limitations on no-excuse mail-in voting.
Texas law only allows individuals to vote by mail without a qualifying excuse, like sickness, if they are 65 years or older. In their original complaint, which made its way through a number of lower courts before ending up before the Supreme Court, the petitioners alleged that the Texas voting law violates the 26th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits denying the right to vote due to age.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the appeal means that the Texas law stays in place, delivering a win to election integrity advocates who argue that no-excuse mail-in voting is prone to fraud and makes elections less secure.
https://www.ntd.com/supreme-court-denies-bid-to-expand-no-excuse-mail-in-ballots-in-texas_987828.html
Republicans Are Suing for the Right To Harass Election Workers
You might think that even in today’s highly polarized election environment there would be a bipartisan consensus to protect election workers from intimidation and harassment. If you thought so, you would be wrong. In recent weeks, there have been a series of lawsuits aimed at undoing protections for election workers.
Nevada recently enacted a new Election Worker Protection Law to combat the increasing threats faced by election workers. The law, which passed the Legislature unanimously and was signed by the Republican governor, makes it a crime “to use or threaten or attempt to use any force, intimidation, coercion, violence, restraint or undue influence with the intent to interfere with the performance of the duties of any elections official relating to an election; or retaliate against any elections official for performing duties relating to an election.”
Shortly after the law was enacted, the Republican Party’s failed 2022 attorney general candidate — who is currently a Republican National Committeewoman — filed a lawsuit to block the law. Her argument is that the law violates her First Amendment rights and is too vague to understand.
https://www.democracydocket.com/opinion/republicans-are-suing-for-the-right-to-harass-election-workers/
Kristi Noem Refuses to Say Whether She Would Have Certified the Election on Jan. 6
Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, a potential vice-presidential pick for former President Donald J. Trump, refused to say on Sunday whether she would have certified the 2020 election if she had been in Vice President Mike Pence’s position. She also dodged questions about whether she supported exceptions to abortion bans for rape and incest.
“You can go back and keep talking about Jan. 6, but the fact of the matter is that was a day we hope we never see again here in this country,” Ms. Noem said on CNN. “We did not do justice by our country by showing and fighting over that day. We should focus on our freedoms and continue to uphold our Constitution. So talking in hypotheticals is not something that I do.”
When the interviewer, Dana Bash, pressed her on whether Mr. Pence had been wrong to certify the election results, Ms. Noem again avoided a direct answer, instead criticizing Mr. Pence for denouncing Mr. Trump after Jan. 6.
“I wasn’t in Mike Pence’s shoes, and the information that he had at that time — I don’t know how he based his decisions,” she said. “I think he’s a nice man. I think that he’s failed Donald Trump since that day, because he certainly does not recognize that we need someone in the White House who needs him out on the trail advocating for him, instead of constantly criticizing and going back and ripping him apart.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/21/us/politics/kristi-noem-jan6-abortion.html
Tony Evers weighs in on security threats facing Wisconsin elections chief Meagan Wolfe
WAUNAKEE – As former President Donald Trump targets the state's top election official with false accusations about the 2020 election, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said state officials will do all they can to protect her safety while acknowledging the presumptive GOP nominee's First Amendment rights.
"First of all, he's making accusations that are nothing but a freakin’ lie. And then second of all, he's the guy that has the biggest megaphone in the world," Evers said Monday following an Earth Day event at Governor Nelson State Park. "And so how would anybody that's watching today feel about Donald Trump doing something like that to them? It's just irrational."
Trump's decision to attack Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe came as Evers had already added security measures for the state's chief election administrator in light of continued threats against her, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel previously reported.
Asked whether the state Department of Justice would get involved, Evers said, "if it gets bad enough, certainly we must."
"At some point in time, maybe there's something we can do," Evers said, noting that Trump's speech is still protected by the First Amendment. "It's tough, but we'll keep (Wolfe) protected the best way possible."
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2024/04/22/evers-weighs-in-on-security-for-elections-chief-meagan-wolfe/73413049007/
DA Krasner Activates Election Task Force To Protect Philadelphia's Voters
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has opted to activate the Election Task Force ahead of Pennsylvania’s Primary elections.
