Tag: voting

Former Florida governor candidate Andrew Gillum on Friday night laid out how Democrats might win the White House in 2020. But homestate audiences noticed when he suggested his most recent electoral contest might have seen a different outcome. Earlier in his conversation with Maher, Gillum noted he and Abrams both lost by “rounding error” margins. But while Gillum lost by a closer margin than previously witnessed in a gubernatorial election, few Democrats label DeSantis’ victory as invalid. Democratic political consultant Matthew Isbell said he’d like to know how Gillum imagines any action could have produced a different outcome in Florida. Someone show me this math.” But days before Gillum makes a “major announcement” in South Florida, panelists seemed most focused on the Florida Democrat’s next move. After former Texas Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke announced he would run for president, Maher noted losing in 2018 didn’t prohibit a run. But he stressed the need for the electorate to witness diversity in the candidate pool. “I’m most interested in your beliefs.” But he did tout his recent run for governor, noting he had been severely outspent in a broad primary field but came out victorious. In the general election, black voters turned out at a rate consistent with the share of the population for the first time.

Exactly the same proportion of voters believe there should be a second referendum on Brexit as think the UK should leave the EU without a deal, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer. The survey shows the country split down the middle, with 43% supporting a delay to Brexit in order to hold a second public vote and 43% believing the UK should simply quit without any agreement with Brussels. If a second referendum were held with the options of accepting Theresa May’s deal or remaining in the EU on the ballot paper, 46% said they would back remain, against 36% who would vote to leave on the terms of the prime minister’s proposal. The poll comes after a dramatic week of voting in parliament when the prime minister’s deal was rejected for a second time, by 149 votes. MPs also voted to rule out no-deal and to extend article 50 by at least three months. Despite the government’s troubles over Brexit, and cabinet splits on the issue, the Conservatives (on 38%) hold a four-point lead over Labour (34%) with the Liberal Democrats and Ukip both on 8%. May’s ratings on her handling of Brexit remain dire (-30%, when the proportion who disapprove of her handling of it – 56% – is subtracted from the proportion who approve – 26%). Chaotic scenes as Nigel Farage's Brexit march sets off for London Read more The poll shows that if the UK is still a member of the EU on 23 May, more British people would find voting in the European elections unacceptable (43%) than would be relaxed about the idea (38%). If the UK were to elect a new batch of MEPs, 13% say they would not vote, 19% would vote for Labour, 19% for the Tories and 11% for Ukip. This has fallen slightly and is now an 11-point lead.

President Donald Trump has branded as "disgraceful" the resolution passed after Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar's comments suggesting House supporters of Israel have dual allegiances. Democrats increased their share of the Jewish vote between the 2016 and 2018 elections, from 71 percent to 79 percent. Trump's efforts to paint the Democratic party as anti-Jewish came after tweets and comments by freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who suggested that pro-Israel lobbying groups controlled U.S. lawmakers through political money. While some Democrats said the remarks played into anti-Semitic slurs about how Jewish money controls American politics, Omar said they were "not intended to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole." Jesse Lehrich, a foreign policy spokesman for 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, said Trump's attacks ring hollow from a man who spoke sympathetically of some of the white supremacists who held a 2017 march in Charlottesville, Virginia. Matthew Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said "there's a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of support" among Jewish voters for what Trump is doing, though he has not seen any new polling on the question. Soifer, the executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, cited the drop-off of Jewish support for Republicans in the 2018 midterm elections to say that Trump and the GOP are losing traction with these voters. A Gallup report released Thursday said that, according to 2018 data, 52 percent of Jewish-Americans described themselves as Democrats, while only 16 percent identified themselves as Republicans. Among Jewish respondents, 26 percent approved of Trump's performance as president; 71 percent disapproved. Trump carried only 8 percent the African-American vote in 2016, according to exit polls.

