Election category, Page 55
How a hush money scandal tied to a porn star led to Trump’s first criminal trial
NEW YORK — It was the kind of tawdry tale that Donald Trump might have relished before politics: a porn actor claiming they had had sex. But on the eve of the 2016 presidential election, Trump feared the story, which he says is false, would cost him votes. So, prosecutors...
Voting rights groups appeal ruling that directs Pa. to reject undated mail ballots
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. After a court defeat, Pennsylvania voting rights organizations are trying to convince a larger group of federal appellate judges that the state shouldn’t be allowed to reject mail ballots...
Why independents can’t vote in the 2024 Pa. primary, and the slow-moving push to change that
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — Millions of voters are expected to cast ballots during Pennsylvania’s April 23 primary, choosing candidates to represent the Democratic and Republican parties in...
2 women who say abortion restrictions put them in medical peril feel compelled to campaign for Biden
WASHINGTON — A Texas woman who went into premature labor, developed sepsis and nearly died and a Louisiana woman who said restrictive abortion laws prevented her from getting medical help for a miscarriage are now campaigning for President Joe Biden as the Democrat highlights how women’s health is being affected...
Anonymous users are dominating right-wing discussions online. They also spread false information
NEW YORK — The reposts and expressions of shock from public figures followed quickly after a user on the social platform X who uses a pseudonym claimed that a government website had revealed “skyrocketing” rates of voters registering without a photo ID in three states this year — two of...
Lee, Patel spar on TV over Biden support, Mideast war
Democratic U.S. Rep. Summer Lee and primary challenger Bhavini Patel sparred Thursday in their only scheduled televised debate, attacking each other over their positions on war in the Mideast and support of President Joe Biden. WPXI moderated the 28-minute debate, which was not open to other media. No primary race...
Summer Lee is Pennsylvania’s most progressive representative in Congress and its only Democrat facing a primary fight
NORTH IRWIN — U.S. Rep. Summer Lee stood with Republican and Democratic elected officials in Westmoreland County, holding an oversized check symbolizing federal dollars to rebuild a bridge, where behind her there was instead, a gaping hole. “We’re not just delivering asphalt and concrete,” Lee said in the small town...
Lawsuit challenges Alabama restrictions on absentee ballot help
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Civil rights organizations and other groups filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a new Alabama law that criminalizes certain types of assistance with absentee ballot applications. The Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, and other groups are plaintiffs in the lawsuit that says...
Months ahead of the presidential election, Nebraska’s GOP governor wants a winner-take-all system
OMAHA, Neb. — With only months to go before what is shaping up to be a hotly contested presidential election, Nebraska’s Republican governor is calling on state lawmakers to move forward with a “winner-take-all” system of awarding Electoral College votes. “It would bring Nebraska into line with 48 of our...
Trump’s immigration rhetoric makes inroads with some Democrats. That could be a concern for Biden
WASHINGTON — The video shared by former President Donald Trump features horror movie music and footage of migrants purportedly entering the U.S. from countries including Cameroon, Afghanistan and China. Shots of men with tattoos and videos of violent crime are set against close-ups of people waving and wrapping themselves in...
Democrats hope Biden could get a boost from down-ballot races under Wisconsin’s new legislative map
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s presidential primary Tuesday clears the way for a general election campaign that Democrats see as an opportunity unlike any in recent state history. New legislative districts adopted last month erase Republican advantages that gave the GOP dominance of the Wisconsin Assembly even as Democrats won 14...
Elections 101: What to know about poll watchers, and what they can and can’t do in Pennsylvania
Elections 101 from Spotlight PA protects you against election misinformation and empowers you to make informed decisions. HARRISBURG — As the 2024 election heats up, voters in Pennsylvania may hear candidates talk about poll watchers. Appointed by candidates or political parties, poll watchers are permitted to observe polling place setup,...
Biden’s fundraiser with Obama and Clinton nets a record $25 million, his campaign says
NEW YORK — A fundraiser for President Joe Biden on Thursday in New York City that also stars Barack Obama and Bill Clinton is raising a whopping $25 million, setting a record for the biggest haul for a political event, his campaign said. The eye-popping amount was a major show...
‘Dark money’ groups would be forced to disclose how they spend on Pa.’s elections under advancing bill
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House is advancing modest campaign finance reforms during an election year that will likely see a torrent of hard-to-trace political spending...
Biden leans on his Democratic predecessors as Trump remains isolated from other Republican leaders
WASHINGTON — When President Joe Biden needs advice, there are two people he can turn to who know what it’s like to sit in his chair. Sometimes he will invite Barack Obama over to the White House for a meal or he will get on the phone with Bill Clinton....
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. picks Nicole Shanahan as his running mate for his independent White House bid
OAKLAND, Calif. — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. chose Nicole Shanahan on Tuesday to be his vice presidential pick, adding a wealthy but nationally unknown figure to his independent White House bid that’s trying to appeal to voters disaffected by a rematch of the 2020 election. Shanahan, 38, is a California...
Biden and Harris team up for health care event in North Carolina
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will promote their health care agenda on Tuesday in North Carolina, a battleground state that Democrats hope to flip in their favor after falling short to Donald Trump in the last two presidential elections. Fourteen years after President Barack Obama...
Arizona expects to be back at the center of election attacks. Its top officials are going on offense
PHOENIX — The room sits behind a chain-link fence, then black iron gates. Guards block the entrance, which requires a security badge to access. The glass surrounding it is shatterproof. What merits all these layers of protection is somewhat surprising: tabulating machines that count votes in Arizona’s Maricopa County. The...
Trump’s latest 2024 campaign fundraising report shows him lagging behind Biden in cash
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump’s fundraising picked up last month, but his political operation is still struggling to catch up to President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party in money coming in. Trump’s campaign and his Save America political action committee, two key committees in his political operation,...
Biden is using the ‘are you better off today’ question to contrast himself with Trump
DALLAS — President Joe Biden opened a new line of attack against former President Donald Trump on Wednesday, asking and answering the classic “are you better off today than you were four years ago” question to remind voters of what it was like when Trump was in office. The Democratic...
Allegheny County’s elections board OKs ballot drop-off sites with 3-0 vote
Allegheny County’s new ballot drop-off locations are finally official. The county Board of Elections voted unanimously Wednesday to add six locations where voters can drop off mail-in ballots for the upcoming primary election. Staffed drop-off locations will be placed in Squirrel Hill, Moon, McKeesport, North Park, South Park and Boyce...
Biden tells Latino voters: ‘I need you back’
PHOENIX — President Joe Biden on Tuesday personally appealed to Latino voters, saying they’re the reason he defeated Donald Trump in 2020 and urging them to help him do it again in November. “I need you back,” he told several dozen supporters packed into a local Mexican restaurant. Biden said...
Biden and Trump notch more wins in Tuesday’s primaries
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Joe Biden and Donald Trump won their parties’ primaries in Kansas on Tuesday, notching more delegates as they continue their march to a rematch in November’s presidential election. Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, also easily won primaries Tuesday in Ohio and Illinois. Trump also won...
Tuesday’s primaries include a key Senate race in Ohio and clues for the Biden-Trump rematch
NEW YORK — Five states will hold presidential primaries on Tuesday as President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump continue to lock up support around the country after becoming their parties’ presumptive nominees. Trump is expected to easily win GOP primaries in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio. Biden...
Who is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and why is he running for president?
The lack of excitement many Americans feel about a presidential rematch has heightened interest in alternatives to the major-party candidates, none more so than Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose famous name has helped him build buzz for his independent bid. Kennedy is a huge longshot to win Electoral College votes,...
