Elections

Kimberly Zapata, the former deputy director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, enters court before her jury trial in a Milwaukee County Courthouse in Milwaukee on Monday, March 18, 2024. Zapata is accused of fraudulently requesting absentee ballots reserved for members of the military and sending them to GOP state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, who is known for embracing conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)

Stress over threats drove former Milwaukee elections official to request fake ballots, attorney says

The attorney for a former Milwaukee elections official charged with fraudulently ordering three military absentee ballots under fake names and sending them to a Republican lawmaker who embraced election conspiracy theories is arguing that she was distraught over threats and her brother’s death.

President Joe Biden speaks during a Women's History Month reception in the East Room of the White House, March 18, 2024, in Washington. Biden is embarking on a three-day campaign swing aimed at shoring up his standing in the Sun Belt as part of an aggressive play to re-energize vital parts of his 2020 electoral coalition. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Biden aims to court Latino voters and secure his standing in Nevada and Arizona on Sun Belt swing

FILE - Assemblyman Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, right, speaks at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, June 27, 2023. On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, Fong, a legislator backed by former President Donald Trump and a sheriff who promises to harden the nation’s porous borders will face off in a special U.S. House election. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

Trump backs Kevin McCarthy protege in California special election for former speaker’s seat

FILE - Shane Wilkin, Ohio Senate Republican from the 17th District, listens to debate at the Ohio State House Senate Chambers in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Wilkin is one of 11 candidates vying for the Republican nomination for a seat in Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District, which extends from suburban Cincinnati to the West Virginia border. The winner of the primary will face Democrat Samantha Meadows in the November general election. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana, File)

Ohio GOP congressional primaries feature double votes and numerous candidates

Terri Jamison, Democratic candidate for the Ohio Supreme Court, speaks during a candidates forum sponsored by the Arab American Voter Project and the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Cleveland, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Jamison is currently an Ohio Court of Appeals Judge. The Ohio Supreme Court’s 4-3 Republican majority could flip to Democrats’ favor in the fall if the party sweeps the three seats up for election this year. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Ohio Supreme Court primary with 2 Democrats kicks off long campaign over court’s partisan control

Primary voters in Ohio and Florida appear skeptical of presidential presumptive nominees

Five states will hold presidential primaries on Tuesday as President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump continue to lock up support around the country after becoming their parties’ presumptive nominees. In Ohio and Florida, voters appear skeptical of the candidates.

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Who is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and why is he running for president?

AP explains what Vladimir Putin’s election win means as he secures his 5th term as president

NATO’s Stoltenberg says presidential elections in Russia were ‘neither free nor fair’

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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump salutes at a campaign rally March 16, 2024, in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Trump is making the Jan. 6 attack a cornerstone of his bid for the White House

Having previously vowed to pardon Jan. 6 rioters, Trump promised to help them “the first day we get into office” at an Ohio rally.

FILE - Cleveland businessman and Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno speaks at a rally, March 16, 2024, in Vandalia, Ohio. Republicans are watching two hot-button federal races in Ohio on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, that could affect their chances for potentially pivotal pickups this fall. Moreno failed to parlay Trump's endorsement into the type of runaway lead over his two rivals — Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan. That prompted Trump to hold a last-minute campaign rally for Moreno on Saturday. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File)

High-profile elections in Ohio could give Republicans a chance to expand clout in Washington

Republicans are watching two hot-button federal races in Ohio that could affect their chances for potentially pivotal pickups this fall.

A voter walks to Chicago Loop Super Site in Chicago, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Illinois residents will vote Tuesday to narrow Democratic and GOP candidate fields in key U.S. House races. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Illinois voters to decide competitive US House primaries around the state

Illinois voters are set to decide competitive U.S. House races around the state. The most closely-watched races in Illinois include a downstate Republican matchup between Republican Rep.

A voter fills out their Ohio primary election ballot at a polling location in Knox Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Tuesday’s primaries include a key Senate race in Ohio and clues for the Biden-Trump rematch

Five states are holding presidential primaries as President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump continue to lock up support around the country after becoming their parties’ presumptive nominees.

Chinese billionaire pleads guilty to straw donor scheme in New York and Rhode Island

A Chinese billionaire has pleaded guilty to federal election crimes, admitting that he made thousands of dollars in contributions to New York and Rhode Island political candidates in the names of others.

FILE - Ohio state Rep. Derek Merrin talks to reporters on Feb. 15, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio. Republicans are watching two hot-button federal races in Ohio on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, that could affect their chances for potentially pivotal pickups this fall. The Toledo-area congressional primary includes Merrin and former state Rep. Craig Riedel. Merrin joined the congressional race on the filing deadline, after audio that surfaced of Riedel criticizing Trump began raising concerns inside the party about his electability. (AP Photo/Samantha Hendrickson, File)

Donald Trump endorses Ohio congressional candidate Derek Merrin just hours before polls open

Former President Donald Trump has issued a last-minute endorsement in a highly sought northwest Ohio congressional district, backing state Rep.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a concert marking his victory in a presidential election and the 10-year anniversary of Crimea's annexation by Russia on Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Monday, March 18, 2024. President Vladimir Putin seized Crimea from Ukraine a decade ago, a move that sent his popularity soaring but was widely denounced as illegal. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Takeaways from the predictable Russian election that gave Putin another 6 years in power

To no one’s surprise, President Vladimir Putin secured another six years in power in a preordained election landslide that comes amid the harshest crackdown on the opposition and free speech since Soviet times.

