Elections

Montana state Rep. SJ Howell speaks on the House floor during a motion to discipline Rep. Zooey Zephyr at the Montana Capitol in Helena on Wed., April 26, 2023. Howell is a Democrat who identifies as transgender nonbinary.

These states are narrowly defining who is 'female' and 'male' in law

4:28pm May 03, 2023

LGBTQ advocates say these bills are another attempt to restrict transgender rights. Republicans sponsoring the bills say the definitions are important to keep sex from being conflated with gender.

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 2, 2023.

Politics & Government

There's a toxic brew of mistrust toward U.S. institutions. It's got real consequences

2:41pm May 03, 2023

by Domenico Montanaro

Republicans are lambasting Democrats' attempts at uniform ethics standards at the Supreme Court as partisan politics. It's just the latest chapter in a decline in national unity.

Employees of the Miami-Dade County Elections Department process vote-by-mail ballots for the midterm elections in November 2022 in Miami.

Politics & Government

Voter turnout for the 2022 elections was the 2nd highest for midterms since 2000

5:20pm May 02, 2023

by Hansi Lo Wang

Voter turnout for last year's elections was the second highest for a midterms since 2000, and close to half of voters cast ballots early or by mail, estimates from a Census Bureau survey show.

Politics & Government

Biden launches re-election

5:03pm April 30, 2023

This past week, President Joe Biden announced he is running for re-election, framing it as a battle for the soul of the country. But he also faces a number of challenges ahead of the election.

Demonstrators gather outside the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh, N.C., with a "FLUSH GERRYMANDER" inflatable on the day the state's highest court held a rehearing for the redistricting case known nationally as Moore v. Harper.

Politics & Government

A North Carolina court overrules itself in a case tied to a disputed election theory

12:55pm April 28, 2023

by Hansi Lo Wang

North Carolina's highest court has overruled one of its own rulings, throwing into question if the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a decision on the major elections case known as Moore v. Harper.

Rep. Zooey Zephyr speaking on the House floor in Helena, Mont., on April 26, 2023 shortly before Republicans voted to formally punish Zephyr by barring her from attending or speaking during House session.

Montana House votes to formally punish transgender lawmaker, Rep. Zooey Zephyr

9:48pm April 26, 2023

by Shaylee Ragar

Republicans in the Montana House have voted to formally punish Democratic state Rep. Zephyr by banning her from attending or speaking during floor sessions. She will be allowed to vote remotely.

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Rep.-elect Julian Bond, center, who was refused a seat in the Georgia House, looks through his desk as two of his Fulton County colleagues, Reps. Jack Etheridge, left, and Charlie Brown raise their hands for the oath of office in Atlanta, Jan. 10, 1966.

Some state lawmakers say Tennessee expulsions highlight growing tensions

5:05pm April 26, 2023

by Sam Gringlas

Fights over "decorum" in state legislatures are nothing new, but they look different now that Republicans and Democrats have become more splintered and focus has narrowed on state politics.

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A worker examines a ballot at the Clackamas County elections office on May 19, 2022, in Oregon City, Ore. No Labels, a centrist group that has floated a bipartisan presidential ticket, has secured access to the ballot in Oregon and other states.

Politics & Government

No Labels is getting on state ballots, drawing a lawsuit and concerns about a spoiler

12:39pm April 26, 2023

by Ben Giles

The centrist political group No Labels is getting on the ballot in individual states, causing consternation among members of the major political parties about the organization's endgame.

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Rep. Zooey Zephyr on the Montana House floor as protesters chant "let her speak," on April 24, 2023. Zephyr, one of Montana's first transgender lawmakers, is blocked from speaking on the House floor after she condemned Republicans for advancing anti LGBTQ legislation.

Montana GOP doubles down after blocking trans lawmaker from speaking, citing decorum

8:22am April 26, 2023

by Shaylee Ragar

State Rep. Zooey Zephyr has been barred from speaking following her controversial comments on legislation to ban gender-affirming care. Wednesday, the House could vote to censure or expel Zephyr.

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Former President Donald Trump walks across the tarmac as he arrives to speak at a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport on March 25, 2023, in Waco, Texas.

Politics & Government

Most Republicans would vote for Trump even if he's convicted of a crime, poll finds

3:09pm April 25, 2023

by Domenico Montanaro

Rank-and-file GOP voters seem largely undeterred by the multiple criminal investigations against the former president.