Elections
Former U.S. Capitol Police chief blames intelligence failures, not Trump, for Jan. 6 attack
The FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security failed to share intelligence with the U.S. Capitol Police ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, leaving the Capitol Police under-prepared for that day’s violence, the former chief of the Capitol Police told a U.S. House panel chaired by Georgia Republican Barry Loudermilk on Tuesday. But Democrats […]
Judge rules against challenge to Missouri Senate district map
The state Senate district map is constitutional despite its splits to political subdivisions in St. Louis County and northwest Missouri, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled Tuesday. In a 21-page decision, Beetem rejected a challenge to the districts drawn last year by a panel of appeals court judges. The choices made by the Judicial […]
Mail-in ballots, ranked-choice voting part of Missouri Democrat plan for presidential primary
Democrats in Missouri, like their counterparts nationally, will use 2024 to test a new system for determining the party’s presidential preference now that the public primary for all parties has been abolished. Instead of reverting to a caucus-only system, the process used in most elections prior to 2000, the Missouri Democratic Party is seeking comment […]
Suit targets gun initiative over Missouri AG claim it would spike rape and murder, cost millions
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey believes a push to allow St Louis and Kansas City to enact their own gun regulations would cost the state hundreds of millions and lead to a massive increase in rape and murder. And his argument, made in a July letter to Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, is now a key piece […]
Missouri groups look for the strongest abortion-rights ballot measure voters would back
The fight over the Missouri abortion ban begins with language. Eager to once again legalize the procedure in the state after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year made way for the General Assembly to ban it, abortion-rights supporters have been floating 11 versions of a petition to ask voters for a change in November […]
One for the books as Trump and rest of Fulton 19 enter Georgia justice system over 2020 election
At the end of a historic week at the Fulton County jailhouse, the criminal case against former President Donald Trump and his 18 allies also accused of subverting Georgia’s 2020 presidential election is just beginning. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis charged Trump and the rest of the group – which include lawyers, former federal […]
As ranked choice voting gains momentum, parties in power push back
Over the past decade, ranked choice voting has become increasingly popular. From conservative Utah to liberal New York City, 13 million American voters in 51 jurisdictions — including all of Alaska and Maine — now use the system, under which voters rank candidates based on preference, leading to an instant runoff in a crowded race. […]
Timeline: The Georgia probe into 2020 election interference
Monday night’s announcement of indictments against former President Donald Trump and his allies on allegations that they conspired to overturn the 2020 election culminated after more than two years of investigation. The Fulton case is the latest in a series of criminal and civil cases Trump faces as he campaigns to defeat Republican primary challengers […]
Push for tax hikes to fund public libraries face mixed results this year in Missouri
Ballot measures seeking to fund local libraries had mixed results Tuesday, with Cole County voters striking down a 15-cent tax increase and Taney County residents narrowly approving an 18-cent levy to create a public library. The votes come at a precarious time for Missouri’s libraries, as they have increasingly been pulled into the political scrum […]
The Trump indictments: A seven-year timeline of key developments
Former President Donald Trump is a defendant in three criminal proceedings. Two cases are federal, brought after investigations by Special Counsel Jack Smith. The other case is in New York state court and is being prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. A fourth indictment, on state charges in Georgia related to Trump’s efforts to […]
In reversal, some states make it harder for people with felony convictions to vote
The year started out strong for advocates trying to make it easier for people with felony convictions to regain their voting rights. In March, the Democratic-led legislatures in Minnesota and New Mexico enacted measures that cleared a pathway for residents serving prison time for felonies to regain their right to vote upon being released. It […]
False fraud claims a focus of Rudy Giuliani’s 2020 Missouri testimony, St. Louis defamation suit
Weeks after former President Donald Trump lost his bid for a second term, the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election found its way to Missouri. Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City and one of Trump’s lawyers, appeared via Zoom before a Missouri House oversight committee in December 2020 to […]