Election Archives - Real Time News

April 5, 2023

Kansas City election results: Who wins council, mayor votes?

Kansas Citians won’t know until this summer who will be calling the shots at City Hall for the next four years. But they have a better idea of the possibilities now that we’re through the knockout stage in this municipal election cycle.

Mayor Quinton Lucas and the six incumbent City Council members eligible to run for re-election cleared Tuesday’s primary and will be on the general election ballot on June 20. So will six opponents — all but Ryana Parks-Shaw in the 5th District have challengers.

Eleven candidates will be competing for the six seats that are open because the current occupants will leave office at the end of July due to term limits.

Of the six incumbents running, only Brandon Ellington got fewer votes than his opponent in the 3rd District at large race, indicating that he may have work to do winning over voters in that citywide race against challenger Melissa Patterson Hazley, who got more than 57{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} of the vote in their two-person primary.

Incumbent Eric Bunch had a strong showing in the 4th District race, reaping twice as many votes as his two challengers combined, while Andrea Bough, 6th District at large, and Kevin O’Neill, 1st District at large, did even better.

Few voters usually participate in Kansas City’s municipal elections, but turnout is worse in primaries when a popular incumbent mayor is running for re-election, as was the case this year. The Kansas City Election Board said just under 14{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} of registered voters cast ballots.

More than 19{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} did in the primary four years ago. But that year, a field of 11 competed for a chance to replace Sly James as chief executive. Council members Jolie Justus and Lucas finished first and second in the 2019 primary and Lucas went onto win in the general election.

This year, as Lucas seeks another four-year term, he had only one opponent on the primary ballot, perennial candidate Clay Chastain, who has never won elective office. Voters understood that the outcome would make no difference, as both Lucas and Chastain will go on to the general election on June 20.

Mayor

Lucas had only one opponent on the ballot, so the outcome of the contest between him and challenger Chastain was purely academic. All the same, voters preferred Lucas, who received more than 35,000 votes to Chastain’s 8,000. They’ll meet again in the general election.

1st District at large

O’Neill garnered three times more votes than second-place finisher Ronda Smith, the former treasurer of a group that tried to recall some of O’Neill’s council colleagues over police funding. Former Clay County Commissioner Pam Mason was eliminated.

2nd District at large

Lindsay French and Jenay Manley finished first and second and will go onto the general election. Mickey Younghanz was eliminated. Manley was one of two candidates affiliated with the KC Tenants affordable housing activist group to get through their primaries.

3rd District at large

Challenger Hazley got more votes than incumbent Ellington, but both advance to the general election.

4th District at large

Crispin Rea finished far ahead of his next closest rival, Justin Short, in this five-person race to replace Katheryn Shields, who could not seek re-election due to term limits. Jess Blubaugh, John DiCapo and Grace Cabrera were eliminated.

5th District at large

Former Hickman Mills school board president Darrell Curls and KCBikeWalk policy director Michael Kelley both got more than 14,000 votes to advance to the general election. Former Jackson County Legislator Theresa Cass Galvin was eliminated.

6th District at large

Bough, the incumbent, got 73{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} of vote in her three-way race. Retired teacher Jill Sasse came in second and advances to the general election. Mary Nestel was eliminated.

1st District

Teacher Nathan Willett and former Clay County Democratic Party chairman Chris Gahagan finished first and second, respectively, in this race to replace Heather Hall, who could not seek re-election due to term limits. They will face off in the general election to represent this district with new boundaries.

2nd District

Former state Rep. Wes Rogers ran unopposed to replace incumbent Dan Fowler, who is term limited.

3rd District

Incumbent Melissa Robinson got five times more votes than her opponent, Sheri Hall, in this two-person race. Both advance to the general election.

4th District

Incumbent Bunch bested Henry Rizzo, who formerly served on the state and Jackson County legislatures, 54.5 {515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} to 25{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502}, but both go on to the general election. Bunch’s former council aide, Crissy Dastrup, came in last and was eliminated.

5th District

Incumbent Parks-Shaw is running unopposed for another four-year term.

6th District

Former Jackson County Legislator Dan Tarwater and Johnathan Duncan, who is active in the KC Tenants organization, finished first and second, with Tarwater getting 45{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} of the vote to Duncan’s 24{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502}. Tiffany Moore, Cecelia Carter and Michael Schuckman split the remainder and were eliminated.

This story was at first released April 4, 2023, 10:31 PM.

