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RandySF's JournalMichigan AG executes search warrants on Google and X in ongoing 2020 fake electors probe
CNN
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Google and X, formerly Twitter, recently provided hundreds of files to Michigan prosecutors for their 2020 election subversion probe, complying with search warrants that investigators obtained after CNN revealed secret social media accounts belonging to pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, who played a major role in the fake electors plot.
The previously unreported warrants gave prosecutors access to new Chesebro emails and his private direct messages on Twitter. The warrants make clear that Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is still gathering new information in her probe, nine months after she charged the state’s fake electors with forgery and other crimes for signing certificates falsely claiming Donald Trump won the state in 2020.
A top member of her team testified last week that the investigation is ongoing and that Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator in the case, which is not expected to go to trial before the November election.
Michigan is among a number of states to investigate fake electors schemes. Just last week, Arizona prosecutors filed criminal charges against the pro-Trump electors there and allies of the former president who were involved in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/29/politics/michigan-search-warrants-google-twitter-2020-fake-electors/index.html
17 GOP Attorneys General Throw a Fit Over Pregnant Workers Having Rights
Earlier this month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its final rules for how the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, passed in 2022, will be enforced. Among those rules—which are just some pretty fundamental requirements including that pregnant workers should be allowed to take bathroom breaks without retaliation—is a requirement that employers with more than 15 employees must provide unpaid time off if a worker needs to travel out-of-state for abortion care, or time to recover after having an abortion. There’s no requirement that employers pay for the abortion but predictably enough, Republican state attorneys general are still having a melt down.
At the end of last week, 17 state attorneys general, led by Tennessee and Arkansas, filed a lawsuit against the EEOC accusing the Biden administration of pushing a “radical” abortion agenda. “This is yet another attempt by the Biden administration to force through administrative fiat what it cannot get passed through Congress,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement shared with NPR. “Under this radical interpretation of the PWFA, business owners will face federal lawsuits if they don’t accommodate employees’ abortions, even if those abortions are illegal under state law.”
I repeat: Employers won’t have to pay for someone’s abortion or abortion-related travel, and the EEOC’s regulation offers exceptions for religious employers. The finalized rules are an important step in the right direction in that, for the first time, employers will be required to make a good-faith effort to provide time off for someone to seek abortion care. But (unfortunately!) there’s simply no radical, pro-abortion agenda whatsoever being pushed here.
As the regulation explicitly states: “This rulemaking does not require abortions or affect the availability of abortion; it simply ensures that employees who choose to have (or not to have) an abortion are able to continue participating in the workforce, by seeking reasonable accommodations from covered employers, as needed and absent undue hardship.”
https://www.jezebel.com/17-republican-attorneys-general-melt-down-over-pregnant-workers-having-rights
FEC fines ex-Congressman Rodney Davis (R) $43,475 for campaign finance violations
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Federal Election Commission has fined the campaign fund of a former Illinois congressman $43,475 for failing to refund excess contributions in a timely manner.
A letter from the FEC this month reports the fine against Republican Rodney Davis’ campaign committee, Rodney for Congress, and its treasurer, Thomas Charles Datwyler.
The violations occurred during the 2021-2022 election cycle. Federal campaign finance law prohibits contributions of more than $2,900 per cycle from an individual or single-candidate political committee and $5,000 per election from a multicandidate committee. Excess contributions must be refunded or redesignated within 60 days.
In a negotiated settlement with Davis’ committee and Datwyler, the FEC found that one contribution of $3,625 and general election contributions of $479,784 were not properly redistributed within 60 days, resulting in the fine. Davis was not eligible for the larger amount because he was not on the 2022 general election ballot.
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2024/04/28/fec-fines-ex-congressman-rodney-davis-43475-for-campaign-finance-violations/#
Florida asks court to dismiss lawsuit challenging Senate redistricting plan
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd has asked a federal court to toss out a lawsuit challenging a state Senate redistricting plan passed in 2022, disputing allegations that the design of two districts in the Tampa Bay area diluted the power of Black voters.
Attorneys for Byrd filed a motion last week arguing that a three-judge panel should dismiss the case, which was filed April 10 in Tampa.
The case, filed on behalf of five residents of Tampa and St. Petersburg, names Byrd and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, as defendants.
The lawsuit alleges that Senate District 16 and Senate District 18 are gerrymandered and violate constitutional equal-protection rights. District 16, which is represented by Sen. Darryl Rouson, a Black Democrat from St. Petersburg, crosses Tampa Bay to include parts of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. White Republican Nick DiCeglie of Indian Rocks Beach represents District 18, which is made up of part of Pinellas County.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2024/04/29/florida-asks-court-to-dismiss-lawsuit-challenging-senate-redistricting-plan/
IN-07: Here's who's challenging Rep. Andr Carson in Indiana's 7th Congressional District
Most of the candidates running in the Indianapolis-based 7th Congressional District, which Rep. André Carson has held very comfortably for 16 years, know the odds are stacked against them.
They aren't even trying to raise money, for the most part, knowing it's a rich person's game to beat a longstanding incumbent. But they at least want to give voters some choice.
"The point is, this is a democracy, people need a choice, and if you think you can do a better job, you should show up and run," said Pierre Pullins, a 58-year-old army veteran who's challenged Carson in the Democratic primary every election since Carson's first.
