Latest news with #SenateBill153
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
KHSD to consider banning discriminatory teaching material in proposed revision to policy
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The Kern High School District Board may update its policy to ban the use of textbooks and other class materials that would subject a student to discrimination. According to the agenda for the KHSD Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for Monday, the revision is meant to reflect Senate Bill 153, a new California law passed in 2024. The existing policy, first adopted in November 2009 and revised Jan. 18, 2024, outlines the procedure of processing complaints made against instructional materials for the school district. KHSD offers free meals for children, teens this summer The proposed revision, if passed, would prohibit the school district's Board of Trustees from adopting or approving textbooks, instructional material, supplemental teaching material and class curriculum that would make a student suffer from 'unlawful discrimination.' Unlawful discrimination includes discriminating against someone based on their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, immigration status and other characteristics, according to California's Education Code 220. The bill also allows anyone to file a complaint if they believe the board violated this prohibition. However, the KHSD policy maintains the school district will only accept complaints from the school district staff, district residents or the parents and guardians of the district's students. Never miss a story: Make your homepage If the Superintendent determines the violation to be true and the board doesn't take corrective action within 60 days, the California Department of Education can 'use any means authorized' to make the district comply, according to SB 153. The school district board could also face financial penalties, the bill says. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ohio Republicans using fake ‘noncitizen voting' problem as a false pretext to make it harder to vote
Stock photo from Getty Images. 'What is the problem trying to be solved with (Ohio) Senate Bill 153?' asked a speaker testifying before a senate committee last week on yet another Republican measure to make voting harder in the state. It was a rhetorical question. Kelly DuFour, the voting and elections manager at Common Cause Ohio, knew the proposed legislation wasn't drafted as a solution to any glaring flaw in Ohio elections. So did the overflow crowd hastily assembled in the middle of a day (with little advance notice from the committee) to register overwhelming opposition to SB 153. So did the two GOP state senators who co-sponsored the legislation, Bowling Green Republican Theresa Gavarone and Andrew Brenner of Delaware. They see the same data on statewide voting the public does. They know rampant voter fraud or noncitizens casting ballots en masse is not an Ohio problem. They know the checks and balances that scrupulously safeguard the administration of free and fair elections in the state routinely produce problem-free elections with 99.9% accuracy. They ought to know the 2020 presidential election was not stolen in Ohio from the sore loser whose lies led to a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Gavarone and Brenner also ought to know that there is not a scintilla of evidence that noncitizens are brazenly violating federal and state election laws at the polls. Ohio officials who combed through years of voting records in the state were able to identify only six possible noncitizens — one of whom was dead — who cast ballots out of 8 million registered voters between 2008 and 2020. A Brennan Center analysis concluded that 'even if every one of those cases is proven, that's less than one noncitizen vote in a million in any given election.' Even Ohio's partisan hack/elections chief Frank LaRose acknowledged the infinitesimal percentage of potential voting cases involving noncitizens were probably due to mistakes, i.e., being wrongly registered, and not intentional. Why would noncitizens, who risk much to live free, jeopardize everything with nefarious subterfuge at the polls? They wouldn't and don't. Proof is the handful of supposed infractions flagged over a 12-year period in Ohio that will likely never rise to prosecutable offenses. The reality is Buckeye elections have been laudably conducted with meticulous rigor to diligently ferret out any suspected discrepancies or irregularities. County boards of election across Ohio report that voter fraud is virtually nonexistent in the state — no noncitizens voting, no voter impersonation, no drop box sabotage. But that hasn't stopped the Ohio Senate's most prolific sponsor of anti-voting legislation from proposing ever-restrictive solutions to nonexistent election problems. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Gavarone is a career climber who jumped on the Trump propaganda train about rigged elections that weren't and never looked back. After the Big Lie took hold among MAGA faithful, she and other Trumpian opportunists amplified the deception to advance voter suppression measures in state and federal government. The senate majority floor leader joined Republicans in statehouses across the country to exploit the unfounded doubt seeded by Trump and his GOP toadies to delegitimize democratic elections long considered the envy of the world. Like other MAGA Republicans angling for attention, Gavarone used the Republican-planted mistrust over (baseless) election fraud rhetoric with a spate of bills, including one that produced the strictest voter ID law in the nation and led to the current Senate Bill 153, arguably her most extreme effort yet to limit voting in Ohio. As a second term senator, Gavarone religiously parrots her party's talking points about 'working to improve the integrity and confidence of Ohio's elections' as though she really believes them and the charade she adopted in the wake of Trump's lawless attempt to overturn a legitimate election. Her hollow justifications for manipulating the phantom menace of pervasive voter fraud to enact severe voting restrictions that purportedly strengthen 'trust and integrity in our institutions' are a parody of trust and integrity. But her latest handiwork, with co-sponsor Brenner, is a manifest assault on the voting rights of all Ohio voters. It mirrors the travesty passed by U.S. House Republicans — the so-called Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or SAVE Act — that would severely restrict voting access by making it harder for all American citizens and registered voters to cast a ballot. They'd have to provide documentary proof of citizenship in person to register or update their voter registrations for federal elections. Convenient registration options by mail, online, at the BMV, and community options would be eliminated, forcing voters to register only at county election boards. The SAVE Act (which saves no one) would disproportionately impact women who've changed their names, rural residents, older Americans, Black voters, military personnel, people with disabilities, and students. Gavarone's SB 153 creates the same hoops for those voters and worse. It bans ballot drop boxes so 'people don't have the ability to sabotage our elections' — despite zero drop box threats in the state. It hobbles direct democracy with new barriers for statewide citizen initiatives and referendum campaigns. It creates impossible bureaucratic and financial burdens on county boards of election. What made-up election problem is Ohio Senate Bill 153 is trying to solve? None. 'It's about keeping people who don't agree with the people in power from voting,' wrote an alarmed voting advocate in Gavarone's hometown. Nailed it. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Opponents warn of harm to eligible voters if Ohio lawmakers require citizenship documents
A voter shows identification to an election judge. (Photo by) Ohio senators are considering a plan to require voters show proof of citizenship to register to vote. In a hearing this week, more than a dozen organizers and activists argued the bill's stringent requirements would wind up disenfranchising eligible voters. There is still no evidence of widespread voter fraud, despite Republicans warning for years about the threat posed by alleged noncitizen voters. In Ohio, for instance, the attorney general found six cases of illegal voting spread over twelve years. Meanwhile, there is solid evidence that many Americans, more than 9% of voting-age citizens according to one study, don't have up-to-date documents proving citizenship readily available. Name changes from marriage and/or divorce, and the availability of that documentation, complicates things further. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announces six voter fraud indictments two weeks from Election Day Under Ohio Senate Bill 153, new voters and those updating their registration would have to prove their citizenship before being allowed to vote. In practice, most verifications would happen behind the scenes. Voters would provide their state driver's license or ID number, and the BMV which typically has record of a person's citizenship status, will give the board of elections a thumbs up or down. But if for some reason the BMV can't verify a voter's status, they'd need to provide a valid birth certificate, U.S. passport, or naturalization document before casting a ballot. If they don't, the voter would have to cast a provisional ballot and then provide proof after the fact. SB 153 takes a skeptical view of those voters. Anyone who casts a provisional ballot and then doesn't show up with the required documentation would have their registration cancelled. Over and above the registration changes, the bill would eliminate ballot drop boxes and impose new requirements on petition circulators. Some of that amounts to red tape — the canvasser would have to personally tally the number of signatures they collected rather than someone else in the campaign, for instance. Another change would require paid circulators to wear a badge identifying themselves as such. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Opponents of the bill emphasized the complications it will create for voters. All Voting is Local Action Senior Campaign Manager Greer Aeschbury argued the changes would lead to a dramatic increase in provisional voting. Her organization tracks provisional ballots, and found some 34,000 of them got rejected in the 2024 election. 'The second most popular reason for rejection was a lack of proper ID,' she explained. 