Election category, Page 65
School board meetings attract crowds as races become next political frontier
From book bans to gender-neutral bathrooms, culture wars have found a battlefield in Western Pennsylvania schools. National politics increasingly are influencing school boards, as party lines are splitting members over hot button issues such as sex education, trans rights and the appropriateness of classroom materials. School boards’ once-marginally attended monthly...
Allegheny County, statewide races spending millions this year as election nears
As the final weekend before Tuesday’s general election approaches, an even greater influx of political ads are expected for candidates to make their final push. Already, this year’s Allegheny County races have raised extremely large amounts of money, said Samuel Chen, an Allentown-based political strategist who works on local and...
Can Trump be on the ballot in 2024? It can hinge on the meaning of ‘insurrection’
DENVER — Can former President Donald Trump run for his old job again after his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol? The answer may depend on the definition of insurrection. Liberal groups have filed lawsuits in Colorado, Minnesota and other states to bar Trump from...
An Ohio amendment serves as a testing ground for statewide abortion fights expected in 2024
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Abortion access is expected to play a central role in the 2024 elections. The preview comes next week, when Ohio voters decide whether to enshrine reproductive rights in their state Constitution. The amendment is the only abortion question on any state’s ballot this year, a spotlight that...
What does West Deer’s fire tax referendum mean for voters?
West Deer voters will see two additional questions on their ballots on Election Day — one regarding the township’s fire tax, and the other for elected auditors. West Deer is a Home Rule charter community, meaning it is governed by a charter that can only be amended through a voter...
Deer Lakes School District voters have 7 candidates to pick from for 5 board seats
Seven candidates are vying for five seats on the Deer Lakes School Board in Tuesday’s general election. Joining incumbent Democrats Cristy McCloskey and Larry Neidig, who are cross-filed, in the race are former board member Phillip Ziendarski, a Democrat, and newcomers James Calvert, a cross-filed Democrat; Susan Claus, Democrat; Pietro...
6 candidates compete for 5 seats on Greater Latrobe school board
On the heels of Greater Latrobe school board’s passage of a multi-million dollar revitalization plan that will raise taxes through 2039 is the Nov. 7 general election. Six candidates are vying for five, four-year seats on the board. The incumbents include: Susan Mains, who is seeking a ninth term, Michael...
2 incumbents face 3 newcomers in West Deer race for 3 supervisor seats
Five candidates are vying for three open supervisor seats in West Deer. The board consists of five members, with four-year terms. Supervisors are limited to two terms, as stated in the township’s home rule charter. Incumbent Republican Vernon Frey will appear on the ballot for voters in District 1 in...
Working the polls cleared up Jay Schneider’s 2020 suspicions. Now he’s taking charge as a judge of elections
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy. In 2022, when the judge of elections at Jay Schneider’s township polling place asked him to...
Political newcomers vying for supervisor seats in Kiski Township
Voters in the Kiski Township supervisors race will have their choice of four candidates vying for four open seats in the Nov. 7 election, with two seats available for six-year terms and two seats for four-year terms. There are three candidates on each term’s ballot. Mary Long, who is cross-filed,...
A new Democratic group and one libertarian billionaire are flooding the Pa. Supreme Court race with cash
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Political spending has kicked into high gear in the final stretch of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court race. After...
Pennsylvania’s voting law is filled with obsolete provisions, troublesome conflicts
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Election Code was written nearly 100 years ago, and some of its provisions are even older...
Pa. Election 2023: When to expect results, how officials are preparing, voting guides
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Officials and experts in Pennsylvania are confident that new technology and growing familiarity with mail ballots among...
Progressive Sara Innamorato and centrist Joe Rockey square off to become next Allegheny County executive
Allegheny County will see a new top elected official for the first time in 12 years, as a progressive candidate faces a Republican campaigning on centrist views who hopes moderate Democrats will cross party lines at the polls next week. County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, a Democrat, is leaving office after...
Advocacy groups accuse DA’s office of not properly charging sexual assault cases
Nine advocacy groups have concerns that the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office is failing to prosecute sexual assault crimes in cases where the alleged assailant and victim had a previous relationship. The groups, which include Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, the Women’s Law Project and the Greater Pittsburgh Women’s Center &...
Political divide in Norwin separates factions vying for control of school board
Ten candidates — five each on the Republican and Democratic ballots — have formed competing factions in the race for five seats on the Norwin School Board. The board has been divided into two factions for 22 months and voters likely will determine Nov. 7 which slate of candidates will...
Lawyers argue whether the Constitution’s ‘insurrection’ clause blocks Trump from the 2024 ballot
DENVER — Lawyers for a group of Colorado voters on Monday focused on the January 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol and former President Donald Trump’s role, opening a trial that could determine whether the Constitution’s insurrection clause bars Trump from running again for the White House. Attorney Eric Olson...
As election nears, Westmoreland commissioner candidates look to the future
Westmoreland County’s board of commissioners already has seen change. It came in August when Democrat Ted Kopas was appointed to the board to replace Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher, who resigned to take a job as a worker’s compensation judge. Kopas joined first-term Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew as the...
2 veteran East Deer commissioners challenged for reelection
Two veteran East Deer commissioners and three newcomers are vying for three at-large commissioner seats in the township. Four of East Deer’s five commissioner seats, three at-large and one in the 1st Ward, are up for election this year. The only seat not up is held by 2nd Ward Commissioner...
Challenger Dugan threatens Zappala’s 25-year grip on Allegheny County DA’s Office
For the past 25 years, the name Zappala has been synonymous with law enforcement in Allegheny County. As one of the longest-serving district attorneys in Pennsylvania, Stephen A. Zappala Jr. has set the tone for criminal justice for a generation of lawyers, police officers, judges and criminals. That could change...
Former Vice President Mike Pence ends campaign for the White House after struggling to gain traction
NEW YORK — Former Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday dropped his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, ending his campaign for the White House after struggling to raise money and gain traction in the polls. “After much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president...
Financial reports reveal shoestring campaigns for Westmoreland commissioner
The candidates for Westmoreland County commissioner have spent about one-eighth of what was paid out during the months leading up to Election Day four years ago, according to campaign finance reports filed this week. Financial reports of Republican incumbents Sean Kertes and Doug Chew and Democrats Ted Kopas and Lisa...
Rep. Dean Phillips announces primary challenge to Biden. He says Democrats need to focus on future
CONCORD, N.H. — For months, Dean Phillips called for a Democratic primary challenge to President Joe Biden, drawing no public interest from governors, lawmakers, and other would-be alternatives. The 54-year-old Minnesota congressman finally entered the race himself on Friday in an event outside New Hampshire’s statehouse, saying, “It is time...
Bullying, student safety, finances among topics on minds of Allegheny Valley School Board candidates
Voters in the Allegheny Valley School District will see three different races for the upcoming school board election. Six people — Democrats Amy Sarno, Paula Jean Moretti, Nicole Paulovich and Glenna Renaldi, and Republicans Kathleen “Jeanne” Haas and James Schiemer — will vie for five seats for four-year terms on...
Greensburg Salem School Board race features 3 incumbents, 3 newcomers, 5 open seats
Three incumbents and three newcomers are vying for five seats on the Greensburg Salem School Board in the Nov. 7 general election. Those seeking to join the board are Justin Aion, Kacey Byrne-Houser and Tyler Courtney. Incumbents on the ballot are: Brian Conway, who is seeking a second term; Robin...
