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Election category, Page 88

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Arizona Supreme Court allows release of Senate audit records
PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an effort by the state Senate to keep secret records of its ongoing review of the 2020 election in Maricopa County that are in the possession of the contractors conducting the recount. The high court without comment rejected the appeal filed...
Ex-federal prosecutor under Trump joins GOP Pa. governor primary
HARRISBURG — Bill McSwain, top federal prosecutor in Philadelphia under former President Donald Trump, will run for governor, he announced Monday, joining a crowded Republican field that may still yet get bigger. McSwain’s announcement was not a surprise. He had written to Trump in July, seeking the former president’s endorsement...
Republicans, elections experts say Wisconsin probe is flawed
MADISON, Wis. — Former Republican officeholders and elections experts said Wednesday that the GOP-ordered investigation into the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin lacks credibility, transparency and raises security risks and legal concerns. Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and Kentucky’s former secretary of state, Trey Grayson, said the ongoing...
Wisconsin election probe includes $325,000 for data analysis
MADISON, Wis. — Nearly half of the money being spent on a Republican-ordered investigation into Wisconsin’s 2020 presidential election is earmarked for data analysis, a contract released Wednesday spelling out how the $676,000 in taxpayer money will be spent shows. The Associated Press obtained the contract entered into by Assembly...
Fired Westmoreland election bureau director claims commissioners set her up to fail
Former Westmoreland County Election Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said she worked sometimes 16 hours a day and struggled through health issues as she was belittled and set up for failure by her bosses before being ultimately fired without cause. Sebastiani, 63, appeared with her lawyers at virtual news conference Tuesday...
Westmoreland’s former elections director claims political coercion and scapegoating in federal lawsuit
JoAnn Sebastiani, former director of the Westmoreland County Election Bureau, claimed in a federal lawsuit filed Monday against all three county commissioners that she was “scapegoated,” belittled and discriminated against before she was fired without adequate cause. Sebastiani, 63, had been on the job for 10 months when she was...
Top Pa. GOP senator orders change in election integrity plan
HARRISBURG — The top Republican in Pennsylvania’s state Senate said Friday that he is putting a different senator in charge of an “election integrity” undertaking and removing a senator who had aimed to carry out an Arizona-style “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election. Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman...
GOP senator’s plan to issue Pennsylvania election subpoenas ‘stopped’
HARRISBURG — A backer of former President Donald Trump’s effort to carry out an Arizona-style “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election suggested Thursday that fellow Republicans in the state Senate are blocking his efforts. In a video posted Thursday on Facebook, state Sen. Doug Mastriano did not name names,...
Georgia board to review Fulton elections, takeover possible
ATLANTA — Georgia’s State Election Board on Wednesday took a step toward a possible eventual takeover of elections in the state’s most populous county under a process outlined in the state’s sweeping new voting law that critics argue could open elections up to political interference. The board voted unanimously Wednesday...
Westmoreland hires private company to train new staff in depleted elections office
Westmoreland County will pay a private company $112,000 over the next 18 months to help oversee the next three elections as officials continue efforts to hire a new director and two middle managers in the aftermath of the problem-plagued May primary. Officials said personnel turnover, which included the June firing...
Democrats renew push on elections bill that Republicans vows to block
WASHINGTON — Democrats are renewing their push to enact their marquee voting bill, pledging to make it the first order of business when the Senate returns in the fall even though they don’t have a clear strategy for overcoming steadfast Republican opposition. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced early Wednesday...
Republican issues subpoenas for Wisconsin election info
MADISON, Wis.— The leader of the state Assembly’s elections committee issued subpoenas Friday demanding extensive election materials, including all ballots and voting machines, from two Wisconsin counties in what she called a “top-to-bottom” investigation of the state’s 2020 presidential results. Republican Rep. Janel Brandtjen said she has sent subpoenas to...
Rep. Conor Lamb jumps in race for Pat Toomey’s Senate seat
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb announced Friday he is joining the crowded race for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat, seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2022 election. He made it official during an afternoon event before a crowd of about 200 people at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 5 in...
Pennsylvania decertifies Fulton County’s voting system after ‘audit’
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top election official has decertified the voting machines of a small southern county that disclosed that it had agreed to requests by local Republican lawmakers and allowed a software firm to inspect the machines as part of an “audit” after the 2020 election. The action by Acting...
Pennsylvania election audit gets GOP campaign trail embrace
HARRISBURG — Former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election have been debunked by the courts, his own Justice Department and scores of recounts. But in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where Trump lost by 80,000 votes eight months ago, they’re finding new signs of life. A Republican...
Westmoreland commissioners said mistakes led to election bureau director firing
Westmoreland commissioners on Thursday said the recent firing of the county’s election bureau director was necessary in response to a series of errors that plagued the May primary. Speaking publicly for the first time about the decision to oust JoAnn Sebastiani, commissioners said the county conducted “administrative inquires” that initially...
Pennsylvania’s 2022 U.S. Senate race: What we know so far
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. One of Pennsylvania’s two U.S. Senate seats is up for grabs in 2022 as two-term Republican incumbent Pat Toomey prepares to...
Ohio IDs 117 noncitizens who voted or registered in 2020
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s elections chief on Monday referred for possible prosecution 117 apparent noncitizens who either registered to vote or cast a ballot last year — a tiny fraction of the state’s electorate and a significantly reduced number from two years ago despite record 2020 turnout. Republican Secretary of...
Who’s in the running to be Pennsylvania’s senator in 2023?
With Democrats narrowly in control of Congress, political observers are watching as races emerge in the 2022 midterm elections. Historically, the party out of power makes inroads in these races, leaving Republicans hopeful they’ll be able to limit President Joe Biden’s agenda in the years ahead. A key race will...
Gov. Tom Wolf calls election audit plan a ‘disgrace to democracy’
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday said it is a “disgrace to democracy” that a Republican state lawmaker is trying to launch what he calls a “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election, similar to what is happening in Arizona. Wolf, a Democrat, said on Twitter that the “sham...
Westmoreland elections director fired days before her ouster was made public
Westmoreland County’s former election bureau director was out of a job a week before her bosses officially signed off on her removal, according to a document obtained by the Tribune-Review. JoAnn Sebastiani was fired as elections bureau director effective June 19, according to an “action form” created by the county’s...
Westmoreland County election bureau director ousted
The Westmoreland County commissioners said Tuesday they will hire a new election bureau director. Election Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani was suspended with pay on June 8, and none of the three commissioners has disclosed reasons for that disciplinary action. Sebastiani, 63, was hired last August to run the department. She...
Justice Department suing Georgia over voting laws
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is suing Georgia over the state’s new election law, alleging Republican state lawmakers rushed through a sweeping overhaul with an intent to deny Black voters equal access to the ballot. “Where we believe the rights of civil rights of Americans have been violated we will...
Voting ends, wait for results begins in New York City mayoral primary 
NEW YORK — The votes are in. The polls are closed. But the top contenders may have a long, anxious wait ahead of them for accurate results in New York City’s mayoral primary, the first citywide election to use ranked choice voting. Several candidates in the race to succeed Mayor...
Judge rejects Westmoreland primary challenges
A Westmoreland County judge on Friday rejected two lawsuits seeking to invalidate results from the May primary. Judge Harry Smail Jr. said the lawsuits, both filed without the help of lawyers, were improperly submitted because they did not include verified signatures from 20 district voters and failed to include required...


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