RandySF
RandySF's JournalGroup wants special master in Michigan redistricting fight
DETROIT, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - There's an update on Michigan's redistricting fight.
A lawsuit by leaders of Detroit's Black community is fighting for fairness in Detroit's House and Senate districts.
This comes after a federal judge ruled those 13 new districts, violate the law by disenfranchising black voters.
Michigan's independent Citizens Redistricting Commission began drawing the new districts after the 2020 census, and they were used in the 2022 election.
Three of those commissioners resigned in the past week.
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/michigan-detroit-redistrciting-community-citizens-commission-master-voters/
Presidential election in Senegal: 79 candidates register their candidacies
Seventy-nine people filed their candidacy for the February 2024 presidential election in Senegal before the deadline of Tuesday evening (midnight local time and GMT), according to the Senegalese daily Le Soleil.
The number of applications submitted to the Constitutional Council has not been made public, but Le Soleil explains that the Caisse des dépôts et consignations, the body that receives the deposit cheques of 30 million FCFA (45,000 euros) required to run for the presidency, received 79 applications.
The applications include those of the main favourites for the 25 February 2024 election: Amadou Ba, a member of the ruling coalition and Senegal's current prime minister, imprisoned opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall, Karim Wade (son of former president Abdoulaye Wade) and Idrissa Seck, who came second in the 2019 presidential election.
President since 2012, Macky Sall announced in July that he would not run for another term. He has appointed Amadou Ba to represent the majority.
https://www.africanews.com/2023/12/27/presidential-election-in-senegal-79-candidates-register-their-candidacies/
China threatens more Taiwan sanctions weeks before presidential election
China threatened to impose further trade sanctions against Taiwan as the island’s pro-independence ruling party continues to lead in the polls ahead of the Jan. 13 presidential election.
Last week, China announced it was ending tariff cuts on some chemical imports from Taiwan, leading Taipei to accuse Beijing of election interference just weeks ahead of a vote that will define its future relationship with China.
The Democratic Progressive Party’s William Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s current vice president, is currently leading in the polls. His opponent, the mayor of New Taipei City, has sought to cast Lai as ardently pro-independence, which he argues is sure to lead to war. China’s latest statement that it could impose more tariffs if Lai insists on a pro-independence stance is “the first official confirmation from Beijing that political considerations were behind” the recent trade announcements, the South China Morning Post wrote.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping recently reiterated his stance that the “reunification” of Taiwan with China is “inevitable.” Beijing, which sees the island as a breakaway province, announced last week that it is also lifting an import ban on Taiwanese-raised grouper fish, saying an appeal from the opposition party is responsible for the move. In this case, removing trade restrictions is part of a “carrot-and-stick strategy designed to shake up Taiwanese politics and promote the rise of a China-friendly administration in Taiwan,” Nikkei Asia reported.
https://news.yahoo.com/china-threatens-more-taiwan-sanctions-135915597.html
Serbian protesters ramp up claims of stolen election
BELGRADE — Young people and students, switching between playing football and lively dancing at a street crossing at noon in Belgrade, might fool a bystander into thinking they are just out to have a good time.
Only their placards, and occasional chants, reveal they are blocking the street to protest against what they believe are rampant irregularities in Serbia’s Dec. 17 elections, which faced unusually sharp criticism from Brussels over the need for improvements in the voting process.
On Dec. 24, anti-riot police swooped on protesters who had converged on Belgrade’s city hall and had broken windows there, beating some of the demonstrators. Following those clashes, the demonstrations show no sign of slowing this week, with thousands of people demanding the release of dozens of fellow protesters they say are in custody.
Election monitors have raised serious questions about the way the election was conducted, in an EU candidate country where firebrand populist President Aleksandar Vučić is widely accused of undermining democratic standards, press freedoms and the independence of public institutions. After the vote, the EU said it had “concern that the electoral process requires tangible improvement and further reform” and called for an investigation into the irregularities.
https://www.politico.eu/article/serbia-protesters-ramp-up-claims-stolen-election/
Man, 19, charged with stealing iPads from St. Louis Election Board
ST. LOUIS — A man has been charged in the theft of 37 iPads from a storage area at the St. Louis Election Board downtown.
Marion Jhamere Dukes, 19, faces felony stealing and burglary charges in connection with the Nov. 21 incident at the building housing the board at 300 North Tucker Boulevard, according to court records.
Dukes was being held Tuesday at the city jail downtown. Court records said Dukes' address was in Normandy.
