Category: Federal
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Federal judge requires Ohio to accept electronic signatures from initiative campaigns seeking to place minimum wage and voting changes on the ballot
On May 19, U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus ordered Ohio to accept electronic signatures from the campaigns sponsoring the Minimum Wage Increase Initiative and the Voting Requirements Initiative. The judge also extended the signature deadline from July 1 to July 31. The judge’s order only applies to the ballot measure campaigns that sued the…
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Biden outraised Trump in April, Trump continues to lead in overall fundraising and cash on hand
Joe Biden outraised Donald Trump by more than two-to-one last month, while Trump had a nearly two-to-one advantage in cash on hand, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on May 20. The Biden campaign raised $43.6 million in April, 88% more than the Trump campaign’s $16.9 million. Biden’s campaign spent…
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U.S. Senate confirms federal judges for first time since February
The U.S. Senate confirmed three nominees to U.S. District Court judgeships. The Senate has confirmed 196 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 51 appellate court judges, 141 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017. The confirmed nominees are: Scott Rash, confirmed to the United States…
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Congressional major-party candidate filing deadline to pass in Vermont, Wyoming
The major-party congressional filing deadlines to run for elected office in Vermont and Wyoming are on May 28 and May 29, respectively. In Vermont, prospective candidates may file for the following office: Vermont’s At-Large Congressional District (one seat) In Wyoming, prospective candidates may file for the following offices: U.S. Senate (one seat) Wyoming’s At-Large Congressional District (one…
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Perkins wins Oregon’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate
Jo Rae Perkins won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Oregon on May 19, defeating three other candidates. With an estimated 69% of ballots tallied, Perkins received 49% of the vote, followed by Paul Romero with 30.7%, Robert Schwartz with 11.5%, and John Verbeek with 8.3%. Perkins will run in the general election on…
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2,879 major party candidates filed for 2020 Congress elections
As of May 18, 2,879 major party candidates have filed to run for the Senate and House of Representatives in 2020. So far, 426 candidates are filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for U.S. Senate. Of those, 346—176 Democrats and 170 Republicans—are from one of the two major political parties. In 2018,…
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Federal judge issues order regarding inmate releases at federal prison in Ohio
On May 19, U.S. District Court Judge James Gwin for the Northern District of Ohio ordered the Bureau of Prisons to expedite the release of 837 medically vulnerable inmates in Ohio’s Elkton Federal Correctional Institute through home confinement or compassionate release due to the coronavirus pandemic. In his order, the judge cited “poor progress in…
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U.S. extends travel restrictions on Canada and Mexico through June 22
On Tuesday, May 19, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf announced the U.S. would extend travel restrictions in place at the Canadian and Mexican borders another 30 days to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. The restrictions, initially put in place in late March in coordination with both countries, closed the borders to nonessential travel.…
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U.S. Supreme Court rules plaintiffs can seek punitive damages for 1998 bombings
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in Opati v. Republic of Sudan. The case originated in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and was argued on February 24, 2020. It concerned the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) and questioned if the Act prohibited plaintiffs from recovering punitive damages against…
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Burr steps down as Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) temporarily stepped down from the chairmanship of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, effective at the end of the day on May 15. Burr’s decision to resign was announced one day after the FBI served him a search warrant at his residence in Washington, D.C. Burr is one of several…