Zambia Seeks 12-Month Extension to IMF Deal Ahead of Elections
Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane has received the cabinet's approval to seek the extension of the program that's due to expire in October, Information and Media Minister Cornelius Mweetwa said Wednesday in comments broadcast on state television.
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22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
TERRAZZANO: Carney should listen to Canadians and cut bureaucracy
Canadians know the federal bureaucracy costs too much and delivers too little. The federal government has added 99,000 bureaucrats since 2016. And it's not just the number of bureaucrats that ballooned; the cost did too. The bureaucracy cost taxpayers $40.2 billion in 2016, according to the parliamentary budget officer (PBO). The bureaucracy cost taxpayers $71.2 billion last year. That means the cost of the federal bureaucracy has increased by 77% since 2016. The good news for taxpayers is that Canadians want the federal government to cut the size and cost of the bureaucracy. In a Leger poll commissioned by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, 54% of Canadians said they want the government to cut its bureaucracy. Just 4% of Canadians said the bureaucracy should increase, while 24% want to maintain the current size of the bureaucracy. The rest were unsure. Among Canadians with a firm opinion, two-thirds support cutting the size and cost of the bureaucracy. After Prime Minister Mark Carney's government announced a spending review, government union bosses were quick to fearmonger about potential savings. The Canadian Union of Public Employees promised to 'fight to defend against the devastating impacts that Mr. Carney's cuts will have.' The Public Service Alliance of Canada says government savings 'will hurt everyone in Canada who depends on vital public services.' But these scare tactics aren't convincing Canadians. Half of Canadians say federal services are worse now than they were in 2016, according to the Leger poll. That's despite the cost of the federal bureaucracy growing 77%. Only 11% of Canadians say federal services are better than they were in 2016, and most of those people acknowledge that services 'should be better.' This is a huge blow to the unions' spin. Government union bosses want people to think the sky will fall if bureaucrats get fired. But the government added 99,000 bureaucrats over the last 10 years and half of Canadians still say services are worse. After a decade of out-of-control bureaucratic hiring, cutting the cost of government through attrition doesn't go far enough. The Carney government must fire bureaucrats. The number of federal bureaucrats has increased 38% since 2016, while Canada's population grew by about 16%. There would be nearly 60,000 fewer federal employees had the bureaucracy grown in line with the population over the last decade. The average bureaucrat costs taxpayers $125,300 a year. That means taxpayers would save about $7 billion annually had the bureaucracy grown in line with the population. The government should also scale back the pay and perks of federal employees. That means ending taxpayer-funded bonuses. For starters, why are government employees getting bonuses? And why would an organization that is more than $1 trillion in debt think it has money for bonuses? Yet, the federal government has rubber-stamped more than $1.5 billion in bonuses since 2015, despite a report from the PBO that found that 'less than 50% of (performance) targets are consistently met.' Let's recap. The size and cost of the federal bureaucracy have spiralled out of control. Canadians want the government to cut the bureaucracy. And Canadians know that adding more government bureaucrats does not mean better services. Carney should listen to Canadians and cut the size and cost of government bureaucracy. Franco Terrazzano is the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Get rid of mail-in voting? Trump goal sparks debate, threatened lawsuits
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's latest push to end absentee voting has ignited a firestorm of criticism and intense debate about the nation's election rules as the next midterm and presidential campaigns kick into gear. Election-law experts said a president has no role in governing elections. Advocacy groups threatened lawsuits aiming to block Trump. And Democrats braced for a political fight heading into the 2026 and 2028 election cycles as they look to rebound after a disastrous 2024 campaign. 'The Constitution gives states and Congress the power to run elections," said Michael Waldman, CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. "Presidents have no lawful role.' But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Aug. 19 that Trump would work with lawmakers to end mail-in voting because "this is a priority for the president." Here's what you need to know: How popular is mail-in voting? Mail-in voting is widespread and popular. Out of 155 million votes cast in 2024, nearly 47 million were mailed in, according to the Election Assistance Commission. Most states allow absentee voting for no reason, but some states require an excuse to avoid showing up in person. Eight states and Washington, DC, allow elections to be conducted entirely by mail, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington state mail ballots to all registered voters. Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read said vote-by-mail elections are secure, accurate and honest. 'If he actually understood or cared about the American people, he'd know mail-in-voting is the best way to protect everyone's right to vote, especially rural folks, elderly people and hourly workers,' Read said. 'Mail-in-voting meets citizens exactly where they are: in their living rooms and around their kitchen tables.' Trump seeks to end mail-in voting Trump said Aug. 18 he would sign an executive order to abolish mail-in voting, which he slammed as vulnerable to fraud. Trump has long complained about absentee voting, since before the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down many in-person events. 'We're going to end mail-in voting," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "It's a fraud." Trump's announcement came while special House races are pending in Arizona and Tennessee; New Jersey and Virginia will be choosing governors in November this year; and some big-city mayors will be chosen in New York and elsewhere. The whole country will be voting on House races and one-third of the Senate 2026, and for president in 2028. Despite Trump's claims, election experts said voting is the most secure in history. "As we have said repeatedly, our election infrastructure has never been more secure and the election community never better prepared to deliver safe, secure, free and fair elections for the American people," Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said after the 2024 election. David Becker, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation and Research, which works with election officials of both parties to ensure secure elections, said ballots are the most verifiable and recountable in history with only Louisiana not voting on paper. Audits confirm the results, he said. And Congress approved ID requirements to register to vote in the 2002 Help America Vote Act, which followed the razor-thin victory of President George W. Bush over Al Gore in 2000. Trump, Democrats expect political fight over mail-in ballots Trump argued the 2020 presidential result was rigged after what his aides called a "red mirage" of an Election Day lead disappeared as mail-in ballots were counted and Joe Biden won the White House. "I, AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, WILL FIGHT LIKE HELL TO BRING HONESTY AND INTEGRITY BACK TO OUR ELECTIONS," Trump said in a social media post Aug. 18 advocating an end to mail-in voting. During the 2024 campaign, Republicans supported mail-in voting to avoid handing Democrats an advantage even as Trump occasionally criticized them. But the GOP sought an Election Day deadline for mailed ballots to be counted. Leavitt said the White House will work with lawmakers at federal and state levels to change the law. 'When the Congress comes back to Washington, I'm sure there will be many discussions with our friends on Capitol Hill and also our friends in state Legislatures across the country to ensure we're protecting the integrity of the vote for the American people," Leavitt said. But Democrats vowed to fight Trump efforts to undermine mail-in voting. While Republicans in the House could potentially approve a bill, it would face a steep challenge in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to overcome a filibuster and where the GOP holds a 53-47 majority. 'Senate Democrats will make sure that any and every measure that would make it even more difficult for Americans to vote will be dead on arrival in the Senate and will continue to fight to protect our democracy," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York. Experts: States control election rules, not presidents The Constitution unambiguously says states regulate elections and only Congress can change that, Becker said. 'Getting rid of mail voting, which has been around since at least the U.S. Civil War, and which is offered by the vast majority of states, red and blue, is an incredibly bad idea that would make our elections much less secure and vulnerable to interference,' said Becker, a former election lawyer at the Justice Department. 'He has zero power to change election policy with the swipe of the pen, as the founders expressly stated.' Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, said Trump "has no constitutional authority to end mail voting by executive order." "The Framers of the U.S. Constitution took care to keep the main responsibility for administering elections with the states and localities, which are in no way mere 'agents' of federal authorities," Olson said. Advocacy groups expect lawsuits if Trump moves against mail-in voting Federal courts have repeatedly recognized the state role in elections, including when a judge largley blocked Trump's March executive order dealing with elections. In Massachusetts, U.S. District Judge Denise Casper, an appointee of President Barack Obama, blocked parts of Trump's order that sought to require voters to prove they are citizens and to prevent states from counting mail-in ballots after Election Day. Trump is appealing. "The Constitution does not grant the president any specific powers over elections," Casper wrote. Advocacy groups said getting rid of mail-in voting could discourage millions of people who appreciate the flexiblity of avoiding voting in person on Election Day. "Many veterans, grappling with service-related disabilities like mobility impairments or PTSD, rely on this accessible method to vote independently and privately from home, avoiding the physical and emotional toll of in-person polling," said Naveed Shah, political director for Common Defense, a group representing military veterans and their families. Advocates from several groups expected lawsuits to challenge any Trump order seeking to abolish mail-in voting. 'We are prepared to protect mail-in voting in court against unfounded and unconstitutional attacks, as we have in Pennsylvania, Mississippi and other states,' said Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project. 'Access to mail-in voting is necessary to a fair and inclusive electoral process.' This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump goal to abolish mail-in voting sparks debate for next elections
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Palo Pinto County Elections Administrator tells commissioners local GOP wants separate primary
PALO PINTO — Elections Administrator Laura Watkins alerted county commissioners on Monday that a local party is exploring holding its 2026 primary separately. Her announcement, during a workshop for next year's budget, prompted Palo Pinto County Judge Shane Long to urge members of both parties to be in touch with their political party leadership. "I think whether Republican or Democrat, you need to be willing to go to your own party meetings to find out what this separate primaries is going to cost," Long said. "The number of polling places is going to be ridiculous. We would be set back 30 years and have to have separate polling places." Watkins later confirmed it was the county Republicans investigating the change, which in addition to cost increases would eliminate the popular countywide voting in which residents vote at any county poll. The county pays up front for party primaries, and the parties reimburse the county for election day and early voting expenses — but the county buys the electronic voting machines. Watson said the state GOP had reimbursed the county for the 2024 election last February. Palo Pinto Republican Chairwoman Barbara Upham did not answer several calls Monday after the county meeting, where the elections administrator revealed more of the GOP call. "They want to hand-count ballots," Watkins said. "It's been well over 30 years since we hand-counted ballots in this county." The wait for hand-counted election results also would return to the pre-electronic voting era, when next-day results were common in Texas. "I pray it goes away," she said. "But this is the reality. So if you can't get your totals for five or six days, just be ready." Losing the joint-party option, she told the court, would create the need for more polling sites and voting machines. "Just the voting machines themselves are close to $5,000 apiece," Watson said. "So, you're looking at a big undertaking that we have not had in years." She said Hart InterCivic, which makes the machines the county uses, does not have the inventory to loan equipment to the county but was willing to sell machines. "So who's really pushing this?" Precinct 4 Commissioner Jeff Fryer asked Watson. "Somebody spoke to the party last week, and there's somebody from Tarrant County that has, you know..." she said, not finishing her sentence. The change also would lead to many voters showing up at the wrong site, she said. "We're going to be turning people away and telling them to go someplace else," Watson said, adding those people will blame the county. "It doesn't matter if I say all day, talk to your Republican Party chair." Monday's budget work session brought good news for some county employees, as Sheriff J.R. Patterson successfully pitched a $1.02 hourly raise for his dispatchers beyond the 5% countywide pay increase. Patterson has six in his communications department plus a supervisor. He said their assignment is unique in being tied to their chair. "They sit there 12 hours and have to catch somebody walking by to get a bathroom break," the sheriff said, adding each is licensed and has 500 hours of training. County Auditor Melissa Mahan said the $1.02 raise would bring that pay category from $75,000 to $77,000. The communications office already was budgeted for its first major renovation in decades, and Patterson said he would "whittle down" that expense if it helped secure the pay raise. "I can forego something in order to get the girls taken care of," he said. "I've just got to be frugal with it." Solve the daily Crossword
