Elections
Missouri abortion-rights amendments face ‘torturous’ process to make it to 2024 ballot
Pulling off a successful ballot initiative campaign in Missouri is an undertaking so difficult that one Democratic political consultant compares it to skiing the slalom at the Olympics. There is a laundry list of deadlines to meet, an army of signature gatherers to hire, a host of legal battles to fight — all with a […]
Challenge to Missouri voter ID law focuses on barriers faced by the elderly, disabled
Missouri’s requirement for voters to show government-issued photo identification before casting a ballot will be on trial starting Friday. Over four days, Cole County Circuit Judge John Beetem will hear familiar arguments that the law passed in 2022 unconstitutionally restricts the right to vote by imposing burdens that disenfranchise large numbers of people. In 2006 […]
State, local elections offer good news for democracy
The big news out of Tuesday’s elections was wins for Democrats and for reproductive rights in Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. But small “d” democracy also had a good night: Virginians elected pro-voting majorities in both chambers, stymieing efforts to pass restrictive new voting laws. Ohioans turned out in large numbers to pass two popular […]
Abortion-rights victories cement 2024 playbook while opponents scramble for new strategy
Anti-abortion leaders woke up Wednesday to the sobering reality that abortion rights remain the nation’s predominant political issue. Decisive wins in swing and red states in two national election cycles since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year have given momentum to reproductive rights groups, who aggressively campaigned and fundraised in key states across the […]
Older adults want to ‘age in place,’ but their options are limited in most states
As older adults begin to outnumber young people in the United States in the coming decade, advocacy groups are challenging states to shift away from single-family zoning in favor of housing solutions that allow older adults to “age in place.” By 2035, the U.S. will have more people over the age of 65 than under […]
State and local election workers quitting amid abuse, officials tell U.S. Senate panel
State and local election officials face threats and intimidation, driving experienced workers out of the profession, a panel of election officials told a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday. Conspiracy theories have fueled a more hostile environment for election workers, which has led many to quit, creating more challenges for the inexperienced new leaders, the top election […]
Appeals court swats down Ashcroft arguments on Missouri abortion rights petitions
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft wrote ballot titles for six proposals to restore abortion rights that were “replete with politically partisan language,” a Missouri appeals court unanimously ruled Tuesday. In an expedited decision issued a day after hearing arguments, a three-judge panel of the Western District Court of Appeals upheld, with only minor revisions, the […]
Donation to Missouri AG riles plaintiffs in lead-poisoning suit against St. Louis company
Over the summer, Attorney General Andrew Bailey joined in the effort to try to convince a federal court to move a lead-poisoning lawsuit against a St. Louis company out of Missouri. The litigation in question was filed by thousands of people from Peru suing Doe Run Resources Corp. over alleged injuries caused by its lead […]
Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher fires his chief of staff
Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher fired his chief of staff on Tuesday — just weeks after the Republican lawmaker was accused by nonpartisan legislative employees of unlawful conduct. In a letter to legislators, Plocher announced that the chief of staff position in his office is vacant effective immediately. Up until Tuesday, that job had been […]
Gateway Pundit accused of purposely delaying defamation case involving false fraud claims
The St. Louis-based website being sued by former Georgia election workers for defamation is being accused of purposely delaying discovery in the case to forestall a jury trial. In a motion filed in St. Louis Circuit Court last week, attorneys for Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss asked a judge to set an August 2024 […]
States that send a mail ballot to every voter really do increase turnout, scholars find
Lately, a rough consensus has emerged among people who study the impact of voting policies: Though they often spark fierce partisan fighting, most changes to voting laws do little to affect overall turnout, much less election results. But one fast-growing reform appears to stand out as an exception. When every registered voter gets sent a ballot […]
U.S. Senate panel weighs free speech and deep fakes in AI campaign ads
Artificial intelligence could be used to disrupt U.S. election campaigns, members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration said during a Wednesday hearing. But the hearing showed that imposing laws and regulations on campaign content without violating constitutional rights to political speech will be difficult. Elections pose a particular challenge for AI, an […]