Dominica’s leader expected to stay following snap elections
December 7, 2022 GMTSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit was expected to remain leader of the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica after snap general elections Tuesday that the main opposition party and its supporters boycotted.
DOJ subpoenas election officials in states Trump disputed
December 6, 2022 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith has subpoenaed local election officials in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania, asking for communications with or involving former President Donald Trump, his 2020 campaign aides and a list of allies involved in his efforts to try to overturn the results of the election.
Arizona certifies 2022 election despite GOP complaints
December 6, 2022 GMTPHOENIX (AP) — Arizona's top officials certified the midterm election results Monday, formalizing victories for Democrats over Republicans who falsely claimed the 2020 election was rigged.
Texas governor picks veteran GOP lawmaker for elections job
December 6, 2022 GMTAUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday tapped a longtime Republican lawmaker to be Texas' new elections chief, a pick who could enjoy a smoother confirmation process following the blowback and scrutiny his two previous picks faced.
Gov.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders names public safety picks
December 5, 2022 GMTLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday named a 26-year veteran of the State Police as her pick to lead the law enforcement agency and the Department of Public Safety.
Former Education Secretary King named SUNY chancellor
December 5, 2022 GMTFormer U.S. Education Secretary John King Jr. has been appointed chancellor of the State University of New York, the nation's largest university system, SUNY announced Monday.
King is scheduled to begin in January at a salary of a $750,000.
Texas’ top election official resigns after midterms
December 5, 2022 GMTAUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas' top elections official resigned Monday after an intense year of trying to reassure election skeptics, navigating the rocky launch of new voting laws that resulted in thousands of discarded mail ballots and overseeing a limited audit of the 2020 election.
Center-right coalition tapped to form Bulgarian government
December 5, 2022 GMTSOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Monday tapped the largest group in parliament, the center-right GERB-UDF coalition, to form the country's new government.
Accepting the mandate, prime-minister-designate Nikolay Gabrovski said he will propose a cabinet “that is farther from political talk, from confrontation and closer to professionalism”, and able to deal with the multiple crises the country is facing now.
South Dakota Gov. Noem appoints incoming secretary of state
December 2, 2022 GMTSIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Friday appointed Monae Johnson, who won election for secretary of state in November, to fill the position for the next month following the early resignation of the current secretary of state.
Nonprofits strain to support voters in Georgia Senate race
December 2, 2022 GMTWhen the closely watched Georgia Senate race went to a runoff, nonprofit organizations that educate voters strained to ramp up operations again after Election Day.
Top Kansas transportation official is stepping down Dec. 23
November 29, 2022 GMTTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The top transportation official in Kansas is stepping down just before Christmas in the first major change at a state agency since Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly narrowly won reelection earlier this month.
EXPLAINER: How could allies help Netanyahu beat charges?
November 29, 2022 GMTTEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to return to office, from where he could try to make his yearslong legal troubles disappear through new legislation advanced by his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies.
Missouri Gov. Parson names Andrew Bailey attorney general
November 23, 2022 GMTJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday appointed his general counsel, Andrew Bailey, to be Missouri's next attorney general, making Parson the state's most influential governor in executive branch appointments.
Officials: Georgia audit confirms secretary of state winner
November 19, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — A hand count of random batches of votes in Georgia's recent election for secretary of state has confirmed Republican Brad Raffensperger's victory, state election officials said.
The audit — required by state law — turned up a small difference in votes from the machine count used during the election, but the difference was well within the expected margin of error, the Secretary of State's office announced Friday.
VandeWalle announces retirement from North Dakota high court
November 18, 2022 GMTBISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Gerald VandeWalle has announced that he will retire Jan. 31 for health reasons.
VandeWalle, 89, was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1978 and served as chief justice from 1993 until 2019, when he did not seek reappointment as chief.
Georgia launches election audit with roll of dice
November 16, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — Georgia election officials hosted a dice roll at the state Capitol on Wednesday to launch an audit of votes in the recent election for secretary of state.
One by one, people chosen randomly from a basket of names came up to a table and rolled a 10-sided die.
