Polish voters choose mayors in hundreds of cities in runoff election

WARSAW, Poland -- Polish voters on Sunday chose mayors in hundreds of cities and towns where no candidate won outright in the first round of local election voting two weeks ago.

Mayors were chosen in a total of 748 places, including in the cities of Krakow, Poznan, Rzeszow and Wroclaw. Those are places where no single candidate won at least 50% of the vote during the first round on April 7.

Exit polls were released after voting ended Sunday evening, but there were no results announced immediately. In Krakow, with one of the most closely watched races, the exit poll put the two candidates within the margin of error and the race couldn't be called.

The local and regional elections were viewed as a test for the pro-European Union government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk four months after it took power at the national level.


https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/polish-voters-choose-mayors-hundreds-cities-runoff-election-109471138

Baltimore City's elections director on leave, acting director to oversee primary election

BALTIMORE (WBFF) -- — The director of Baltimore City’s election is on leave ahead of the primary election, but an acting leader has stepped in.

According to Scherod Barnes, president of the Baltimore City Board of Elections, Election Director Armstead Jones is on leave, and has been for several weeks. Barnes said he wasn’t at liberty to disclose why Jones is on leave but said Deputy Director Abigail Goldman has assumed the role of acting director.

“We’re not missing a beat,” Barnes said.

Jones has served as the director of elections in Baltimore City since 2006. During the 2022 general election, Jones was briefly hospitalized and Goldman assumed the acting director role as well.




https://www.foxbaltimore.com/news/local/baltimore-citys-elections-director-on-leave-acting-director-to-oversee-primary-election

In Anchorage's LaFrance (D)-Bronson (R) runoff election, the incumbent mayor (R) is the underdog

Anchorage’s incumbent Mayor Dave Bronson is facing an uphill battle against frontrunner and former Anchorage Assembly Chair Suzanne LaFrance in the upcoming runoff election.

“We got a lot of doors to knock. We got a lot of calls to make, texts to send, postcards to write and votes to win over,” LaFrance told about 40 supporters at a campaign event on April 12 at an Anchorage labor union hall. She counts a lot of labor interests among her endorsements.

“I’m excited about working with you all to build a better future for our community, and I’m ready to get to work,” she told her cheering audience.

The Anchorage Assembly just certified the results of the regular election. Ballot packages for the runoff will be mailed next Tuesday and residents can cast their vote through Election Day, May 14.

LaFrance has outperformed Bronson, who’s seeking a second term as mayor of Alaska’s biggest city, in campaign fundraising, the regular election results and a post-election poll.





https://alaskapublic.org/2024/04/24/in-anchorages-lafrance-bronson-runoff-election-the-incumbent-mayor-is-the-underdog/

Signature deadlines coming up soon for Missouri and South Dakota reproductive freedom ballot measures.

Missouri and South Dakota petition deadlines are May 5 and May 7 respectively. If you live in either state or know someone who does, be sure to sign and/or urge others to do the same.


Missouri: https://moconstitutionalfreedom.org

South Dakota: https://www.dakotans4health.com

Abortion in Missouri: A look at key claims in the 'decline to sign' effort

JEFFERSON CITY — With two weeks left for advocates to gather enough signatures to put abortion rights on the Missouri ballot this year, opponents are urging people not to sign the petition, saying the proposed constitutional amendment would allow for a radical and unregulated expansion of the procedure.

Among the opponents’ claims: the constitutional amendment, if approved by voters, would eliminate health and safety standards for abortion clinics, allow people to perform the procedure without a health care license, bar malpractice lawsuits against abortion providers, allow minors to get abortions without parental consent, and permit abortions after fetal viability.

Those claims — disputed by supporters of the amendment and legal experts — are being widely circulated by some anti-abortion groups.

Top Republican lawmakers, including the three leading GOP candidates for governor, have appeared in a series of “decline to sign” videos, sponsored by Missouri Stands with Women, a political action committee launched this year to fight any abortion-rights initiative petitions.





https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/government-politics/abortion-in-missouri-a-look-at-key-claims-in-the-decline-to-sign-effort/article_f30379a0-f392-11ee-b7d6-6396dd207710.html

Hillary Clinton sounds alarm after Supreme Court hearing on emergency abortion care

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday warned access to abortion care could be further imperiled after oral arguments in a Supreme Court case over an Idaho law restricting abortion.

The court appeared skeptical over whether a federal law ensuring access to life-saving care included access to abortion care, when necessary, though the justices were split by both ideology and gender.

“The MAGA Supreme Court majority appears ready to rule that the right to ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ doesn’t extend to women with pregnancy complications or who otherwise need abortions,” Clinton wrote on the social media platform X. “This is horrifying, and it is because of Donald Trump.”

Democrats have focused on abortion rights as a political rallying cry for the 2024 race. Abortion ballot measures are planned for multiple swing states, and a recent controversy over abortion access in Arizona has brought that state more into play.




https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4619025-hillary-clinton-abortion-supreme-court-idaho-hearing/

FL: Man arrested for allegedly illegally voting in election in Miami-Dade

A man is facing multiple charges after authorities said he voted in an election in Miami-Dade despite not being a U.S. citizen.

Lazaro Valle-Villar, 74, is facing charges of voting as an unqualified voter, false affirmation regarding voting or elections, submission of false voter registration information and submitting a false statement to the Secretary of State, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

Prosecutors said Valle-Villar became a registered voter in Miami-Dade despite being a non-citizen, then voted in the Nov. 2, 2021 election.

On his Florida voter application forms, Valle-Villar indicated he was a U.S. citizen and qualified to vote, prosecutors said.



https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/man-arrested-for-allegedly-illegally-voting-in-election-in-miami-dade/3293960/?_osource=sm_npd_nbc_mia_twt_mn

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) pushes back against GOP's faux outrage over campus antisemitism.

CT: Former Republican mayoral candidate gets 10 days in prison in Jan. 6 case

WASHINGTON — A former Republican candidate who lost his race for mayor in Connecticut last year was sentenced Wednesday to 10 days of incarceration for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Gino DiGiovanni Jr. admitted he entered the Capitol after he was confronted by NBC Connecticut in October 2022 after he was identified by online "sedition hunters" who have aided hundreds of cases against Capitol rioters. “I wouldn’t want to be arrested for it,” DiGiovanni said at the time. “I guess hindsight is 20/20.”

DiGiovanni was arrested in August 2023, reached a plea agreement last year and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in January.

Prosecutors cited NBC Connecticut's interview with DiGiovanni in seeking a sentence of 30 days behind bars, saying it was clear that DiGiovanni was not remorseful when shown the evidence.



https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/former-republican-mayoral-candidate-gets-10-days-prison-jan-6-case-rcna148968

MT-SEN: Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy spreads antisemitic image of Chuck Schumer

In a recent political ad, Montana Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy portrayed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer with marionette puppet strings controlling money, a common antisemitic trope spread by the far right.

The ad also claims that Schumer is directing $55 million to Sheehy’s opponent, Sen. Jon Tester (D).

The marionette puppet trope is common among right-wing outlets and personalities online and is used to pejoratively describe prominent Jewish figures like Schumer. The offensive conspiracy theory is rooted in a centuries-old stereotype that Jewish people are at the head of a secret cabal that controls society.

In 2023, former President Donald Trump’s campaign posted an image of billionaire George Soros using strings to control President Joe Biden, which drew the attention of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). In 2020, Fox News removed another image showing Soros manipulating events with puppet master strings after ethical complaints from the ADL.






https://heartlandsignal.com/2024/04/24/republican-senate-candidate-tim-sheehy-spreads-antisemitic-image-of-chuck-schumer/