Latest news with #Small
2 days ago
- Politics
Trump's DOJ contacted states for voter data, access to voting machines: Sources
Members of the Department of Justice in recent weeks have reached out to several states around the country requesting voter information, according to sources familiar with the outreach and letters obtained by ABC News. The outreach was made to at least six states. In some of the letters obtained by ABC News, the DOJ requested from the states broad information about voting systems, how counties maintain updated voter information and how noncitizens who are on voter lists are identified. The letters also, in some cases, requested copies of the state's voter registration lists. The Washington Post was the first to report the DOJ's outreach. In Colorado, the outreach came from an individual who told officials he was working on behalf of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, according to Matt Crane, the Director of the Colorado County Clerks Association. He said at least 10 county clerks in the state had received calls or texts from the individual, Jeff Small, the former Chief of Staff for Rep. Lauren Boebert. One of those clerks, Justin Grantham, told ABC News that Small said he was reaching out to Republican clerks in Democratic controlled states on behalf of the White House. "He contacted me in particular to see if I'd be willing to work with him in the White House to allow a third party to come in and do a review of the [voting] machines," Grantham said. "As someone who's in charge of elections, we try to stay neutral and it makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable that that's how they're wanting to try to gain access to these machines," he added. At least two county clerks, Crane said, received calls and messages from a person identifying themselves as the Department of Homeland Security asking if the federal government could examine their voting systems. "The requests themselves are dangerous, because it could get an election official in legal jeopardy," Crane said. The White House, the Department of Justice and Small did not immediately respond to requests for comment from ABC News. In a statement to ABC News, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said that it is a felony in the state to tamper with voting systems. "Colorado takes any potential threat to our elections extremely seriously, which is why we have strong laws that protect voting equipment," Griswold said. "It is a felony in Colorado to tamper with voting systems. Accessing voting systems without proper authorization is a crime." Additionally, Griswold's office received a letter in May from the Department of Justice asking for election records after they said they "recently received a complaint alleging noncompliance" within the office with the Voting Rights Act. The letter was signed by Harmeet Dhillon -- the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division -- who was formally a Trump campaign legal adviser. In Nevada, the Secretary of State's Office confirmed it received a letter from the DOJ related to voter roll data and voter information. New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan received a letter as well -- though it contained no allegations of complaints regarding voting law compliance. Still, the letter asked for information, including the state's voter list. In Wisconsin, the state elections commission also received a letter from the DOJ after they said they had received "several complaints" regarding the state's compliance with the Help America Vote Act. The letter requested a wide array of information -- including a "current voter registration list." In a lengthy response letter, members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission directed the DOJ to an online website where any member of the public can access the state's voter information -- but said they would still be charging them the usual fee. "Wisconsin law requires the Commission to charge a fee for access to voter registration data and makes no exceptions for elected officials, government agencies, journalists, non-profits, academics, or any other group," the letter stated.
Axios
2 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
DOJ issues sweeping request for voter rolls in nine states, including Colorado
The U.S. Department of Justice is asking numerous states for voter data, including an unprecedented trove of documents from Colorado. Why it matters: Alarm bells are ringing for election officials who fear the information could be misused to cast doubt on the integrity of U.S. elections. Driving the news: The DOJ has asked for copies of voter rolls from at least nine states, the Washington Post scooped. Meanwhile, a political consultant named Jeff Small — claiming to act on behalf of the White House — has contacted "more than half a dozen" Republican county clerks in Colorado, per the Post, asking if the federal government or a third party could physically inspect their election equipment. Small is the former chief of staff to Colorado U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Windsor). What they're saying: All clerks who Small contacted reportedly rejected his request. "To me, it felt like they were wanting to intervene before 2026," Fremont County Republican clerk Justin Grantham told the Post. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold told the Denver Post the data request was unusually extensive and unique to Colorado — noting that, to her knowledge, no other Republican clerks in any other blue states had been contacted for similar, sweeping access. She warned that unauthorized access to voting machines is illegal and can lead to felony charges. The other side: In a statement to the Denver Post on Wednesday, Small said he was simply connecting federal officials with clerks at the request of people involved in a presidential executive order on election security. He said he wasn't paid and called the outreach voluntary — motivated by what he called Griswold's "security debacles."
New York Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘Did that really happen?' 20 years later, the summer of Aaron Small still seems like a fairy tale
Access the Yankees beat like never before Don't miss Greg Joyce's text messages from The Bronx and beyond — he's giving Sports+ subscribers the inside buzz on the Yankees. Sign Up Now He walked down the sidewalk, through the gate and the concourses and the aisle, unbothered, unnoticed. Aaron Small was back in The Bronx last July, holding a ticket on the first base side, sitting inside Yankee Stadium for the first time since making the most recent of his five Old Timers' Day appearances a dozen years earlier. Advertisement The former journeyman pitcher still stands out, standing 6-foot-5, now two decades removed from casting an 11-week spell on his unimaginable jaunt to 10-0. The fans once enraptured by Small surrounded him for hours, failing to spot the folk hero until he left his seat. 'Not a single person recognized me except when we were leaving the Stadium, people were going, 'Look, it's John Cena,' ' Small said. 'I get that all the time. … The friends of mine that were with me, they start doing the John Cena [face wave].''