She implied on Sky yesterday she was close to calling for a second independence referendum, because she has a mandate to stage one since the SNP won the most seats in the 2016 Holyrood and 2017 UK elections, and did so on a promise of holding a fresh independence vote if there was a material change in circumstances (in other words, Brexit). She can only exercise that existing mandate before May 2021 – the date of the next Holyrood elections. Yet on Thursday she said she actually wanted to see article 50 extended and then a second EU referendum, telling first minister’s questions: “Let’s get no deal properly off the table; let’s seek a lengthy extension to allow this issue to go back to the people.” That appeals to a large number of independence-sceptic moderate and centre-left Scottish voters: many more back EU membership than independence. Because then that “material change” in Scotland’s circumstances, her mandate, disappears. Best for Britain, the anti-Brexit campaign that favours a second referendum, has put out a statement saying that it does not want MPs to vote for that today. The debate today must focus on the pressing need for an extension to article 50 to confirm parliament’s rejection of a no deal cliff-edge on 29 March and protect the country from a damaging disorderly exit. So if the treaty provides for these, Art 62 does not apply. That means the whole treaty, not just the backstop. Labour’s Wes Streeting says there is “a considerable degree of discomfort” among Labour MPs who support a second referendum about the position of some on the Labour frontbench. He asks if the party will give wholehearted support to the Kyle/Wilson plan for a confirmatory second referendum (ie, backing a Brexit deal, subject to it being put to a public vote) if it comes to a vote.

MPs will then vote on the motion as amended, or not. The amendments being voted on, in order: H. Cross-party request for second referendum Tabled by former Tory Sarah Wollaston, now of the Independent Group, and signed by around 30 MPs, this seeks a delay for a new referendum, which would have remain as an option. If it passes, amendments I and E would not be voted on. If it is voted on (if amendment H loses) and passes then amendment E would not be voted on. E. Labour amendment Led by Jeremy Corbyn, this notes the rejection by parliament of May’s Brexit plan, and of no deal, and says the government should “provide parliamentary time for this house to find a majority for a different approach”. If this amendment was passed it could give the Speaker the power to block another vote on May’s deal as it has been voted down twice by parliament already. This will be voted on whatever else happens. Plaid Cymru amendment This amendment, signed by Plaid’s four MPs, called for a delay to Brexit until 2021, and a second referendum at the end of this. D. Liberal Democrat second referendum plan Tabled by the the Lib Dems’ 11 MPs, this also called for a Brexit delay and a second referendum. F. SNP/Plaid second referendum plan Yet another extension/second referendum amendment, this also called for remain to be an option in the referendum, and for the revocation of article 50 to be possible in the interim.

May: MPs 'need to face up to the consequences of their decisions' MPs will vote on Thursday on delaying Brexit after they rejected the idea of leaving the EU without a deal. As it happened: MPs vote on no-deal Brexit MPs narrowly rule out no deal Brexitcast: Something has changed In a series of votes on no-deal Brexit, the Commons first voted by a margin of four to reject no deal outright. That vote was on a motion which said the UK should not leave the EU without a deal specifically on 29 March, but with the option of a no-deal Brexit at any other time. Government ministers defied those orders and there were claims Theresa May had lost control of her party. But for Number 10 there's an opportunity too, because MPs will soon be presented with a new choice - back the PM's deal, which has already been defeated twice, or accept the chance of a delay to Brexit. MPs just voted clearly to say we should never leave EU without a deal 2. Votes on delay tmrw — Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) March 13, 2019 Report On Thursday, MPs will be asked if they want to delay Brexit until 30 June - to allow the necessary legislation to get through Parliament. But that is only if MPs back Mrs May's deal by 20 March, the government says. If they fail to back her deal by then, then the delay could be longer, Mrs May warned MPs, and it could clash with the European Parliament elections in May. Vote results MPs also voted by 374 to 164 to reject a plan to delay the UK's departure from the EU until 22 May 2019, so that there can be what its supporters call a "managed no-deal" Brexit.

Aa Aa Down to the wire UK Prime Minister Theresa May made a last-minute trip to Strasbourg on Monday night where she negotiated legally binding changes to the Brexit agreement that will be voted on by British MPs tonight. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and May promised to find an alternative solution to the highly controversial backstop agreement by 2020 if the deal passes through Parliament. Read the fine print Despite the newly negotiated terms, UK Attorney General Geoffrey Cox said the “legal risk remains unchanged” over the UK's ability to exit the backstop agreement. The statement came as a major blow to May, who was hoping to appease members of her own party who fear the agreement will permanently trap the UK in a customs union with the EU. Cox added that the House needs to make a "political judgement" on the agreement. 'No third chances' Juncker on Monday night said there will be “no third chance” for a Brexit deal if MPs vote the current version down on Tuesday. If the deal does not pass, MPs will vote Wednesday on whether the UK will leave the EU without a deal in place. In the event that this vote also fails, a third vote will be held on Thursday that will determine if the UK would be open to extending negotiations past the March 29 deadline. Forecasting May What could tonight mean for the future of the UK prime minister? Our panel discusses what might be in store for May.