Mike Hendricks addresses area govt. He joined The Star’s staff members as a company information reporter and went on to turn into nationwide agriculture reporter, metro columnist and more a short while ago was on the newspaper’s investigations crew. He was a reporter at two Iowa newspapers before selecting on at The Star in 1985. He grew up in Omaha.

March 7, 2023

Canada’s Trudeau orders probe of alleged China election dabbling | Politics News

Canadian Primary Minister Justin Trudeau has termed for a assessment of overseas interference in his country’s elections and will appoint an impartial exclusive investigator to probe alleged Chinese meddling in Canada’s polls.

Trudeau has appear less than force to act amid Canadian media studies, citing anonymous intelligence sources, that element alleged techniques operate by China to impact Canada’s elections in 2021 and 2019.

The Globe and Mail newspaper documented final month that China desired to see Trudeau’s Liberals reelected in the 2021 election and experienced labored to defeat Conservative politicians considered unfriendly to Beijing. Opposition parties have demanded a total public inquiry.

“Today, we’re taking even additional motion to secure our democratic establishments, to protect their integrity, and to uphold and bolster self esteem in our democracy. We will normally choose international attempts at undermining our democracy quite very seriously,” Trudeau said in a statement on Monday.

The prime minister reported that he experienced questioned legislators in the parliament’s nationwide protection committee to start an investigation to “assess the point out of foreign interference” in the country’s federal electoral procedure.

That is why, currently, I introduced new steps to combat the risk of foreign interference and to defend our democracy. To master additional about the steps we’re having, click in this article: https://t.co/HQThfGVUxp

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) March 7, 2023

Trudeau also reported that he would appoint an “eminent Canadian” who will have powers to make tips on “protecting and enhancing” democracy in Canada, like holding a community inquiry or a different official independent review process.

Canada’s Countrywide Protection and Intelligence Critique Company will also investigate how the country’s intelligence solutions handled the threat of overseas interference through the elections and report its results to Parliament.

“Together, these measures will give us a much better knowing of what took place in the very last two elections, how foreign governments experimented with to interfere, how security businesses in Canada responded to the menace of interference and how the information and facts flowed throughout govt,” the primary minister said in a information briefing.

Trudeau and Canada’s major safety officers have acknowledged China’s interference tries but insist that election results have been not altered. They have not confirmed the details of the media reviews.

Trudeau also elevated “serious concerns” about the alleged Chinese election interference with China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Indonesia in November.

“We have lengthy known, as an impartial report confirmed yet again last week, that the Chinese authorities, and other regimes like Iran and Russia, have tried to interfere not just in our democracy, but in our state in basic, whether it is our institutions, our corporations, our investigation facilities, or in the every day lives of our citizens,” Trudeau stated

He included that “all political leaders concur that the election results in 2019, and in 2021, were not impacted by overseas interference. But even if it did not alter the effects of our elections, any interference endeavor, by any overseas actor, is troubling and serious”.

China denies all allegations of election interference, stating it has no desire in meddling with Canada’s interior affairs.

https://www.youtube.com/check out?v=XxOj1cG5Vls

Canada’s opposition Conservative chief Pierre Poilievre experienced earlier on Monday criticised the idea of a Parliament committee currently being involved in the investigation. He explained that would end result only in officers presenting opposition legislators with “some details and then swear them to secrecy so they could under no circumstances talk about it once more. So correctly, that would be a trick to try and reduce any individual debating the issue.”

Irrespective of sparring with Chinese President Xi Jinping above a lot of problems, Trudeau’s Liberal govt is seen as open up to performing business with China, when the Conservatives are identified to consider a more hardline stance towards Beijing.

The accusations about covert Chinese techniques to meddle in Canadian affairs have added another layer of complexity to strained diplomatic relations amongst Canada and China.

Tensions concerning the nations mounted in late 2018 when Canadian police detained Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of the company’s founder, and then Beijing arrested two Canadians on spying expenses. All 3 were being freed in 2021.

Before on Monday, Canadian police said they were being investigating the media reviews that cited secret intelligence for probable violations of facts security rules. Canada’s spy agency is also conducting a probe into how labeled information was leaked to information organisations.

March 1, 2023

Bola Tinubu wins Nigeria’s presidential election against Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi

January 14, 2023

Czech presidential election: What you need to know | Politics News

Prague, Czech Republic – Presidential polls commence in the Czech Republic on Friday, with voters choosing the future head of condition.

The first round includes eight candidates bidding to run the place for the following five yrs, and ends Saturday.

No applicant is envisioned to gain a vast majority and a 2nd round, anticipated two weeks later on, will see the leading two candidates contend.