Ben Borgmeyer, the board's Democratic elections director, said the iPads, called poll pads, are used to digitally check in voters at polling places during elections.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-courts/normandy-man-charged-with-stealing-ipads-from-st-louis-election-board/article_783865da-a43e-11ee-909b-97f9d8074762.html
Congo police disperse banned election protest
STORY: Disputes over the Dec. 20 presidential and legislative elections threaten to further destabilize Democratic Republic of Congo, which is already grappling with a security crisis in eastern areas that has hampered development in the world's top producer of cobalt and other industrial minerals and metals.
Riot police surrounded the headquarters of Martin Fayulu, one of President Felix Tshisekedi's main challengers, and used tear gas and force to disperse protesters who had gathered for Wednesday's opposition march in defiance of a government ban.
Security forces and people in and around the headquarters lobbed rocks at each other, leading to multiple injuries, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene.
https://news.yahoo.com/congo-police-disperse-banned-election-014412209.html
Hochul rejects changes to NY public campaign financing program
New York state won’t be making big changes to its brand new system for publicly financing political campaigns.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would have altered the nascent program, which is matching political donations of up to $250 to state-level candidates with public funds at rates of up to 12-to-1 for the first time this election cycle.
State lawmakers narrowly approved the bill in June, and it would have made the first $250 of larger political contributions eligible for a public match. The proposal would have also made it tougher for candidates to qualify for the taxpayer-funded program, increasing the number of donors campaigns would need to court to meet the threshold.
But good-government advocates pushed back, arguing that the changes would have diluted the public fund matching program’s entire purpose: to bolster the influence of a wider array of small donors, rather than deep-pocketed ones.
https://gothamist.com/news/hochul-rejects-changes-to-ny-public-campaign-financing-program
No Pressure, But Bucks County Democrats Tap Jim Prokopiak To Save The Party's Majority In Pennsylvania's State House
Jim Prokopiak secured the endorsement of the Bucks County Democratic Committee last week in his bid for the state representative seat in the 140th House District.
The seat, recently vacated by John Galloway, who resigned after being elected magisterial district judge for Falls Township in November, will trigger a special election February 13 that holds heightened significance if Democrats aim to retain the majority in the Pennsylvania state house.
State Representative Tina Davis, Chair of the Pennsylvania House Democratic Campaign Committee and a member of House leadership, noted the significance of the upcoming special election.
“With a 101-101 split in the PA House, this special election is critical to Democrats’ ability to maintain our majority and continue delivering for Pennsylvanians,” she said.
https://buckscountybeacon.com/2023/12/no-pressure-but-bucks-county-democrats-tap-jim-prokopiak-to-save-the-partys-majority-in-pennsylvanias-state-house/
Kohl, (D) fmr. U.S. senator, Bucks owner, dies
Herb Kohl, the millionaire grocery store owner who served four terms in the U.S. Senate and twice helped keep the NBA in Milwaukee, has died. He was 88.
The Herb Kohl Foundation today announced his passing following a brief illness.
“Throughout his life, Herb Kohl always put people first–from his employees and their families to his customers and countless charitable organizations and efforts,” said Joanne Anton, director of Giving for Herb Kohl Philanthropies. “Herb Kohl Way isn’t just the name of a street in front of the Fiserv Forum. The Herb Kohl Way perfectly sums up a legacy of humility, commitment, compromise, and kindness to countless people he worked with, served and helped along the way. Those values will live on through his Foundation.”
Kohl, who grew up in the Sherman Park neighborhood of Milwaukee, graduated from UW-Madison, earned an MBA from Harvard University and joined the Army Reserve. With his brothers, he helped build a chain of more than 50 Kohl’s grocery stores across the Midwest.
https://www.wispolitics.com/2023/kohl-u-s-senator-bucks-owner-dies/
No resignation from legislator who berated arresting officer
The North Dakota legislator who was caught on camera in a drunken tirade against police says he is “seriously mulling all aspects” of his future, but did not resign his seat in a statement posted Wednesday.
Rep. Nico Rios, R-Williston, posted a statement on X, formerly Twitter, asking for forgiveness a day after Republican leaders said he should resign.
Rios said he will seek help for alcoholism.
“Although I have no right to ask, I am appealing to you all for the help I need to get sober and repair the damage I have done,” Rios said at the end of his statement.
https://northdakotamonitor.com/briefs/no-resignation-from-legislator-who-berated-arresting-officer/
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Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit Area, MI
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