Latest news with #Libertarians
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
St. Louis Democrats dispute election board on ballot labels
ST. LOUIS – When Cara Spencer was sworn in as the city's new mayor, she vacated her seat on the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. The city will hold a special election on Tuesday, July 1, to succeed Spencer as 8th Ward alderman. Five people have filed to represent Ward 8 on the board, but the ballot itself has caused some consternation for city Democrats, who are suing the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners. The candidates will appear on the ballot sans party affiliation. But the St. Louis City Democratic Central Committee says that is unfair to its chosen candidate and wants a judge to force the election board to include party affiliations on the ballots. Last month, the DCC selected Shedrick Kelley as the official Democratic candidate. Although Republicans did not nominate a candidate for the race, Kelley is not without challengers. The city Libertarians nominated Cameron McCarty. Radar-indicated: Tornado likely rolled through Chesterfield The other three candidates—Jami Cox Antwi, Jim Dallas, and Alecia Hoyt—are registered Democrats but are running as independents after securing the signatures of 10% of registered voters in Ward 8 who voted in the April 8 mayoral election. In the November 2020 general election, St. Louis voters, by more than a 2-to-1 margin, supported Proposition D, which made elections open and nonpartisan for offices like the mayor, comptroller, and aldermen, and changed the primary system to allow voters to choose more than one candidate, with the top two choices facing off in a general election. But according to the city charter, since there are no primaries allowed for special elections, the local committees of 'established political parties' get to select their nominees and thus act as a primary. The city Democrats allege that keeping party affiliations off the ballot prevents the party from 'exercising its associational rights to participate in the political process as an established political party by issuing endorsements of candidates running for office.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs new laws retooling elections. Here's what they'll do:
Iowa's election officials will have new tools to verify voters' citizenship and will be empowered to question voters at the polls about whether they are citizens under a new law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. The legislation, House File 954, also bans ranked-choice voting in Iowa and makes it harder for third-party groups such as Libertarians to qualify as a major political party. Reynolds, a Republican, also signed a separate law, House File 928, overhauling Iowa's election recount procedures. She announced the signing of both bills in a Monday, June 2, news release. The legislation comes in response to the chaotic weeks leading up to the 2024 election, when Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, instructed county auditors to challenge the ballots of 2,176 registered voters who he suspected were not citizens based on a faulty list from the Iowa Department of Transportation. The directive resulted in hundreds of registered voters being challenged at the polls and casting provisional ballots, which were only counted if they provided additional proof of citizenship. In March, Pate said an audit of the state's voter registration list confirmed 277 noncitizens on Iowa's voter rolls, including 35 noncitizens who successfully voted in the 2024 election and five more who tried to vote but had their ballots rejected. Pate praised lawmakers and Reynolds for enacting the legislation, saying the laws "add additional layers of integrity to our robust election procedures." "Keeping Iowa elections safe, fair and accurate is a team effort, from the Iowa Legislature and Governor Reynolds to our county auditors and local election officials on the frontlines of our elections," Pate said in a statement. "Today, we saw a clear consensus that upholding consistent, statewide procedures and ensuring voter eligibility are key to balancing participation by all eligible Iowans with election integrity." During legislative debate, Democrats raised concerns about election workers being able to ask voters about their citizenship status at the polls and said Iowa's elections are already secure. Beginning July 1, election workers may challenge a voter at the polls on the basis of their citizenship status under the law, which adds to a section of current law that allows election workers to challenge voters on their age and residency. The law also gives the Secretary of State's Office the ability to contract with "state and federal government agencies and private entities" to check voters' records. And it requires the Iowa Department of Transportation to send the Secretary of State's Office a list of everyone 17 years old and older who has submitted documentation to the DOT saying they are not a citizen. If a registered voter's citizenship status is in question, they must provide documentation affirming they are legally eligible to register and they will be designated as an active registered voter. The law bans ranked choice voting in Iowa at the state, federal and local level, although the voting method is not currently used in any elections in the state. It says any statewide or local government cannot conduct elections using ranked-choice voting, sometimes known as instant runoff voting, which involves ranking each candidate in order of preference and reallocating votes to a voter's second choice if their first choice fails to win a majority. Political parties will now need to receive at least 2% of the vote in three consecutive general elections in order to be recognized as major political parties in Iowa. That's a change from Iowa's previous law, which allowed major party status to be awarded to parties whose presidential or gubernatorial