'This means that voters attempted to vote, but because of our strict photo ID rules, they either didn't have the proper ID or simply forgot to bring it in.' Under SB 153's changes, Aeschbury said, those voters could show up at the next election, ID in hand because of that prior experience, only to learn their registration got canceled. Scott Sibley recalled helping his 86-year-old grandfather get a state ID card when he was no longer able to drive. They gathered several documents including birth certificate and Social Security card, but couldn't meet all five of the elements required by the state BMV. It took a total of three visits, Sibley said, to get all the necessary documents. 'At the time government photo IDs were not yet a requirement for voting, but after this episode, I understood the arguments against such requirements,' he said. 'Is this any way to treat an elderly World War II veteran? I cannot imagine that we would have made it through this new process under SB 153. I think we would have thrown up our hands.' In addition to making registration more onerous for voters, Kelly Dufour, from Common Cause Ohio, explained the bill also puts new burdens on election officials already reeling from recent changes. In the last two years, she said, more than '85 sections of related Revised Code have been amended, deleted or removed.' The current proposal would amend 46 more and add three new ones. 'It seems to me it's a system that's set up to fail,' she said. 'So, I'm just asking to please slow down, maybe let the new laws simmer. Visit with election officials to get some of their input on meaningful improvements.' She and others commented on election officials' absence. While lawmakers were holding the hearing elections officials around Ohio were busy certifying the May 6 primary election. While many organizers criticized the bill's aggressive approach to verifying registrations, several others argued it doesn't go far enough. Half a dozen people showed up to speak as an 'interested party,' warning poll workers aren't adequately trained to verify citizenship documents, or that state officials should be even more proactive in reviewing the voters rolls. Scott Taylor described himself as a poll worker from Montgomery County, and he zeroed in on the idea of a person providing proof of citizenship on Election Day. 'I got wondering, what would that certificate look like?' he told the committee. Taylor said he went online, found an example and did a bit of editing. He held up the printout, framed with an ornate, official-looking border a bit like a dollar bill. 'So I generated my own certificate of citizenship, and I produced this in about 15 minutes,' Taylor said. 'I went on to Google, and I found an example, and I just cut it up a bit, put a picture of a cat on it.' He argued that it's unfair to ask poll workers to distinguish a real document from a fake, so he said that any voter who hasn't proven their citizenship prior to Election Day should be forced to cast a provisional ballot. Gail Niederlehner from Butler County insisted that in several ways the bill 'closed the front door' only to 'leave the back door open.' She said that voters shouldn't even be allowed to register without providing proof of citizenship. 'Without pre-registration verification, the risk of noncitizen registration continues,' she said. Niederlehner criticized the bill for accepting expired documents like a passport as proof of citizenship and said the proposal's regular reviews of the voters aren't stringent enough. To this point there has still been just one entity to voice support for the measure. FGA Action, which previously went by Opportunity Solutions Project, is a Florida-based think tank that advocates for conservative policies in statehouses around the country. It gets some of its funding from the conservative dark money network controlled by former Federalist Society president Leonard Leo, and it backed the effort by Republican lawmakers in 2023 to make it harder to amend the Ohio Constitution. Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Civil rights groups protest North Carolina bills targeting undocumented immigrants
Maria Fernanda Najera-Aguilar, an organizer with El Pueblo, said she prays for the safety of her family and friends each day amid a crackdown by immigration authorities. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar / NC Newsline) Immigrant rights advocates called on a crowd of about 100 to stand up against bills targeting undocumented immigrants in the state as part of an Immigrant Rights Advocacy Day demonstration outside the North Carolina General Assembly Wednesday. Speakers from the ACLU of North Carolina, the Education Justice Alliance, the Carolina Migrant Network, Muslim Women For, and El Pueblo rallied on the lawn of the Legislative Building and denounced a set of four bills as part of a broader anti-immigrant agenda by lawmakers. After the demonstration, they split up into groups to talk to legislators and leave informational materials with their offices and marched to the Governor's Mansion to deliver a petition demanding the veto of the bills. The four bills seek to crack down on undocumented immigrants in a variety of ways: House Bill 318 requires sheriffs cooperate with ICE; Senate Bill 153 does the same for state law enforcement; House Bill 261 increases the felony level of criminal charges against defendants with past immigration-related offenses; and House Bill 690 requires state agencies and universities to vet the immigration status of benefit recipients. Fernando Martinez, an organizing director with the Education Justice Alliance, urged lawmakers to 'stop playing politics with our families.' He denounced North Carolina politicians for 'painting us as criminals' who are 'invading this country' and stressed that immigrants are neighbors, colleagues, and classmates who make up a fundamental part of the community. 