Author: Joel Williams
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Newsom recall signature deadline next week
The organizers of an effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) have until March 17 to turn in signatures in an attempt to get the recall on the ballot. To trigger a recall election, organizers must turn in 1,495,709 signatures, which is equal to 12% of the total votes cast in the 2018 gubernatorial…
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Tishaura Jones, Cara Spencer advance from St. Louis mayoral primary
Tishaura Jones and Cara Spencer advanced from the St. Louis mayoral primary on March 2 and will run against each other in the general election on April 6. Jones received 25,374 votes, while Spencer received 20,649 votes. Lewis Reed and Andrew Jones, the other two candidates in the primary, received 17,162 and 6,422 votes, respectively.…
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St. Louis to use new mayoral primary system for first time on March 2
On March 2, St. Louis, Missouri, will hold a mayoral primary using an electoral system called approval voting for the first time in the city's history. Candidates of all political affiliations will appear on the ballot without partisan labels and voters may choose any number of candidates to vote for. The two candidates receiving the…
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California Secretary of State verifies 668,000 signatures submitted for gubernatorial recall
On Feb. 19, the California Secretary of State's office released the latest signature report in the campaign to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). As of Feb. 5, the secretary's office validated 668,202 signatures of the 798,310 signatures that it processed, with another 296,147 submitted but not yet processed. So far, 83.7 percent of signatures processed…
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Final executive clemency update of Trump presidency
The U.S. Constitution, in Article II, Section 2, grants the president the power of executive clemency. Executive clemency includes the power to pardon, in which the president overturns a federal conviction and restores “an individual to the state of innocence that existed before the conviction.” From 2017-2021, Donald Trump (R) issued 143 pardons and 94 commutations.…
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February 16 is next official reporting deadline in Gavin Newsom recall effort
A campaign is underway to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). Supporters have until March 17 to collect 1,495,709 valid signatures to trigger a recall election. The next official monthly reporting period ends on February 16. On Feb. 10, organizers of the recall effort reported they had collected more than 1.5 million signatures. The deadline…
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Recall effort against California governor enters final six weeks to gather signatures
Supporters of a recall campaign against California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) have until March 17 to collect 1,495,709 valid signatures to trigger a recall election. On February 1, 2021, recall organizers said they had collected about 1.3 million signatures. Recall supporters say Newsom mishandled the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic, did not do enough…
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California Supreme Court upholds removal of judge following sexual misconduct charges
On Jan. 27, the California Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by Jeffrey Johnson, a former justice of the 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 1. The state Commission on Judicial Performance removed Johnson from office, effective July 2, 2020, after charging him with nine counts of misconduct. The charges against Johnson included sexual…
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Trump issues 74 pardons, 70 commutations on last day of term
On January 20, 2021, President Donald Trump (R) issued 74 pardons and 70 commutations. Among those pardoned included former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon, former U.S. Reps. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) and Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.), and the rappers Lil' Wayne and Kodak Black. These final pardons and commutations bring the total for Trump's term to 143…
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Four candidates file to run for mayor of St. Louis
The city of St. Louis, Missouri, will hold a nonpartisan top-two primary election for mayor on March 2, 2021. The filing deadline for this election was January 4, 2021. Four candidates filed to run for the open seat: 2017 mayoral candidate Andrew Jones, St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones, Aldermen President Lewis Reed, and Alderwoman Cara…