Former Trump adviser to lead Iowa Gov. Reynolds’ staff
November 15, 2022 GMTDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Tuesday she has chosen a former Trump administration State Department official to serve as her chief of staff.
Taryn Frideres, an Iowa native who has worked on Reynolds’ staff as chief operating officer for the past two years, will become the governor's chief of staff beginning Dec.
Maryland Gov.-elect Moore starts to fill leadership team
November 14, 2022 GMTANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov.-elect Wes Moore announced five key members of his new leadership team on Monday, a diverse group including his chief of staff, budget secretary and top legislative officer.
California installs first lesbian Supreme Court justice
November 10, 2022 GMTSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Two days after voters approved Patricia Guerrero to become California’s first Latina Supreme Court chief justice in January, a state panel on Thursday approved Kelli Evans to be the high court's first openly lesbian justice.
Candidates who backed overturning Trump loss are rebuffed
November 10, 2022 GMTRepublicans made a striking decision earlier this year to nominate candidates for top statewide posts in swing states who backed overturning President Donald Trump's loss in 2020. Most of those candidates lost in the midterm election.
Republican concedes race for New Mexico House seat
November 10, 2022 GMTSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Incumbent Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell conceded defeat Wednesday in a close-fought race for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, clearing a path toward victory for Democratic challenger Gabe Vasquez.
2 incumbent Michigan Democrats defeat election deniers
November 9, 2022 GMTLANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s Democrat attorney general and secretary of state have won reelection, fending off challenges from Republicans who gained prominence in the state party through loyalty to former President Donald Trump and pushing his false claims of a stolen election in 2020.
Conspiracists seeking key state election posts falling short
November 9, 2022 GMTRepublicans who backed Donald Trump’s failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election lost key races to oversee elections in some competitive states, even as others remained positioned to take those offices in more conservative parts of the country.
Schmitt defeats Busch beer heir in Missouri U.S. Senate race
November 9, 2022 GMTO'FALLON, Mo. (AP) — Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt won election to the U.S.
Republican Kay Ivey wins 2nd full term as Alabama governor
November 9, 2022 GMTBIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey easily won a second full term Tuesday against Democrat Yolanda Flowers, the first Black woman to win a major party’s gubernatorial nomination in the state, after surviving both a health scare and multiple Republican challengers in the primary.
Nevada ACLU requests probe into alleged partisan hand-count
November 3, 2022 GMTRENO, Nev. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada asked the state’s secretary of state Wednesday to investigate what it called a “coordinated partisan election administration effort” during rural Nye County’s hand-count of mail-in ballots that was shut down last week until after polls close.
Democrat tells Georgians that GOP’s Raffensperger is no hero
November 2, 2022 GMTMILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — The Democrat running to be Georgia's top elections official says a closer look at incumbent Republican Brad Raffensperger's record will reveal he's no hero for refusing to do the bidding of former President Donald Trump.
Most candidates for top election posts say no to hand counts
November 1, 2022 GMTThe vast majority of candidates running to become their states' chief election officers oppose hand counting ballots, a laborious and error-prone process that has gained favor among some Republicans embracing conspiracy theories about voting machines.
Nevada officials begin unprecedented hand count of ballots
October 28, 2022 GMTMore election coverage
Racism on the soccer field took a toll on Black players in England
Undercover observers track racism, discrimination at European soccer games
Soccer authorities move toward tougher sanctions for racial abuse over last decade
Some trans people turn to crowdfunding to leave Florida after anti-LGBTQ+ laws
Hand vote count stops, but Nevada county vows to try again
October 28, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — A rural Nevada county roiled by voting machine conspiracy theories stopped its unprecedented effort Friday to hand count ballots cast in advance of Election Day.
But Nye County officials vowed to reshape their plan and seek another go-ahead from the Nevada Supreme Court, after justices ruled late Thursday that counting methods used this week violated rules they set to prevent the county from allowing early disclosure of election results.