candidates earn 2% of the vote in one general election. Libertarians have objected to efforts to make it more difficult to qualify as a major party in Iowa. Libertarians gained major party status following the 2016 election, lost it following the 2018 election, gained it again following the 2022 election and lost it again after last fall's presidential election. The party's presidential or gubernatorial candidate has never received 2% of the vote in three consecutive general elections. After a razor-thin congressional race in Iowa was decided by just six votes in 2020, Iowa has finally taken steps to overhaul its election recount procedures. The law places county auditors and their staff of election workers in charge of conducting recounts, doing away with Iowa's current system which uses a recount board with members appointed by the leading and trailing political candidates, as well as a third agreed-upon member. Under the new law, candidates can only request recounts in local or state legislative races if the election was decided by 1% or 50 votes, whichever is less. For statewide and federal races, candidates can only request a recount if the election was within 0.15%. Iowa's previous law allowed candidates to request a recount regardless of the winner's margin of victory, but the state would only pay the costs if the results of the election were within one percentage point. Had it been in place last year, the new recount threshold would have prevented Democrat Christina Bohannan from requesting a recount in her 2024 race against U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in southeast Iowa's 1st Congressional District. Miller-Meeks won the race by 798 votes, or 0.2%. The law says the state will pick up the costs of the recount in all cases. The law requires recounts to be conducted using Iowa's vote tabulators. Recounts can only be conducted by hand in extraordinary circumstances, defined to include machine failures, a discrepancy between the results of the election and an initial recount and a number of overvotes that exceeds the margin between the candidates. Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@ or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Kim Reynolds signs Iowa election laws on voter citizenship, recounts
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Tim Allen did not attack Democrats on Facebook with list of 'interesting points'
Claim: Comedian Tim Allen wrote a long Facebook post attacking liberals and Democratic politicians detailing 'some interesting points to think about prior to 2020, especially to my friends on the fence.' Rating: Comedian and Actor Tim Allen has been the target of a persistent internet rumor claiming he wrote a list of "interesting points" criticizing Democrats. Various versions of the post originally gained traction in 2019 and persisted in 2025. The posts were spread among conservative social media users like musician Ted Nugent and contained numerous, dubious observations criticizing Democrats and liberals. Though we first debunked this claim in September 2019, the post made a comeback in mid-2025. Reshared on Facebook in May 2025, alongside a photo of Allen, it stated (in part): TIM ALLEN - ON TRUMP: Whatever your feelings for Trump, these are some interesting points that Tim Allen makes. Put your hatred aside and think about these observations. Tim Allen is credited with writing this ... Tim Allen wrote... Here are some interesting points to think about prior to 2020, especially to my friends on the fence, like moderate Democrats, Libertarians and Independents and the never Trump Republicans and those thinking of "walking away" from the Democratic party:- Women are upset at Trump's naughty words -- they also bought 80 million copies of 50 Shades of Gray.- Not one feminist has defended Sarah Sanders. It seems women's rights only matter if those women are liberal.- No Border Walls. No voter ID laws. Did you figure it out yet? But wait... there's more...- Chelsea Clinton got out of college and got a job at NBC that paid $900,000 per year. Her mom flies around the country speaking out about white privilege. And just like that, they went from being against foreign interference in our elections to allowing non-citizens to vote in our elections.[...]- We are one election away from open borders, socialism, gun confiscation, and full-term abortion nationally. We are fighting evil. However, as we reported before, the comedian and actor did not write the above post. We found no evidence on his social media profiles, or in his interviews that he made the above statement. As such, we rate this as an incorrect attribution. Snopes did trace one example of the purported quote to an August 2019 Facebook post from a user who went by the name "Tim Allen" and appeared to reside in Virginia. He shared the "interesting points" message on his personal account and was among the early users to share a post with those views. Nugent shared a version of the post in August 2019 without tying it to Allen and with a number of modifications. By that time the post had appeared online for several months with some of the musings adapted from other social media posts: Pearls of wisdom Life is not a fairy tale. If you lose your shoe at midnight, you're drunk. If women are upset at Trump's naughty words, who in the hell bought 80 million copies of '50 Shades of Gray'? Jim Comey answered, "I don't know," "I don't recall," and "I don't remember" 236 times while under oath. But he remembered enough to write a book. President Trump should nominate Hillary Clinton for the next opening on the supreme court. Then he can finally get her investigated. Not one feminist has defended Sarah Sanders. It seems women's rights only matter if those women are liberal. No Border Walls. No voter ID laws. You figured it out yet? Chelsea Clinton got out of college and got a job at NBC that paid $900,000 per year. Her mom flies around the country speaking out about white privilege. Per our past reporting, the