Donald Trump
States weigh how to shield election officials from threats, harassment
Following the turmoil of the 2020 election, a photo of Washington state Election Director Lori Augino marked with crosshairs, her address, and the words “your days are numbered” was posted on a website alongside photos of numerous other state election officials described as “enemies of the people.” Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman said in […]
With voting rights stalled, some senators mull an update to the Electoral Count Act
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators is exploring legislation to overhaul how Congress counts Electoral College votes, but backers of stalled voting rights legislation are lukewarm on the effort as a substitute. The Electoral Count Act is an obscure law that has come under recent scrutiny, a year after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol […]
U.S. Senate blocks change in the filibuster for voting rights bills
WASHINGTON — Every Republican in the U.S. Senate and two Democrats on Wednesday night rejected a proposed change in the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation, dealing a major blow to attempts in Congress to counter restrictive voting laws passed in the states. In a 48-52 vote, two Democrats — Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona […]
Seven states to watch in the 2022 push to restrict voting rights
WASHINGTON — Republican state lawmakers across the country are ramping up their drive to enact voting and election-related laws in time for crucial 2022 midterm elections. As federal legislation that would limit state-level voting restrictions appears stymied in Washington, Republicans in the states are moving forward with new proposals and revisiting old ones that Democrats and […]
About the GOP’s historical amnesia on voting rights
If you get into an argument with a Republican about the GOP’s lamentable support for voting rights and its fractured relationship with Black Americans, it won’t be long before your rhetorical sparring partner bellows “Robert Byrd” at you and declares the argument over. The logic here, if it even can be called that, is that […]
Jan. 6 succeeded. Here’s what’s next.
If the point of the Jan. 6 insurrection was to establish that a significant portion of the country is done with democracy, it succeeded. The attack on the U.S. Capitol one year ago by violent supporters of former President Donald Trump — whose lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him was the fuel […]
The ‘sore loser effect’: Rejecting election results can destabilize democracy, drive terrorism
By James Piazza, Penn State An attendee at an October 2021 political rally hosted by right-wing activist Charlie Kirk asked: “How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?” The attendee was referring to the baseless allegation that Joe Biden stole the 2020 U.S. presidential election and that he unfairly denied […]
‘We thought that we would die’: Lawmakers probe painful Jan. 6 memories
Democrats in Congress marked the anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Thursday recounting the terror they experienced first-hand — and argued that it gives them even more reason to pursue voting rights legislation. They remembered the desperate scramble to hang on to the boxes that held the presidential vote tally, the rush […]
Here’s what’s happening in D.C. on the Jan. 6 anniversary
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will deliver a speech Thursday in the heart of the U.S. Capitol to mark the first anniversary of the insurrection there. One year ago, former President Donald Trump incited a mob of his supporters, and encouraged them to storm the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the […]
Voting rights tops U.S. Senate agenda as Jan. 6 anniversary nears
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday stressed that Democrats are prepared to change Senate rules to pass voting rights legislation — and linked the move to the attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. “The election subversion efforts we’re seeing all across the country today are […]
Schumer says U.S. Senate to consider changing the filibuster if voting rights stalls
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned on Monday that the Senate is prepared to debate changes in the filibuster if Republicans continue to block the advancement of voting rights legislation. In a sternly worded letter to other senators, the New York Democrat set a deadline of Jan. 17 for the chamber to consider revising the […]
Candidates fighting 2020 misinformation run to administer local elections
As a chemist and immigrant from Vietnam, Linh Nguyen never thought she could have a role in U.S. politics. But then Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 and he “unknowingly inspired minority leaders, women of color like me, to be more actively engaged in politics,” she said. She joined the nonpartisan League of Women […]