'We go to prayer houses together. We serve and produce food. We are teachers, we are nurses, we are building this state — literally,' Martinez said. 'Immigrants belong here, [we] are North Carolinians — and stop pushing us out.' America Juarez, a coordinator for the Carolina Migrant Network, said families in Charlotte are living in fear of ICE, alleging that agents in unmarked vehicles have been detaining employees at their places of work and children at school in an expansive operation that began May 12. She said her organization has received more than 133 calls for help in just over a week, and warned that provisions in the bills expanding cooperation with ICE would only worsen this crackdown. 'When federal agents in unmarked vehicles and civilian abduct members in our community, our neighbors, our coworkers, our families, it does not make North Carolina safer, it makes us all less safe,' Juarez said. 'For our elected officials, your silence is complicit. Will you stand by as children in your district lose their parents?' Nora Khalifa, an organizer with Muslim Women For, said such 'intimidation tactics' have had a tangible impact on her community. She said she's noticed people who no longer come to worship services out of fear that they might be detained by ICE and has heard from people who avoid public spaces as much as possible for the same reason. Closing the demonstration, Maria Fernanda Najera-Aguilar of El Pueblo said she prays for the safety of her family and friends every day amid the ongoing mass detention of immigrants, and in particular, last year's House Bill 10, which required sheriffs to follow ICE detention orders. She urged lawmakers to take a stand for 'basic human rights.' 'How can we pursue happiness and achieve aspirations when peace and security are constantly under threat?' she asked. 'I stand here today not just to speak, but to remind you that we are watching, we are organizing, and we are not going anywhere.'
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
KRQE Newsfeed: Gene Hackman, DWI scandal, Warm and sunny, Burglary bill, Obelisk study
Albuquerque man sentenced for string of robberies Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office rolls out 2 new electric vehicles for patrol Albuquerque man sentenced for fatal hit and run crash What's happening around New Mexico February 28-March 6 Bill would create department to monitor infants exposed to drugs in NM Ruidoso Downs Race Track working to repair damage from summer flooding [1] Sheriff's Office addresses deaths of Gene Hackman, wife and dog in Santa Fe – Law enforcement in Santa Fe are expected to give an update on their investigation into the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa. Sheriff Adan Mendoza said that the couple had been dead for 'quite a while' and he would leave it to the Office of the Medical Investigator to determine the exact length of time. After the news conference, the sheriff's office sent a news release that stated, 'An autopsy was performed. Initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual.' They said they will hold a press conference on Friday at 3 p.m. to provide an update on the investigation. [2] 'Pissed off' sheriff slams podium speaking on BCSO's connection to DWI scheme – Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said he feels 'pissed off' after he lost his right-hand man, who was implicated in a massive public corruption scandal involving drunk driving arrests. Sheriff Allen strongly denied any knowledge or involvement in the scandal. Johann Jareno was appointed to undersheriff by Allen in January 2023. Sheriff Allen said Jareno informed him on Saturday that the feds interviewed him. On Sunday, Jareno resigned at the request of the sheriff. The sheriff said the FBI is talking to him now. [3] Warmer and breezier weather into the weekend – Temperatures will start a warming trend this afternoon and continue into Saturday. A storm will move across the state this weekend, bringing breezy westerly winds. The track of this storm has trended farther south, which could mean slightly higher chances for rain. Another storm will scrape New Mexico early next week and be a big wind maker for the state. [4] Governor's Office shares support for bill making home invasion its own crime – The governor's office is voicing support for a bill that would make breaking into an occupied home it's own crime. Senate Bill 153 would make a break-in while someone is home a second degree felony. The governor's office shared their support for the bill that currently has no traction in the Roundhouse. They urged committee chairs to prioritize public safety bills to get heard before the session ends on March 20. [5] Santa Fe City Council approves study to look into potentially moving Soldiers' Monument – The Santa Fe obelisk is back in the spotlight after city councilors decided to fund a study on the best place to move the Soldier's Monument. Councilors voted unanimously to approve $100,000 from the city's general fund for a study assessing the feasibility of rebuilding or moving the Soldier's Monument. The study comes after a December ruling required the city to remove the box and restore the monument. The motion passed unanimously. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