Nati Harnik/Associated Press Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Bernie Sanders lead a new poll of likely Iowa caucusgoers released this weekend, underscoring how the nomination process for the Democratic Party has, to this early point, been defined by the two figures with the largest national profiles. The poll, which was conducted by The Des Moines Register and CNN, had Mr. Biden as the top choice for 27 percent of respondents, leading all candidates. Though Mr. Biden’s advisers have signaled that he intends to run for president, he has yet to announce his candidacy. Mr. Sanders, who kicked off his campaign recently in New York City, was the top choice for 25 percent of those asked. Only 5 percent of likely caucusgoers now call him their first choice for president — down from 11 percent in December. [Join the conversation around the 2020 race with our politics newsletter.] It remains to be seen if that will translate to hardened support, particularly in one of the largest, most wide-open and diverse Democratic primary fields in history. The next closest figure to Mr. Biden and Mr. Sanders, according to the poll, was Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who was among the first to announce her presidential candidacy. Ms. Warren was the top choice for 9 percent of respondents, followed by Senator Kamala Harris of California, who was favored by 7 percent of respondents and had soaring favorability ratings. Other candidates — including Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota — have struggled to make an imprint, the poll found.

The April 2 run-off election will be historic: For the first time, Chicago will have a black woman as mayor. Candidates Toni Preckwinkle and Lori Lightfoot are trying to broaden their bases, campaigning in neighborhoods where voters didn’t choose them Tuesday. But as commercials flood the airwaves, political expert Jon Paul Valadez said the race might just be decided on the ground. Large swaths of traditionally black communities chose Willie Wilson. “In order for [Lightfoot and Preckwinkle] to be successful on April 2, they’re going to have to tap into that market.” It’s why Lightfoot was in Englewood on Saturday, kicking off a canvassing operation. … Coming to Englewood makes a difference. I was wondering if Toni would come to Englewood. Preckwinkle, the Cook County Board president, has argued that her decades in city and county government make her the more battle-tested candidate. So, I’ve got experience running a large unit of government, and let me just say, my opponent’s never been elected to office. Never.” “Toni Preckwinkle has been in office a really long time,” Lightfoot said, “and I think people are asking themselves: Is my life any better for her having been in office?

With an ongoing squabble between Brian Bowman and Brian Pallister in full swing, it is the voters who will ultimately be left paying the price, says a political science professor. Kelly Saunders of Brandon University told 680 CJOB Friday that friction between municipal and provincial governments isn’t anything new, but Winnipeg’s mayor and Manitoba’s premier seem to be taking it to the next level. READ MORE: Manitoba premier and Winnipeg mayor spar over budget delay “There’s always going to be a source of friction, regardless of what political party is in office, between the city and the provincial government,” she said. “I don’t recall the problem being quite this bad before. “I think it has to do with the governing style of this particular premier and certainly the governing style, then, that the entire provincial government has taken on.” Bowman has said that getting a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is easier than connecting with Pallister, and has been in a public war of words with his provincial counterpart on issues like transit, budgets and more. WATCH: ‘We can do better’: Brian Bowman challenges Pallister Pallister, on the other hand, has suggested positive relationships are a two-way street and that that citizens can make up their own minds about the situation. In a tweet Friday, Pallister said “we trust Manitobans can separate fact from fiction … I call upon all parties to rise above it and work together constructively.” Saunders said the potential fallout from their beef is that important infrastructure projects, for example, could be slowed down or delayed. “If you’ve got the two heads of government in the province not sitting down and working through their issues, at the end of the day, projects aren’t going to be completed on time,” she said. “They’re not going to be completed as effectively and efficiently. © 2019 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.