Iraqi parliament approves new Cabinet in long-awaited vote
October 28, 2022 GMTBAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's parliament gave its vote of confidence to a new Cabinet on Thursday, breaking a yearlong political stalemate. It's the first government since 2005 that doesn't include members from the bloc of a powerful Shiite cleric.
State media: Jordan’s ministers resign ahead of reshuffle
October 26, 2022 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Jordanian government ministers submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh on Wednesday ahead of an anticipated Cabinet reshuffle, the state-run Petra news agency reported.
Sunak takes over as UK prime minister amid economic crisis
October 25, 2022 GMTLONDON (AP) — Rishi Sunak became Britain’s third prime minister this year on Tuesday, tasked with taming an economic crisis that has left the country’s finances in a precarious state and millions struggling to pay their food and energy bills.
2 Arizona GOP officials vote against, then OK hand-count
October 25, 2022 GMTPHOENIX (AP) — The two Republicans on a county board in southeastern rural Arizona approved a proposal 2-1 Monday for a hand-count of all ballots in the Nov. 8 election after rejecting a differently worded motion during a chaotic meeting.
Dems try for first elected secretary of state in 6 decades
October 21, 2022 GMTOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington voters will soon decide whether to elect their first Democratic secretary of state in six decades or, instead, send a longtime county auditor to be the state's first nonpartisan chief elections officer.
Sri Lankan lawmakers vote to trim presidential powers
October 21, 2022 GMTCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment on Friday that trims the powers of the president, a key demand of protesters who are seeking political reforms and solutions to the country’s economic crisis.
Election deniers could make deep changes to Arizona voting
October 21, 2022 GMTPHOENIX (AP) — Gathered at a table in the Capitol in Phoenix a little less than two years ago, two Republicans and a Democrat took part in a ceremony prescribed by state law that made official Joe Biden's 10,500-vote victory in Arizona's 2020 presidential contest.
Sri Lankan lawmakers debate bill to trim presidential powers
October 20, 2022 GMTCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan lawmakers began debating a proposed constitutional amendment on Thursday that would trim the powers of the president, a key demand of protesters who are seeking political reforms and solutions to the country’s dire economic crisis.
Races to oversee elections draw an avalanche of spending
October 20, 2022 GMTIn 2018, Democrat Katie Hobbs spent $1 million in campaign funds running to become Arizona's secretary of state, narrowly besting Republican Steve Gaynor, who spent $3.2 million in what was the most expensive race in state history for the post that oversees elections.
Trump claim of ‘Crime of Century’ fizzles in 3-year probe
October 19, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump once predicted that a special prosecutor appointed during his administration would uncover “the crime of the century” — a conspiracy to sink his 2016 campaign.
Jury begins deliberations in trial of Trump dossier analyst
October 17, 2022 GMTALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The prosecution of a think tank analyst who played a major role in the creation of a discredited dossier about former President Donald Trump flows from a special counsel investigation that was born of political retribution and assumed guilt from the start, defense lawyers argued Monday.
Republican Kris Kobach aims to rebrand in Kansas AG race
October 14, 2022 GMTTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kris Kobach, the Kansan with a national reputation as a hardline provocateur on immigration and voter ID laws, is trying to rebrand himself as a calmer, steadier voice in his comeback bid for elective office.
Republican in uphill bid to upend appointed attorney general
October 13, 2022 GMTSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Nathan Hochman thinks he has the resume that California Attorney General Rob Bonta can only dream of having: assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. Assistant U.S. attorney general leading tax fraud investigations under President George W.
Iraqi MPs elect new president amid threat of rocket fire
October 13, 2022 GMTBAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi lawmakers on Thursday elected former minister Abdul Latif Rashid as the country's next president, defying threats of further violence following a barrage of rocket attacks earlier in the day and taking a key step toward ending a crippling political vacuum.
EXPLAINER: Rituals play role in creating Italian government
October 13, 2022 GMTROME (AP) — With its dozens of “revolving door” governments, Italy might give the impression that carving out new ruling coalitions is quick work. But the process can take weeks, even months.
On Thursday, when newly elected lawmakers took their seats, the work of giving the country a new government formally began.