Carson has two primary election opponents, Pullins and 66-year-old Curtis Godfrey, also an army veteran who has challenged Carson in multiple elections. Neither have any money or even a Federal Election Campaign filing to their names, but Hoosiers will find their names on the Democratic ballot nonetheless.
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/04/29/7th-congressional-district-rep-andre-carson-faces-challengers-in-may-primary-election/73439573007/
Why all eyes are on Wisconsin going into the 2024 election
Wisconsin’s legislative and statewide races have caught the attention of local and national officials under newly competitive maps in what is expected to be a competitive general election in November.
In the 2022 midterm elections, outside groups spent $93 million on races for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and treasurer. That number surpassed the record $61.86 million spent during the 2018 midterm elections in Wisconsin.
“Every time there’s a race in Wisconsin, it seems a new record for outside spending is broken, and it’s just the sky’s the limit,” Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Executive Director Matt Rothschild told Wisconsin Public Radio. “Right now, we’re out here in the wild, wild West.”
Wisconsin has a near-even split between voters registered as Democrats and Republicans. Races are often close in the Badger State.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/state/2980516/why-all-eyes-are-on-wisconsin-2024-election/
$521M for Dallas streets and infrastructure is on the ballot in the city's bond election
Streets in Dallas are on the ballot in the May 4 election as voters will decide on whether to approve $521 million in bond money to improve the city’s infrastructure.
Proposition A asks voters to decide whether or not the city should issue the bond money for transportation projects, including improvements on the Malcolm X bridge near Deep Ellum and on State Highway 356 on the city’s northwest side.
“The needs of the city [are] pretty huge," said Ali Hatefi, the city’s director of public works. "The budget is limited."
Hatefi said the city needs about $270 million a year to achieve “zero degradation” — which means keeping the city’s streets in good condition on a metric called the pavement condition index.
“The scenario that we have, and this bond amount, probably not gonna hit that mark,” Hatefi said. “But again, that's another effort to get it closer to the improvements that we need at this point.”
https://www.keranews.org/news/2024-04-29/dallas-streets-infrastructure-ballot-bond-election
Wisconsin Republicans recruiting legion of monitors to observe polls, set stage for lawsuits
MADISON – The Republican National Committee and Trump campaign plan to deploy tens of thousands of volunteers and attorneys to monitor and challenge voting processes in battleground states, including Wisconsin — an effort rooted in the former president's false election claims, characterized as safeguarding from "Democrat tricks from 2020."
GOP officials say they plan to recruit 100,000 people nationwide to observe election processes and voting, an expansion of typical activities for political parties in election years. The party's rhetoric surrounding the plans, however, describes the program as a solution to former President Donald Trump's 2020 election loss that has been confirmed in Wisconsin by judges, recounts, studies and audits.
"The Democrat tricks from 2020 won’t work this time. In 2024 we’re going to beat the Democrats at their own game and the RNC legal team will be working tirelessly to ensure that elections officials follow the rules in administering elections. We will aggressively take them to court if they don’t follow rules or try to change them at the last minute,” Charlie Spies, RNC chief counsel, said in a statement.
“The political team will be working to ensure a huge victory for Republicans at all levels, and RNC legal is committed to making sure that victory can’t be rigged.”
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2024/04/29/wisconsin-gop-launches-training-for-challenges-to-voting-processes/73455440007/
Togo votes in parliamentary elections ahead of proposed controversial reforms
LOME, Togo (AP) — Togolese voters headed to the polls on Monday to vote in the country’s parliamentary elections, which will test support for a proposed new constitution that would scrap future presidential elections and give lawmakers the power to choose the president instead.
The opposition and the clergy say the legislation is an effort by President Faure Gnassingbe to prolong his rule. It was passed by lawmakers in late March and is close to being enacted.
Authorities have cracked down on civic and media freedoms ahead of the vote. In early April, the government banned protests against the proposed new constitution and the arrest of opposition figures.
In mid-April, a French journalist who arrived in Togo to cover the elections was arrested, assaulted and expelled. Togo’s media regulator subsequently suspended the accreditation process for foreign journalists.
https://apnews.com/article/togo-election-parliament-lawmakers-media-freedom-fa0f130e426b3bcef583f80170081157
South Africa: WARNING AGAINST PUTTING UP ELECTION POSTERS ON ELECTRICAL STRUCTURES
ELECTION NEWS - Eskom has cautioned political parties against putting up election posters on electrical structures as part of their campaigns due to the risk of electrocution.
As South Africa is getting ready to host the 2024 General Elections on 29 May 2024, political parties are putting up election posters as part of their campaigns.
“In the past, there have unfortunately been incidents where persons have been electrocuted or shocked when putting up these posters. As such, Eskom would like to caution all political parties against the dangerous practice of placing campaign posters on electrical structures.
"This includes electricity poles, electricity towers, meter boxes and mini substations. Electricity is invisible to the naked eye and the risk is that when someone gets close to or touches them it may result in an inadvertent flash-over or electrical contact. This can cause serious injuries to the person or even be fatal,” Eskom said in a statement on Saturday.
https://www.knysnaplettherald.com/News/Article/Elections/warning-against-putting-up-election-posters-on-electrical-structures-202404291251
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