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Commerce Commission moves to lower debit, credit card surcharges
The Commerce Commission has moved to lower interchange fees paid by businesses to accept Visa and Mastercard payments. The regulator has issued a final decision, saying the cost was too high, and their decision would save businesses around $90 million a year. It said the average business would save around $500 each year in lower fees, but individual businesses could save more or less, depending on the mix of transactions they accept. The commission put the overall cost of interchange fees at about $1 billion for businesses, which were often passed on to customers through surcharges and higher product costs. "This is an important step in our continued work to cut costs for businesses and consumers," Commerce Commission chair John Small said. "Our latest decision builds on the initial fee caps set in 2022, which led to $140 million in annual savings to New Zealand businesses." "This decision cuts the cost for businesses accepting payments made through credit cards and foreign-issued cards, which are often the most expensive for businesses to accept." The commission said it would also explore what regulations may be needed to address excessive surcharging. The commission expected payments providers to support businesses understand their costs to accept these payment types. It has also decided not to regulate fees for commercial credit card or prepaid debit card payments. Small told Nine To Noon the interchange fees were too high and they were bringing them down on a product by product basis to suit different types of payment, such as domestic or foreign cards, personal or corporate, in person or online. "That's going to result in merchants having $90 million a year more in their pockets in aggregate," Small said. Small said it had exempted commercial and pre-paid cards from the fee cap because it did not have enough information about them at this stage, but it did have concerns. He said it had not lowered the cap as much as indicated in a draft decision, which had suggested annual savings of $260m. "The reason that number has come down to $90 million is because we listened carefully to the feedback we received on that proposal and decided we needed to leave a bit more money in the system to incentivise new entry and dynamic competition we really want to see." However, the commission has not moved on surcharges on consumers for using paywave in shops. Small said it had wanted to first tackle the intercharge fees which set the cost base for the system, but consumer surcharges were on its agenda. "We still believe that some regulation is needed for surcharging, and that is the next step in this process ... so we're coming to that." He said the changes made would take a lot of the heat out of the issue because merchants would not be paying so much and so surcharges would be lower anyway. Restaurant body welcomes initiative The Restaurant Association said the Commerce Commission's decision to regulation interchange fees on credit cards offered much-needed cost relief for hospitality businesses. Association chief executive Marisa Bidois said the regulation would save industry members about $90m a year. "Hospitality businesses have long been burdened by some of the highest card payment fees in the OECD," Bidois said. "This decision puts money back into the hands of operators at a time when every dollar counts." Bidois said concerns about excessive surcharges at the point of payment was something that should be kept under review. "Our recommendation was to allow the new fee structure to bed in before taking further steps. We're pleased to see ComCom acknowledge this." The association was also urging payment providers to be transparent about their fees and not shift the cost burden elsewhere. "We'll be watching closely to ensure payment providers don't undermine this win for businesses by increasing fees in other areas," Bidois said.
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
ComCom Saves Businesses $90 Million A Year In Payment Costs
The Commerce Commission has today issued its final decision to reduce interchange fees paid by Kiwi businesses to accept Visa and Mastercard payments. It costs New Zealand businesses around $1 billion a year to accept Visa and Mastercard payments, which is often passed onto their customers through surcharges and higher product costs. The Commission has determined this cost is too high and has acted to reduce this cost for businesses by around $90 million a year. 'This is an important step in our continued work to cut costs for businesses and consumers. Our latest decision builds on the initial fee caps set in 2022, which led to $140 million in annual savings to New Zealand businesses,' Commerce Commission Chair Dr John Small says. 'This decision cuts the cost for businesses accepting payments made through credit cards and foreign-issued cards, which are often the most expensive for businesses to accept. 'We expect our latest decision to see the average small business save around $500 each year in lower fees. Individual businesses could save more or less, depending on the mix of transactions they accept. 'In making this decision we were careful to balance lower costs for merchants today with keeping incentives for new fintechs to innovate and challenge the big established incumbents. That meant leaving enough money in the system to keep it competitive and safe from fraud and scams over the long term,' Dr Small says. Consumers can expect these cost savings to flow through to fewer and lower surcharges, but regulation may still be needed to curb excessive surcharging. 'We'll be exploring what regulation may be needed to address excessive surcharging, which we consider to be anything more than the cost businesses face to accept Visa and Mastercard payments,' Dr Small says. The Commission expects payments providers to support businesses to understand their costs to accept these payment types, so where businesses choose to surcharge it accurately reflects their cost. 'We have decided not to regulate the fees for commercial credit card or prepaid debit card payments at this time based on feedback we received during consultation. We're looking to understand more before deciding if these payment types should be regulated,' Dr Small says. Background The Commission prioritised addressing the costs businesses face to accept different payment types to ensure regulation of surcharging didn't have unintended consequences of moving costs for consumers from one area to another. Without action to lower the fees, limitations on surcharges could see businesses forced to absorb these fees and recoup the money elsewhere, like in higher product costs. Alternatively, it could lead to some businesses not offering certain payment methods, like contactless or credit, as they are too expensive. When someone uses a Mastercard or Visa credit card or makes a contactless payment, such as Paywave, the business receiving the payment is charged a 'merchant service fee'. It will most likely seek to recover this fee in the form of surcharges or higher product prices. This latest decision relates to interchange fees, which make up about 60% of merchant service fees. Mastercard and Visa card issuers (usually banks) receive an interchange fee every time a card holder uses their card at a business to make a payment. The remaining portion of the merchant service fees include fees that are paid to Mastercard and Visa, and to providers of payment services to businesses.