Absentee ballot numbers in Michigan show high voter turnout
October 12, 2022 GMTLANSING, Mich. (AP) — Over 150,000 Michigan voters have cast absentee ballots a month before the Nov. 8 election that will decide the state's governor, secretary of state, attorney general and whether access to abortion will be a constitutional right.
Mexico president taps tax agency head for Economy Department
October 7, 2022 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday he has chosen the head of the country’s tax agency to fill the cabinet-level post of secretary of the economy.
The designation of Raquel Buenrostro for the post comes one day after the emotional resignation of Tatiana Clouthier.
Election officials brace for confrontational poll watchers
October 2, 2022 GMTGOLDSBORO, N.C. (AP) — The situation with the poll watcher had gotten so bad that Anne Risku, the election director in North Carolina's Wayne County, had to intervene via speakerphone.
“You need to back off!” Risku recalled hollering after the woman wedged herself between a voter and the machine where the voter was trying to cast his ballot at a precinct about 60 miles southeast of Raleigh.
NJ Senate confirms Platkin to be attorney general
September 29, 2022 GMTTRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey's Democrat-led Senate on Thursday confirmed Gov. Phil Murphy's former chief counsel to be the state's attorney general.
Attorney General Matt Platkin had been serving as the state's acting top law enforcement official since earlier this year when Murphy nominated him.
Kuwait holds second election in two years amid gridlock
September 29, 2022 GMTKUWAIT CITY (AP) — Voters in Kuwait returned to the polls on Thursday for the second parliamentary elections in less than two years, hoping to move the wealthy Gulf Arab nation out of a prolonged period of political gridlock.
EXPLAINER: Mastriano’s plan for Pennsyvlania school choice
September 28, 2022 GMTHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — During his campaign, Republican Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano has alluded to proposals that would be a transformative overhaul of the state's more than $30 billion K-12 education system, with public dollars eligible to fund students’ private education.
In Pennsylvania, Shapiro’s low-key style poses test for Dems
September 24, 2022 GMTCHAMBERSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, is perhaps best known as an election denier who was at the U.S.
Trump’s legal woes mount without protection of presidency
September 22, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Stark repudiation by federal judges he appointed.
NC prison commissioner lured back to run new Cabinet agency
September 22, 2022 GMTRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The head of North Carolina's prison operations during the COVID-19 pandemic is Gov. Roy Cooper's choice to become secretary of a new standalone Cabinet-level agency tasked with adult corrections.
2022 could be a political watershed for Massachusetts women
September 19, 2022 GMTBOSTON (AP) — Just 20 years ago, Massachusetts voters had yet to elect a woman as governor, attorney general, U.S. senator or mayor of its largest city. This year, Democratic women won five of six statewide primary contests.
Biden nominates US attorney for Florida Mar-a-Lago district
September 15, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has nominated a Miami litigator and longtime government lawyer to serve as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, the office currently involved in the Justice Department's investigation of classified records at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.
Rhode Island Gov. McKee narrowly wins Democratic primary
September 14, 2022 GMTPROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee eked out a victory in his Democratic primary on Tuesday, beating back strong challenges from a pair of opponents as he seeks his first full term in office.
Craft touts UN role in promoting bid for Kentucky governor
September 14, 2022 GMTGLASGOW, Ky. (AP) — Touting her time as United Nations ambassador for Donald Trump, Republican Kelly Craft told a hometown crowd Tuesday that her work on the world stage showed she's tough enough to “fight for Kentucky values” as she kicked off her 2023 campaign for governor.
GOP candidates in Georgia split over Trump’s election lies
September 12, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — When asked about his decision to rebuff Donald Trump and certify Joe Biden's narrow victory in his state, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says he has no option but to defend his actions.
Special prosecutor to investigate Michigan GOP candidate
September 8, 2022 GMTLANSING, Mich. (AP) — A special prosecutor in Michigan has been appointed to investigate whether the Republican candidate for attorney general and others should be criminally charged for their attempts to gain access to voting machines after the 2020 election.