section of the Facebook post about being "one election away from open borders, socialism, gun confiscation, and full-term abortion nationally" was its own meme back in January 2019. The line about "foreign interference" in elections was posted separately in social media content from April 2019. Allen has spoken publicly about his conservative views. In a 2017 interview, he likened being a conservative in Hollywood to living in 1930s Germany. He did also call the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump "horrible, embarrassing, and shameful." This is not the first time we have covered posts sharing a celebrity's alleged political views. In May 2025, we reported on a deepfake video of Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour explaining why she permanently removed U.S. President Donald Trump from the Met Gala invitation list. The video had been manipulated from real footage of Wintour to show her falsely saying: "We make room for art, culture and the true spirit of innovation, rather than making way for someone who blatantly belittled women, mocked immigrants and regarded aesthetics as a bargaining chip." Wintour never used those words. In sum, there is no evidence of Allen writing the above Facebook post, despite holding conservative views. It was thus incorrectly attributed to him. Snopes' archives contributed to this report. MacGuill, Dan. "Did Comedian Tim Allen Write a Viral Facebook Attack on Democrats?" Snopes, 4 Sept. 2019, Accessed 15 May 2025. Mumford, Gwilym. "Tim Allen Condemned for Comparing Hollywood to 1930s Germany." The Guardian, 21 Mar. 2017. The Guardian, Accessed 15 May 2025. "Tim Allen Breaks Silence on Capitol Attack: 'Shameful' and Bad for Conservatives." Accessed 15 May 2025. Wrona, Aleksandra. "Video Showing Anna Wintour Saying Why She Banned Trump from Met Gala Is a Deepfake." Snopes, 8 May 2025, Accessed 15 May 2025.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Elections office, polls poised for primary
Lawrence County's voter services team is ready for today's historic May primary. It's historic because it's the first time Lawrence County has had three judgeships open at one time in the Court of Common Pleas. Seven candidates are vying today for nominations on the Republican and Democratic ballots. Voters also will nominate candidates for many open borough and township elected positions, county government offices and school board seats, and on the Republican ballots, they will elect people to serve as Republican committee members. County positions in addition to the judge race include district attorney, sheriff and register and recorder. "We're ready for tomorrow," county elections director Tim Germani declared at a meeting of the Lawrence County Board of Elections. The board, comprised of the three commissioners, convened Monday and recessed at the call of the chair. If no issues arise during the election process that require a decision of the board, it will reconvene when the elections are ready to be certified. Germani reported at Monday's session that the county has a total of 57,165 registered voters. Of those, 29,918 are registered Republicans; 19,953 are registered Democrats; 255 are registered as Libertarians and 7,039 comprise other parties. Germani emphasized that "this is a closed election," meaning only Democrats and Republicans can vote on ballots for candidates running under their own parties. The seven judge candidates are cross-filed under both parties, as are some school board candidates. There are no nonpartisan questions on the ballot, he said, so other party voters won't be able to vote until November. Germani also reported on number of mail-in ballot applications he received and how many have been returned as of Monday morning. His office sent out 5,059 mail-in ballots to applicants. Of those, 3,615 or 65 percent had been returned so far. Germani reported a total of 1,713 Republican ballots were sent out and 1,175 returned so far and 3,346 Democratic ballots were sent out and 2,440 were returned. Voters still have until 8 p.m. to return the ballots to the county drop box in the courthouse entrance or at the voter registration office. He also reported 10 ballots were sent back with no signatures, and one had no secrecy envelope. "We will call you if you do not sign or date your ballots," he said. "We'll give you a chance to cure them." "They'll be notified to come in and remedy the problem so these ballots will be able to be counted. They have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to come in." Germani also reminded voters of two polling site changes. Those who usually vote at the North Beaver Township municipal building instead will go this time to the North Beaver fire hall at 969 Mount Jackson Road, because the township building is undergoing renovations. The Gettings Annex, which is the church across the lot from the courthouse, is no longer a polling spot. Those voters now will go to the New Creation Free Methodist Church at 725 Pearson St., formerly known as St. John's Hall. First-time voters in a precinct are reminded they need to present their identification at the polls. County employees Michael Occhibone and Sarah Eppinger will sit as the elections resolution board to resolve any damaged or illegible ballots. Seven high school students from Mohawk Area School District and sons and daughters of courthouse employees will assist the elections staff as the cars deliver supplies and ballots after the polls close. Jacquie Graziani, an elections staff member, explained Mohawk class had a mock election and the elections office invited the students to help. The student workers are paid $10 per hour on election night. Commissioner Chris Sainato, who sits on the election board, encouraged voters to treat poll workers with respect. "They work long hours, and for not a lot of money," he said. "The laws are the laws and they have to follow them. Don't take out your anger on them. We need to keep each and every one of them."
