Election category, Page 76
3 special elections in Allegheny County will determine state House majority
Three special elections being held Tuesday in Allegheny County will determine which party has the majority in the state House for the next two years. Voters who live in the 32nd, 34th and 35th state House districts will elect new legislators. With those seats now empty, Republicans hold a slim...
GOP declares victory in conservative state Senate district
HARRISBURG — Republicans are declaring victory in a special election for a vacant state Senate seat in a heavily Republican district in northern Pennsylvania. The Republican candidate, state Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver, led Democrat Patricia Lawton by a more than two-to-one margin in preliminary returns from Tuesday’s special election. Once...
Allegheny County seeks to clarify confusion over permanent mail-in ballot applications
Allegheny County election officials are reminding voters that mail-in ballots are not sent to their homes on a permanent basis, and voters must complete an application at least once a year if they want to vote by mail. This week, the county will be sending out 300,000 mailings to voters...
Hempfield man announces second bid for Westmoreland commissioner
A former retired executive from Hempfield announced this week he will seek election as Westmoreland County commissioner. John Ventre, 65, said he will run in this year’s Republican primary and is targeting first-time incumbent Doug Chew as his chief opponent this spring. Chew and fellow first-term Republican Sean Kertes are...
Wisconsin judge dismisses complaint against GOP fake elector
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge on Tuesday dismissed an open records complaint against a Republican member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission who served as a fake elector for former President Donald Trump. Allegations that the elections commission violated the state open records law by wrongly withholding documents will go...
Court greenlights holding Pa. House special elections Feb. 7
A Pennsylvania court ruled Friday that special elections to fill three vacancies in Democratic-leaning state House districts will be held together next month, with partisan control of the chamber at stake. A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel sided with the House’s Democratic floor leader, Rep. Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia, who had...
Biden’s Delaware home is now a player in document drama
WASHINGTON — It’s President Joe Biden’s refuge from Washington — a place that’s part home office, part Sunday family dinner venue, a safe place for his treasured 1967 Corvette and a makeshift campaign studio during the covid-19 pandemic. Now, Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, is coming under fresh scrutiny as...
State employees’ off for Shapiro inauguration
Some 1,200 state government employees who report to the Capitol Complex to work have an extra long weekend ahead of them. Not only do they have Martin Luther King Day off on Monday, these non-essential employees have Tuesday off to reduce traffic and free up parking for Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro...
Key dates in discovery of classified records tied to Biden
WASHINGTON — Key dates related to the discovery of classified documents tied to President Joe Biden, based on statements from the White House, the president and Attorney General Merrick Garland: — Jan. 20, 2017: Biden’s two terms as vice president to President Barack Obama end. — Mid-2017-2019: Biden periodically uses...
Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein announces run for county executive
One of Pittsburgh’s most veteran public officials announced his candidacy Thursday for Allegheny County executive, joining a large field in the Democratic primary for the region’s top elected official. Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein spoke in front of a crowd of around 1,000 supporters at the Heinz History Center in...
Judges weigh GOP bid to delay 2 Pa. House special elections
HARRISBURG — Preparations are far along for two Pittsburgh-area special elections that the Republican leader of the Pennsylvania House has filed a lawsuit to delay past their scheduled date in early February. With Democrats and Republicans nearly even in the state House, the two special elections could determine partisan control...
Erica Brusselars launches bid for Allegheny County treasurer
For the first time in nearly 25 years, Allegheny County could have a new county treasurer, as Democrat Erica Rocchi Brusselars announced her candidacy Tuesday. Incumbent John Weinstein, a Democrat, was first elected to the treasurer position in 1999 and has held the position since then. It’s unclear if Brusselars...
Pa. county is about to start a hand recount of its 2020 presidential election results
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. More than two years after the last ballot was cast in the 2020 election, Lycoming County...
Majority of 16k canceled Pa. mail-in ballots were from Democrats
HARRISBURG — New data from Pennsylvania’s elections agency shows an early November state court decision that barred mail-in ballots without accurate handwritten dates on their exterior envelopes resulted in otherwise valid votes being thrown out. The Department of State said this week more than 16,000 mail-in ballots were disqualified by...
Kevin McCarthy voted down time after time for House speaker
WASHINGTON — House Republicans flailed through a long second day of fruitless balloting Wednesday, unable to either elect their leader Kevin McCarthy as House speaker or come up with a new strategy to end the political chaos that has tarnished the start of their new majority. Yet McCarthy wasn’t giving...
Kevin McCarthy fails in marathon votes for speaker, House adjournsVideo
WASHINGTON — Unable to elect Republican leader Kevin McCarthy as the new House speaker Tuesday, the Republicans adjourned for the day in disarray as the party tries to regroup from his a historic defeat after a long, messy start for the new Congress. The surprise move end to Day One...
Black support for GOP ticked up in this year’s midterms
WASHINGTON — Black voters have been a steady foundation for Democratic candidates for decades, but that support appeared to show a few cracks in this year’s elections. Republican candidates were backed by 14% of Black voters, compared with 8% in the last midterm elections four years ago, according to AP...
Pennsylvania certifies election results after recount delay
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top elections official fully certified results from the November vote late last week after recount petitions in some counties had delayed the process, the Department of State said Tuesday. An agency spokesperson said acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman completed certification of all races in the 2022...
Josh Shapiro’s win is high note amid antisemitism surge
PITTSBURGH — Josh Shapiro will be taking office as Pennsylvania’s next governor in January after running a campaign in which he spoke early and often about his Jewish religious heritage. At a time of rising concern about overt expressions of antisemitism, some observers are seeing a bright spot in his...
Arizona lawyers: Kari Lake election loss lawsuit lacks merit
PHOENIX — Republican Kari Lake didn’t offer evidence to back her claims of widespread, intentional misconduct on Election Day at her two-day trial challenging her loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs in Arizona governor’s race, lawyers for the state said Thursday. Lake also never established her claim that printer problems at...
County vote moves Pennsylvania closer to certifying election
HARRISBURG — A suburban Philadelphia county elections board voted Tuesday to certify its November results, a development Pennsylvania officials had said was required before they can issue a statewide certification. Bucks County government spokesman Jim O’Malley said its Board of Elections wrapped up certification, although litigation over recount requests has...
Special election candidates selected for 3 state House races in Allegheny County
The fields have been set in three pivotal special elections in Allegheny County, with the local branches of the Democratic and Republican parties selecting their candidates in the races. The Allegheny County GOP on Saturday selected its three candidates for the upcoming special elections in the 32nd, 34th, and 35th...
Former Armstrong County elections director sues for discrimination, alleges election security issues
A former Armstrong County elections director filed a federal lawsuit against the county and one of its contractors, alleging discrimination and security concerns with the county’s voting system. Marybeth Kuznik of Penn Township, Westmoreland County, was fired in 2021 shortly after she requested a new scan of ballots after the...
Vote totals from recounted precincts certified in Westmoreland County
The Westmoreland County Election Board this week issued a final certification of results from five voting precincts subjected to a court-ordered recount. Voters from precincts in Salem, Hempfield, Loyalhanna, Lower Burrell and Ligonier Borough petitioned the courts to recount votes cast as part of the Nov. 8 general election for...
Mitch McConnell: Trump’s candidates fumbled 2022 away for GOP in Senate
WASHINGTON — Mitch McConnell said former President Donald Trump’s overwhelming influence in Republican Senate primaries led to hobbled candidates in 2022 who lost winnable general election races, leaving Democrats in control of the upper chamber for at least another two years. “Our ability to control the primary outcome was quite...
