Program engages young talent to enhance election process
HARTFORD — The Connecticut Secretary of State, Stephanie Thomas, said the Next Gen Elections Program to the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has proven to be a successful model for engaging young people in the democratic process.
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4 days ago
- Yahoo
Government facing increasing pressure to ban bottom trawling in protected areas
The Government is facing growing pressure from MPs to ban damaging activities such as bottom trawling in protected areas of England's waters. The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) said the fishing technique, which involves dragging heavy fishing nets across the seabed, as well as dredging and mining should be banned in offshore marine protected areas (MPAs). Campaigners have long been calling for an end to such activities that are still permitted in the UK's 178 MPAs. But these calls have been intensifying ahead of a major UN ocean conference that kicks off in Nice, France, next week. The issue recently came to attention after dramatic footage from Sir David Attenborough's new film on oceans captured the heavy metal chains of a bottom trawl net bulldozing through silt on the seafloor and scooping up species indiscriminately. In a report, published on Thursday, the EAC warned that the Government's 'failure to effectively manage gaps in the network of marine protected areas' is allowing these damaging activities to take place. Water minister Emma Hardy recently told the committee that the Government was 'committed to not having bottom trawling in areas that damage the MPAs, especially when they are attached to features that we are trying to protect'. But the EAC report highlighted that the Government has not set out a timeline for taking further action to protect the protected areas from the practice. It also raised concerns about the UK's marine policy statement, which guides planning decisions for the country's seas and was last published in 2011 followed by an update after Brexit. The MPs described it as 'outdated, not fit for purpose and no longer reflects Government policy or pressures on the marine environment'. Elsewhere, the committee criticised the UK's failure to ratify the UN ocean treaty – which aims to establish protected areas in international waters – or at least publish a timeline to introduce the required legislation to do so. In light of this, the group of MPs said they are 'concerned' that the protection of the ocean is not demonstrably a priority for the Government and urged the Government to ratify the treaty no later than this September. The treaty will not come into force until ratification by 60 countries, with the current number standing at 28. Toby Perkins, EAC chairman, said: 'UK waters are teeming with complex ecosystems that are not only precious in their own right but also critical to sustaining the delicate balance of marine life. 'Ministers must ensure that marine protected areas live up to their name.' In its report, the EAC urged the Government to press ahead with banning bottom trawling in offshore protected areas where it presents the most risk, update the UK's marine policy statement and set out a timeline for ratifying the UN treaty. Damaging and extractive activities are completely banned only in 'highly protected marine areas' – of which the UK has just three, compared with the 178 MPAs, which cover 51% of inshore and 37% of offshore waters. The committee recommended the Government expand this network to 10% of UK waters by 2030 to meet its biodiversity targets, based on evidence of their effectiveness in marine nature recovery. It also called for a plan to designate more HMPAs to be published by January 2026. The PA news agency has contacted the Environment Department (Defra) for comment.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Secretary of the State aims to make voting easier for incarcerated people in CT
Advocates for incarcerated individuals in Connecticut say it needs to be easier for people in custody to cast their ballots. And while a bill being considered in the legislature seeks to expand access, some say it wouldn't go far enough. The proposed bill which passed out of committee in March and awaits a vote in the House, would require the Secretary of the State to provide the Department of Correction (DOC) with absentee ballot application forms that eligible individuals in custody could fill out, and to distribute them to those people. 'It is the very least we can do to chip away at this problem,' Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas said during a forum at the Capitol on Tuesday. An incarcerated person who wants to vote in Connecticut has to do so by absentee ballot, and they remain voters in the town they last resided, not where the prison is located. Thomas explained that this means incarcerated people — who have no access to the internet — must research the name of their town clerks, write a letter to the clerk requesting an absentee ballot application form, mail that letter to the town, receive the application form, fill it out, mail it back, and wait for the absentee ballot itself to arrive. 'And hopefully this all happens by 8 p.m. on Election Day,' Thomas said. Absentee ballots are only available 31 days before a general election, Thomas said, and the slow speed of the postal system often prevents the ballots from arriving in time to be counted by a town clerk. Only people convicted of a felony lose their right to vote in Connecticut — and only while they're incarcerated. People convicted of a misdemeanor, or people awaiting trial who can't afford to post bail, retain their voting rights. According to Department of Correction statistics, about 3,800 of the 11,200 people incarcerated in Connecticut have not been sentenced. Rep. Matt Blumenthal, D-Stamford, chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, said the bill was developed in collaboration with the Secretary of the State's Office and in discussion with advocates. 'Obviously with legislation like this, there's always a balance between trying to provide as much access as possible to the voters and the logistical details which need to be practicable and communicable,' Blumenthal said. Avery Gilbert, a clinical lecturer at Yale Law School, said the state's voting restrictions for people convicted of felonies should be revisited, too. Some of those individuals who've completed their sentences remain afraid to vote, even after the right is restored. Gilbert also said simply providing absentee ballot applications to incarcerated individuals isn't enough because the bill doesn't require the Department of Correction to distribute the applications — and it doesn't cover the cost of postage. 