“What helps make these elections amazing is that none of the candidates represents the 3-social gathering governing coalition,” political analyst Jan Herzmann advised Al Jazeera. “It is a struggle among the opposition parliamentary candidates.”

That no candidate signifies the latest governing administration is “unheard of in the Central European context”, said Herzmann.

The winner will substitute outgoing president, Milos Zeman, who is stated to have overstepped his constitutional legal rights several situations.

The 78-calendar year-old has been in electric power considering that 2013, getting served two 5-12 months phrases.

He has occur underneath hearth for intervening in Czech politics, searching for to make improvements to relations with China and Russia until eventually the Ukraine war erupted, and for his repeated anti-refugee and anti-Muslim remarks.

“The Czech president has very similar legal rights to the president of Austria or Germany in that their job is instead official,” Herzmann said. “This stands in distinction to countries like France the place the president is de facto head of authorities.

“But Zeman experienced absent past his constitutional electrical power several periods by remaining extremely included in politics. He designed himself additional visible than preceding presidents. Now it is up to the new head of point out no matter if they will continue on in Zeman’s footsteps or respect their role as outlined by the structure.”

Previous PM Babiš acquitted forward of vote

A person of the three leading candidates is previous Key Minister Andrej Babiš, the Czech billionaire tycoon who confronted demo as the principal suspect in a subsidy fraud case just four times just before the vote.

Babiš, 68, was acquitted by Prague’s municipal court on Monday in a big earn for just one of the country’s richest gentlemen. He was accused of hiding his possession in a firm to protected 2 million euros ($2.2m) in European Union subsidies to build a convention centre in close proximity to Prague.

In accordance to Herzmann, the court’s final decision could have a important impression on the presidential race.

“Babiš’s opposition candidates were counting on applying the trial as the primary argument as to why he should not be elected,” the analyst said. “But since he is no extended experiencing criminal rates, this is no lengthier relevant. No matter whether Czechs will feel Babiš’s version of why he stood trial, that he has turn into some sort of a political target, stays to be found.”

Czech presidential candidates attend a final televised debate — Czech presidential candidates face off in a closing televised debate on January 8, 2023 [David W Cerny/Reuters]

He said the verdict, together with past week’s withdrawal of one more candidate, trade union activist Josef Stredula, could enhance Babiš’s acceptance by 3 to 4 percent.

Babiš is envisioned to secure 26.5 p.c of the votes, suggests the Median industry exploration company.

“The final benefits depend mainly on community attitudes encompassing the courtroom situation and Babiš’s persona,” Herzmannn stated. “This is tricky to forecast as community impression is primarily based on feelings more than specifics.

“The court’s favourable determination toward Babiš could enable him gather votes from undecided voters.”

No clear slates

Babiš is not the only controversial prospect.

The other two entrance runners are equally polling at about 27 p.c and also encounter criticism around their earlier.

An independent candidate, Petr Pavel is the previous chairman of the NATO Military services Committee and former chief of the Typical Personnel of the Czech Armed Forces.

He has been repeatedly blasted for his admitted membership in the Communist Get together of Czechoslovakia in the yrs in advance of the Velvet Revolution.

The 61-calendar year-old, who is frequently referred to as “general” by Czechs, crafted his marketing campaign on his professional-EU stance, help for Ukraine and strength sustainability.

Presidential candidate and former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee and Czech Army General Petr Pavel — Pavel speaks to his supporters at a rock club on January 9, 2023 [David W Cerny/Reuters]

The other strong candidate is Danuše Nerudová, the only lady in the race.

An economist, university professor, and former rector of Mendel College in Brno, she was accused of plagiarism and quickly-monitoring doctoral degrees.

Nerudová has acknowledged she could have acted quicker when dealing with the challenges lifted at Mendel but has denied wrongdoing.

The 44-year-aged campaigned on much better training, equal legal rights for all and pension reforms.

Nerudová and Pavel support the EU, are fully commited to the struggle against climate modify and again exact same-sex marriage, which stays unlawful in the Czech Republic – values which have created them common among the young voters.

Initially-time voter Anezka, an 18-yr-aged from Teplice, suggests she will vote for Nerudová.

“She is the only candidate who understands the needs of youthful folks and seems to be really committed to modern values,” she explained to Al Jazeera, citing Nerudova’s help for students and sympathies with LGBT teams. “Also, I would like to have a feminine president.”