FILE - People vote at the Milwaukee County Sports Complex, Nov. 3, 2020, in Franklin, Wis. Early voting begins Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Wisconsin for a host of local races, two proposed constitutional amendments that could alter how future elections are run and the-now anticlimactic presidential primary. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

Early voting to start in Wisconsin for president and constitutional amendments

Early voting will begin in Wisconsin for a host of local races, two proposed constitutional amendments that could alter how future elections are run and the now anticlimactic presidential primary.

FILE - Croatia's President Zoran Milanovic attends a news conference with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a meeting at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany, on Sept. 11, 2020. Milanovic cannot run for prime minister nor take part in the upcoming parliamentary election nor campaign in favor of an opposition party unless he resigns immediately from the current post, the state’s constitutional court ruled Monday, March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Croatia’s top court rules that the president can’t run in the parliamentary election unless he quits

Croatia’s Constitutional Court has ruled that President Zoran Milanović can’t run for prime minister or take part in the parliamentary election activities of an opposition party unless he resigns immediately from his current post.

FILE-Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets supporters as he arrives for an election campaign rally of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Hyderabad, India, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. From April 19 to June 1, nearly 970 million Indians - or over 10% of the world’s population - will vote in the country's general elections. The mammoth electoral exercise is the biggest anywhere in the world - and will take 44 days to complete before results are announced on June 4. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A. File)

India’s multi-phase election will stretch over 44 days. Here’s why it takes so long

From April 19 to June 1, nearly 970 million Indians are eligible to vote in general elections. The mammoth exercise is the biggest anywhere in the world and will take 44 days before results are announced on June 4.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks on a visit to his campaign headquarters after a presidential election in Moscow, early Monday, March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Putin extends rule in preordained Russian election after harshest crackdown since Soviet era

President Vladimir Putin has extended his reign over Russia in a landslide election whose outcome was never in doubt, declaring his determination to advance deeper into Ukraine and dangling new threats against the West.

FILE - Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks during a campaign event, Oct. 9, 2023, in Philadelphia. The lack of excitement many Americans feel about a presidential rematch has heightened interest in alternatives to the major-party candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose famous name has helped him build buzz for his independent bid. He plans to announce his vice presidential nominee later this month in Oakland, Calif, and is stoking rumors that he might pick New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Who is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and why is he running for president?

The lack of excitement many Americans feel about a presidential rematch has heightened interest in alternatives to the major-party candidates — none more so than Robert F.

Widow of Russia opposition leader Navalny casts ballot in Russia’s presidential election in Berlin

Alexei Navalny’s widow cast her ballot in Russia’s presidential election in Berlin on Sunday. She spent more than five hours queuing and told reporters after casting her vote that she wrote her late husband’s name on the ballot.

Russians form long queues to protest Putin at presidential election

Vladimir Putin has almost completely crushed dissent in Russia but on Sunday at noon local time, lines formed at some polling stations in Russia and at embassies around the world, AP reporter Emma Burrows explains.

AP Top Stories March 17 P

Here’s the latest for Sunday, March 17th: Early returns show Russian President Vladimir Putin with nearly 88% of vote in ane election where he stifled opposition; New Mexico authoritis say a suspect in the shooting death of a state police officer was captured; an eruption in Iceland flowed lava for

Voters queue at a polling station at noon local time in Moscow, Russia, on Sunday, March 17, 2024. The Russian opposition called on people to head to polling stations at noon on Sunday in protest as voting takes place on the last day of a presidential election that was all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin's rule after he clamped down on dissent. AP can't confirm that all the voters seen at the polling station at noon were taking part in the opposition protest. (AP Photo)

Russians vote in election dominated by Putin

From the hush of isolated Siberian villages to the clamor of big cities to war battered towns in occupied parts of Ukraine, Russians voted in a presidential election overwhelmingly dominated by Vladimir Putin.

Long line of Russian voters queue to vote in Tallinn

Russian voters formed a long queue outside the Russian embassy in the Estonian capital of Tallinn on Sunday as presidential elections in Russia begin to draw to a close.