DA Larry Krasner along with other Philadelphia city officials including but not limited to, City Commissioner Omar Sabir, PPD Commissioner Kevin Bethel, and Managing Director Adam Thiel, gathered at the Independence Visitor Center to speak on the importance of safety in the Pennsylvania Primaries.
Officials warned all voters to pay attention at their polling locations and to report any irregularities to the Election Task hotline at 215-686-9641.
“I’m grateful to the prosecutors and detectives of the DAO’s Election Task Force who investigate and resolve complaints lodged by Philadelphia voters each and every election,” said DA Krasner. “Between our ETF, the City Commissioner’s Office, the Philadelphia Police Department and other law enforcement partners, and the hardworking and dedicated poll workers who volunteer each year, voters can rest assured that their vote will count. That’s why I urge ALL Philadelphians to go to the polls tomorrow and VOTE.”
https://phl17.com/phl17-news/da-krasner-activates-election-task-force-to-protect-philadelphias-voters/
PA: Federal election monitors will observe Luzerne County primary election
Observers from the U.S. Department of Justice will monitor Luzerne County’s primary election on Tuesday, county Manager Romilda Crocamo announced Monday.
The Justice Department also assigned observers to monitor the county’s general election in November 2022, which was marred by a shortage of ballot paper.
As in the 2022 election, county officials will not grant permission for federal monitors to be stationed inside polling places, Crocamo said.
The observers will remain outside polling sites, she said.
“Denial for interior access stemmed from concerns raised by multiple county officials that the presence of monitors inside could be disruptive or create the appearance of intimidation,” Crocamo wrote in an email to county council and election officials.
https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/election/federal-election-monitors-will-observe-luzerne-county-primary-election/article_27ab27a5-380f-5fb1-ad9a-53dcc137ebd9.html
Voters in northeast India return to polls after violence disrupts first day of election
GUWAHATI, India — Voters at a handful of polling places in a northeastern Indian state went back to the polls amid tight security Monday after violence disrupted the vote last week.
Indian election authorities voided the results at 11 of Manipur state’s nearly 3,000 polling stations after armed men damaged election machines during the first day of voting in national elections Friday.
State officials said that at at least six of the stations, armed men broke the electronic voting machines, which citizens use to cast their ballots.
Manipur has been wracked by ethnic violence between the state’s two dominant ethnic groups since May 2023. Around 200 people have been killed and more than 60,000 displaced as mobs have rampaged through villages and torched houses.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-04-22/some-voters-in-northeast-india-go-back-to-the-polls-after-violence-disrupts-first-day-of-election
Modi accused of 'hate speech' toward India's Muslims in election rally
Political opponents accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “hate speech” after an address during an election rally when he seemingly cast Muslims as taking the wealth of other Indians.
Modi, 73, told a rally in Rajasthan on Sunday that when the opposition Indian National Congress party held power in India, “they said Muslims have the first right over the country’s resources.”
If the Congress party returns to power, “they will gather all your wealth and distribute it among those who have more children,” Modi said in a comment widely interpreted as referring to Muslim Indians. “They will distribute it among the infiltrators,” he continued.
“Do you think your hard-earned money should be given to infiltrators?” Modi added, to applause.
Modi’s remarks referenced a pledge in 2006 by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the Congress party, who outlined the need to financially empower India’s minorities.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/22/modi-india-muslims-infiltrators/
Spain: Basque separatists make historic gains but fail to win election outright
A leftwing coalition of Basque separatists partly descended from the political wing of the defunct terrorist group Eta has made historic election gains in the northern Spanish region, but was pipped to first place by the ruling, centrist Basque Nationalist party (PNV).
Although polls had suggested EH Bildu’s transformation into a “catch-all party” through its focus on issues such as housing and healthcare would allow it to leapfrog the PNV, the predicted sharp rise failed to materialise.
The PNV won 27 seats and 35.2% of the vote, while Bildu won 27 seats and 32.5% of the vote. The regional branch of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE), took 12 seats and 14.2% of the vote, while the conservative People’s party (PP) finished fourth with seven seats and 9.2% of the vote.
The leftwing Sumar platform – the junior partner in the national, PSOE-led coalition – won one seat, as did the far-right Vox party. The leftwing Podemos party suffered another electoral disaster, losing all of the six seats it won four years ago.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/22/basque-separatists-make-historic-gains-but-fail-to-win-election-outright-spain
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