Czech presidential candidate Danuse Nerudova — Nerudová’s campaign has emphasised instruction, equivalent rights for all and pension reforms [David W Cerny/Reuters]

Tomas, a 39-12 months-outdated voter from Prague, claims he feels as while the former typical is the most effective candidate to lead the region through an economic disaster and probable fallouts from the war in Ukraine.

The Czech Republic is household to practically 500,000 Ukrainian refugees. Only Russia, Poland and Germany host more.

“The country has a big problem of integrating refugees from Ukraine while, like the rest of Europe, we remain less than constant danger from Russia,” Tomas reported.

“The normal had been steady in his anti-Russian stance and assist for Ukraine, which is why I program to aid him in the two rounds of the election. I also think that he has the largest probability of beating Babiš, which must be of frequent desire to all.”

Herzmann reported the outcome will rely on undecided voters and the turnout fee.

“Some polls advise that voter turnout could be around 75 {515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} of all qualified voters, but I suspect it will be only a little more than earlier presidential elections in 2013 and 2018 when all over 60 percent of voters arrived to solid their votes,” the analyst explained.

An boost would mirror an ever more polarised modern society, Herzmann stated.

January 9, 2023

The ‘Stolen’ Election That Poisoned American Politics. It Happened in 1984.

“Coelho requested me to go in,” reported Jim Margolis, the former senior adviser to Barack Obama who back again then was a twentysomething Democratic operative. “I believed I was likely in for two times, and I emerged, like, eight months later on,” he told me. “I can just see us in these crowded tiny clerks’ offices, with the throngs of individuals, and the vote-counting trying to acquire area, and all the histrionics.”

“Hand-counting paper ballots and punch-card ballots is a grueling system,” Stephen Nix, now the senior director of Eurasia at the Intercontinental Republican Institute, then the Midwest field director for the NRCC, told me. “Complete monotony,” he recalled, “and then all of a sudden there is a questionable ballot and most people operates to the table and surrounds the desk, and there’s all this scrutiny, and there’s all this discussion.”

By the middle of April, as the auditors went from county to county, the day-to-day updates in the papers in Evansville read like a neck-and-neck horse race. “McCloskey jumps ahead a few votes,” a headline examine on April 11. “Lead seesaws,” a headline examine on April 12. “McIntyre stretches direct to 6,” a headline read on April 13. The NRCC ran total-page ads in the papers. “Frank McCloskey and the Democrats in Washington,” the adverts read, “are executing a lot more than just insulting the persons of Indiana — they are striving to steal an election.”

On April 18, however, at the intermittently testy last general public listening to at the Municipal Developing in Evansville, the task power experienced had a person last, fateful selection. At issue have been 94 unnotarized, unwitnessed absentee ballots from a handful of counties. By law, none of them should really have been counted — a stage upon which absolutely everyone agreed. The problems was some of them have been, due to the fact some county clerks experienced despatched 62 of them to precincts, that means they already experienced been between the mix of the counted. It was way too late to just take them out. The rub now was the remaining 32. They experienced been rightfully held back by other clerks. They had not been counted.

“These were being held independently,” Panetta stated at the hearing. “They ought not to be counted.”

Clay, the other Democrat, concurred. It was “unfortunate,” he claimed, that initially group was counted, but to now rely the 2nd “would be to compound the difficulty that previously exists.”

Thomas, the just one Republican, was furious. He charged “hypocrisy.” The abiding proposition of the activity power was to “treat like ballots in a like way,” he claimed. “I read about and about all over again that the cry is rely all the ballots,” he stated. They should really “at minimum be consistent,” he explained.

“The fact is this,” Panetta countered. “While we say we depend all the ballots, we do make some judgments and we do apply some discretion.”

Thomas, getting to be much more and much more discouraged, which is obvious even from just looking at the transcript, requested Shumway for some direction. But Shumway’s career was to be in cost of the counting of the ballots — that the undertaking drive resolved to depend. “I am happy the essential choice on this,” he advised the trio, “is yours and not mine.”

“Some were being sent to the precinct and some have been retained by the clerks. My dilemma is: So what?” Thomas reported. “Is the big difference in where they have been bodily positioned sufficient to address them fully in different ways?”

“These turned scrambled when they went to the precincts. It is too terrible. But they grew to become scrambled at the precinct degree,” Panetta pressured. He called this “the distinguishing attribute.”

The task pressure place it to a vote. The Democrats mentioned no to counting the 32. The Republican stated certainly.

“Really stunning,” Thomas stated sarcastically.

And with that, and at the close of this 5-hour, 14-moment hearing, Shumway declared the ultimate tally — McCloskey, 116,645 McIntyre, 116,641. A margin of four votes. The process power audit had created the result even nearer and a lot less selected.