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fact Check: No, Tim Allen didn't attack Democrats on Facebook
Claim: Comedian Tim Allen wrote a long Facebook post attacking liberals and Democrat politicians detailing 'some interesting points to think about prior to 2020, especially to my friends on the fence.' Rating: Since 2019 and into mid-2025, a Facebook post attributed to comedian and actor Tim Allen spread across the internet. Various versions of the post originally gained traction among right-wing social media users like musician Ted Nugent and contained numerous, dubious observations criticizing Democrats and liberals. Though we first debunked this claim in September 2019, the post made a comeback in 2025. Reshared on Facebook on May 13, 2025, alongside a photo of Allen, it stated (in part): TIM ALLEN - ON TRUMP: Whatever your feelings for Trump, these are some interesting points that Tim Allen makes. Put your hatred aside and think about these observations. Tim Allen is credited with writing this ... Tim Allen wrote... Here are some interesting points to think about prior to 2020, especially to my friends on the fence, like moderate Democrats, Libertarians and Independents and the never Trump Republicans and those thinking of "walking away" from the Democratic party:- Women are upset at Trump's naughty words -- they also bought 80 million copies of 50 Shades of Gray.- Not one feminist has defended Sarah Sanders. It seems women's rights only matter if those women are liberal.- No Border Walls. No voter ID laws. Did you figure it out yet? But wait... there's more...- Chelsea Clinton got out of college and got a job at NBC that paid $900,000 per year. Her mom flies around the country speaking out about white privilege. And just like that, they went from being against foreign interference in our elections to allowing non-citizens to vote in our elections.[...]- We are one election away from open borders, socialism, gun confiscation, and full-term abortion nationally. We are fighting evil. However, as we reported before, the comedian and actor did not write the above post. We found no evidence on his social media profiles, or in his interviews that he made the above statement. As such, we rate this as an incorrect attribution. Snopes did trace one example of the purported quote to an August 2019 Facebook post from a user who went by the name "Tim Allen" and appeared to reside in Virginia. He shared the "interesting points" message on his personal account and was among the early users to share a post with those views. Nugent shared a version of the post in August 2019 without tying it to Allen and with a number of modifications. By that time the post had appeared online for several months with some of the musings adapted from other social media posts: Pearls of wisdom Life is not a fairy tale. If you lose your shoe at midnight, you're drunk. If women are upset at Trump's naughty words, who in the hell bought 80 million copies of '50 Shades of Gray'? Jim Comey answered, "I don't know," "I don't recall," and "I don't remember" 236 times while under oath. But he remembered enough to write a book. President Trump should nominate Hillary Clinton for the next opening on the supreme court. Then he can finally get her investigated. Not one feminist has defended Sarah Sanders. It seems women's rights only matter if those women are liberal. No Border Walls. No voter ID laws. You figured it out yet? Chelsea Clinton got out of college and got a job at NBC that paid $900,000 per year. Her mom flies around the country speaking out about white privilege. Per our past reporting, the section of the Facebook post about being "one election away from open borders, socialism, gun confiscation, and full-term abortion nationally" was its own meme back in January 2019. The line about "foreign interference" in elections was posted separately in social media content from April 2019. Allen has spoken publicly about his conservative views. In a 2017 interview, he likened being a conservative in Hollywood to living in 1930s Germany. He did also call the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump "horrible, embarrassing, and shameful." This is not the first time we have covered posts sharing a celebrity's alleged political views. In May 2025, we reported on a deepfake video of Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour explaining why she permanently removed U.S. President Donald Trump from the Met Gala invitation list. The video had been manipulated from real footage of Wintour to show her falsely saying: "We make room for art, culture and the true spirit of innovation, rather than making way for someone who blatantly belittled women, mocked immigrants and regarded aesthetics as a bargaining chip." Wintour never used those words. In sum, there is no evidence of Allen writing the above Facebook post, despite holding conservative views. It was thus incorrectly attributed to him. Snopes' archives contributed to this report. MacGuill, Dan. "Did Comedian Tim Allen Write a Viral Facebook Attack on Democrats?" Snopes, 4 Sept. 2019, Accessed 15 May 2025. Mumford, Gwilym. "Tim Allen Condemned for Comparing Hollywood to 1930s Germany." The Guardian, 21 Mar. 2017. The Guardian, Accessed 15 May 2025. "Tim Allen Breaks Silence on Capitol Attack: 'Shameful' and Bad for Conservatives." Accessed 15 May 2025. Wrona, Aleksandra. "Video Showing Anna Wintour Saying Why She Banned Trump from Met Gala Is a Deepfake." Snopes, 8 May 2025, Accessed 15 May 2025.