Russians cast their votes on final day of Presidential Election

Russian residents cast their votes on the third and final day of the Russian Presidential election which is all but certain to extend Vladimir Putin’s rule by another six years. (17 March 2024)

FILE - People gather in a parking lot as people arrive for early in-person voting in Cincinnati, Nov. 2, 2023. Ohio is expected to play a starring role in the 2024 high-stakes races for state supreme court seats. The Ohio Supreme Court’s 4-3 Republican majority could flip to Democrats’ favor in the fall if the party sweeps the three seats up for election this year. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Ohio primary: Open seat on state supreme court could flip partisan control

Ohio is expected to star in this year’s big races for state supreme court seats. During Tuesday’s primary, Democrats will be choosing a candidate to compete for an open seat on a court that will be at the center of fights over redistricting, public education, health care, environmental issues and cr

FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2020 file photo, voters wait in line outside a polling center on Election Day, in Kenosha, Wis. Wisconsin voters are being asked to make it unconstitutional to accept private grant money to help administer elections, a Republican-backed effort in the ongoing battle over how to run elections in the presidential battleground state. That proposed constitutional amendment, along with a related one saying that only election officials designated by law may administer elections, are both on the state's April 2, 2024 ballot. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

Wisconsin voters to decide on banning private money to help fund elections

Wisconsin voters are set to decide whether to make it unconstitutional to accept private grant money to help administer state elections, one of two Republican-backed ballot measures that Democrats say are meant to make it harder to conduct elections in the presidential battleground state.

FILE - Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, D-Ill., participates in a forum with other Chicago mayoral candidates, Jan. 14, 2023, at the Chicago Temple in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

Illinois primary features competitive congressional races in the Chicago area

Voters are set to cast their ballots to decide competitive U.S. House races during the Illinois primary.

President Joe Biden meets with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, March 15, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Biden says at DC dinner that of 2 presidential candidates, 1 was mentally unfit. ‘The other’s me’

President Joe Biden attended the annual Gridiron Club and Foundation Dinner this weekend, the first time during his presidency.

FILE - President Nicolas Maduro, accompanied by first lady Cilia Flores, greets supporters during an event marking the anniversary of a 1958 coup ousting dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 23, 2024. After officials said election day would be July 28, the birthdate of the late President Hugo Chavez, the government announced it would send invitations to international electoral observers. (AP Photo/Jesus Vargas, File)

Venezuela ruling party officially makes Maduro its candidate in the July presidential election

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has become his party’s official nominee for July’s highly anticipated presidential election, which will allow him to stroll into a third consecutive term with no real competition on the horizon.

FILE - Members of the public attend a Cochise County, Ariz., Board of Supervisors meeting to provide feedback on the proposed transfer of election functions and duties to the county recorder, Feb. 14, 2023, in Bisbee, Ariz. Lisa Marra, the former elections director for Arizona's largely Republican Cochise County who resigned in 2023 over a flap over the hand counting of ballots, has been elevated to a top electoral post for the state. (AP Photo/Alberto Mariani, File)

A local Arizona elections chief who quit in a ballot-counting dispute just got a top state job

The former elections director for a rural Arizona county who resigned last year because a flap over the hand-counting of ballots has been elevated to a top electoral post for the state.

Chief Election Commissioner of India, Rajiv Kumar, speaks at a press conference organized by the commission to announce dates for the national elections, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, March 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

India announces 6-week general elections starting April 19 with Modi’s BJP topping surveys

India has announced its 6-week-long general elections will start on April 19, with most surveys predicting a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

FILE - People walk toward the Borisovskoye Cemetery for the funeral ceremony of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. After Navalny died last month in an Arctic penal colony, his allies quickly returned to work undermining Vladimir Putin's 24-year grip on power. (AP Photo, File)

With Navalny dead, his allies keep fighting to undermine Putin’s grip on power

When Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died suddenly last month in an Arctic prison, his team was left with a monumental challenge: sustaining an opposition movement against President Vladimir Putin without the living example of their defiant and charismatic leader.

An elderly woman casts a ballot during a presidential election via a mobile election committee, who visit people who cannot physically attend a polling station, in Nikolayevka village outside Siberian city of Omsk, 2236 km (1397 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. Voters in Russia are heading to the polls for a presidential election that is all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin's rule after he clamped down on dissent. (AP Photo)

Russians cast ballots in an election preordained to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule

Voters across Russia have cast ballots on the second day of an election set to formalize six more years of power for Vladimir Putin.

FILE - Opposition coalition presidential hopeful Maria Corina Machado speaks to supporters at a campaign event in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 23, 2024. As a March 25, 2024 deadline nears to register to compete in the presidential election, Machado faces pressure from foreign leaders and fellow government opponents to abandon her dead-end candidacy, because she’s technically barred from office. (AP Photo/Jesus Vargas, File)

Venezuelan opposition leader faces deadline for standing down in race against Maduro

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado faces a choice on which the hopes of millions of Venezuelans fighting to restore their democracy depends.

Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura and director Alex Garland premiere action drama ‘Civil War’

“Civil War,” Alex Garland’s election-year provocation, debuted this week at the SXSW Film and TV Festival, unveiling a violent vision of a near-future America at war with itself.

David Viviano, a conservative Michigan Supreme Court justice, won’t seek reelection

Justice David Viviano says he won’t seek reelection to the Michigan Supreme Court. Viviano has served on the court since his appointment in 2013 by then-Gov.