Republicans’ recriminations ramped up even more.

“They have the arrogant power and they use it,” Thomas reported. “We will not be civilized. We will not suppose it is small business as common. We will not go back again to taking part in the lackey.” Thomas explained he felt like he’d been “raped.” Much too sturdy? “Talk to a rape victim,” he would explain to the Los Angeles Occasions. “Ask them following it is in excess of if they can just forget about about it. I really feel individually violated.” (Thomas declined to remark.)

December 27, 2022

How 2022 was a historically close election

CNN
—

A lot of men and women have experimented with to draw lessons from the 2022 elections, which finished earlier this thirty day period. No matter if it be Democrats’ historically robust general performance for a bash in electric power during a midterm or the absence of Senate incumbents dropping, the takes have been aplenty.

But probably the most crucial lesson as we head into the 2024 cycle hasn’t gotten ample oxygen: the closeness of the 2022 midterms. Without a doubt, an evaluation of the data reveals that 2022 was a historically close election in a traditionally divided era.

Let’s begin with seat counts in governorships and in the Home and Senate. Submit-election, neither party dominates. Republicans have taken care of the thinnest the greater part of governorships (52{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502}) and Residence seats (51{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502}). Democrats will manage the Senate with a bare the vast majority (51{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} of the seats).

It is not uncommon for any one of these (governorships, House seats or Senate seats) to be narrowly split. Soon after all, we have just had two decades in which each individual social gathering has held 50 Senate seats.

What is unconventional is to have all 3 be so closely divided. By my rely, this is apparently the very first time due to the fact the well known election of senators (1914) when neither get together will maintain much more than 52{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} of governorships, Property seats or Senate seats.

When you study the vote counts from the 2022 election, the closeness gets even much more clear. Republicans won the House popular vote by considerably less than 3 factors and would possible have gained by about 2 points had both of those get-togethers operate candidates in just about every district. That would have been the 2nd-closest midterm margin in the Residence well-liked vote in the very last 70 several years.

The popular vote margins in governor’s and Senate races this calendar year had been even closer. There were 36 gubernatorial races in 2022, with Democrats successful more votes forged for governor in whole than Republicans – by significantly less than .3 details.

That margin was the closest in midterm- or presidential-yr gubernatorial races considering that at the very least 1990.

The margin in Senate races was even now tighter. Republican candidates for Senate received a lot more votes than Democratic candidates – by .1 points. Democrats probable would have gotten far more votes experienced they operate a candidate in Utah as an alternative of endorsing impartial Evan McMullin.

Nonetheless, the .1-position well known vote margin was the closest in Senate races in any election since at least before the starting of World War II.

Not each individual state held gubernatorial and Senate races this 12 months, but those people that did ended up effectively agent of the country as a whole when appeared at alongside one another. They collectively voted for Joe Biden in 2020 by a margin similar with his real national well-known vote edge.

What helps make the closeness of the 2022 elections particularly notable is how it exemplifies an electorate that has been really divided for practically 35 decades.

We have not experienced a presidential election in which the well-liked vote was determined by double-digits considering the fact that 1984. This streak of one-digit elections is the longest since most states started commonly electing presidents in the 1820s.

The major margin in the Home common vote given that 1984 was the almost-11-issue acquire Democrats notched in the 2008 election. In truth, the previous time the Home common vote margin was 11 factors or a lot more was 40 yrs ago, in 1982. We have not observed these a string of shut effects in the Property preferred vote in 200 several years.

Political researchers have debated the reasons for this tight established of modern elections. Arguably, the greatest rationalization is political polarization. The period of liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats is typically absent now. The pool of swing voters has, appropriately, shrunk.

But that has not made swing voters any considerably less important right now. These voters, who go back again and forth amongst the events, stay hugely sought soon after by Democrats and Republicans, and they can make all the distinction. For occasion, a number of purple states (this sort of as Nevada, New Hampshire and Wisconsin) elected candidates of diverse parties for governor and senator this 12 months.

The 2024 election will definitely see equally get-togethers hoping to gain over these swing voters. The early read through indicates neither occasion can experience secure about their chances. You can obtain polls that have Biden (the most likely Democratic nominee) and his very likely Republican opponent (either former President Donald Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis) within a number of points of each and every other among the this team.

The base line is: Neither social gathering has a lasting vast majority from the general public. That was legitimate in the traditionally near election of 2022 and in the historically divided period of the previous 35 decades. And it could incredibly perfectly also be also accurate in the future presidential election.