'Simply putting absentee ballot applications in facilities is a nice first start. There's no guarantee that those are going to be handed out. There's no guarantee that someone is going to be informed enough to know to put it in the envelope, have the resources to get the postage, mail it, and do all those things in a timely fashion,' Gilbert said. Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott, said he opposed the bill — and he voted against it — because he's concerned about simply giving absentee ballot applications to the Department of Correction to distribute. 'I think that there's an opportunity for abuse there,' Sampson said. Sampson said in similar situations where a large number of voters is living in one place, such as with a nursing home, a local registrar of voters would go in person to the facility to distribute absentee ballots. Thomas it was difficult to offer in-person voting at a correctional institution, since Democrat and Republican registrars of voters from multiple towns would have to be at the correctional facilities to oversee the process. Sampson said he believed incarcerated people should instead vote in the town where the correctional facility was located, rather than their hometown. Blumenthal said while he understands the bill isn't a 'panacea,' legislators are waiting to see how the new absentee ballot application regulations work before making additional demands on the Department of Correction. 'Before we require DOC to take specific action, I think we want to see how this process works on a voluntary basis in terms of DOC's involvement,' Blumenthal said. The bill does require Department of Correction staff to ensure absentee ballots are delivered to each incarcerated person even if they've been transferred to another facility in the system. Blumenthal added that some advocates had also expressed concern around DOC staff forcing people in custody to vote rather than just assisting them. And he said he feared covering the cost of postage might make the bill less likely to pass at a time when state finances are limited. Thomas said her office has created printed and digital materials for incarcerated individuals describing the voting process, and she said her office is working with DOC to schedule voter registration drives at different prison facilities through the remainder of the spring, summer and fall. Gilbert said that communities with the highest rates of incarceration, like Hartford and Bridgeport, also have the lowest numbers of people voting. 'These are habits, they are behaviors, and they inform and impact generational poverty for years to come,' she said. 'I don't think anybody in this room would disagree that all children's interests should be represented in some way, and incarcerated parents don't have that opportunity to influence resources going to their children's schools, to influence the issues that matter deeply to their community.' James Jeter, the executive director of the Full Citizens Coalition to Unlock the Vote, echoed Gilbert, saying that many people he knew from his time being incarcerated hadn't even thought about voting. He blamed this partially on the policy of eliminating the right to vote for people convicted of felonies during their time in prison. 'When you talk about civic engagement and even real forms of rehabilitation, how do you make someone more communal and civically minded when conditions that are completely results of policy decisions have really not allowed them to?' he said. 'The degradation of levels of poverty in this state don't allow people to think as a community. They just think about surviving.' And he added that if one generation in a family hasn't made a habit of voting, the younger generations tend not to either. Thomas said she knew simply showing up with absentee ballot application forms wasn't going to be enough to convince people to vote. She said her office has uploaded civics information and a voter guide to the tablets incarcerated people use to communicate. 'Yes, we need to look at access to the actual ballot, but I also believe that we need to look more closely at — how do you offset this lack of belief that your voice even has agency?' said Thomas. 'I hope the legislature will take that up in addition to providing access in future sessions." Emilia Otte is a reporter for The Connecticut Mirror ( Copyright 2025 © The Connecticut Mirror. This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Connecticut prisoners could more easily vote in elections under bill
Business Insider
28-04-2025
- Business Insider
Financial crisis looms in East African Community as member states owe $58 million
As of March 2025, the East African Community Secretariat revealed that member states collectively owe a staggering $58 million in contributions, setting off a string of challenges for the bloc. This followed a meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers in Arusha, Tanzania this week to address the financial crisis caused by a shortage of funds for programs and staff salaries, which is threatening operations at the Secretariat. The meeting highlighted the cash shortfall as a top agenda item, alongside security concerns. This significant shortfall in funding has put essential programs and staff salaries at risk, threatening to halt operations across the bloc. Zawya reports that the growing debt and the lack of consistent budget remittances from partner states have put the future stability of the EAC in jeopardy. The EAC The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organization comprising six member states: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan. Founded in 1967, the EAC aims to promote economic integration, peace, and stability within East Africa. It seeks to foster cooperation in various sectors, including trade, infrastructure development, and security. The EAC operates through various institutions and organs, including the Council of Ministers, the East African Court of Justice, and the EAC Secretariat, which is based in Arusha, Tanzania. The organization has made significant strides toward creating a common market and political federation but faces challenges related to financial constraints and member states' commitment. East African states see cash crunch As of March 2025, EAC member states owed $58,048,678 to the bloc, with only Kenya and Tanzania fully paying their contributions. Uganda has paid 99% of its due amount. The ongoing defaults have forced the EAC Secretariat, led by Veronica Nduva, to scale back operations. The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has skipped sittings, and the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) faces a backlog of over 260 cases, worsened by a lack of permanent judges. The Secretariat is also dealing with a staffing crisis, with 150 vacancies and 30 senior staff set to leave by the end of the financial year.
