10 months ago Sarah McBride becomes first transgender member of Congress By News Desk Sarah McBride on Oct. 26, 2024. Photo by Rachel Wisniewski/ Reuters Democrat Sarah McBride wins Delaware’s at-large seat in the U.S. House, the Associated Press reports. The Delaware state senator will be the first openly transgender member of Congress in American history.
10 months ago Angela Alsobrooks becomes first Black senator from Maryland By News Desk Maryland Democratic Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks speaks on Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 20, 2024. Photo by Alyssa Pointer/ Reuters Democratic Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks will become Maryland’s next U.S. senator, the Associated Press reports. She will also make history as the state’s first Black senator. Alsobrooks beat former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a popular, two-term Republican. Along with newly elected Democratic Sen.-elect Lisa Blunt Rochester, they will become the first Black women to serve in the Senate together.
10 months ago Polls close at 10 p.m. in Nevada By News Desk Polls will be closing soon in battleground state Nevada, as well as Montana and Utah. Follow all of our live election results, plus find updates for Nevada.
10 months ago Oklahoma passes state question that says ‘only’ U.S. citizens can vote By Adam Kemp Voters in Oklahoma decided to restrict voting to “only” U.S. citizens, echoing a broader Republican effort to fight non-citizen voting, which is already rare, according to voting integrity experts. The Associated Press called the race for State Question 834, which will amend Section 1 of Article III to change “all citizens of the United States” to “only citizens of the United States” who are eligible to vote. The measure was winning by an 80 percent margin in the state with more than 57 percent of precincts reporting. Seven other states across the U.S. were considering similar measures. Read more about why Oklahoma has an ‘only citizens’ measure on the ballot.
10 months ago Why democracy is so important to women By Trey Brannon Former HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, co-chair of the Kamala Harris campaign, told PBS News that she believes reproductive rights are an important issue, but not the only concern for women voters. “More women are saying that democracy is their No. 1 issue. Democracy and then freedom,” Fudge said. “No one wants to live in a nation where we are rolling back the ability to control our lives, our family’s lives. No one wants to live in that kind of a nation.” “I’m really glad that she’s talked about freedom of choice, but also about what kind of country do we want to live in,” Fudge added.
10 months ago Florida rejects abortion ballot measure By Associated Press Florida voters rejected an abortion rights amendment and kept in place Gov. Ron DeSantis’ six-week ban as the initiative failed to reach the required 60 percent threshold. The measure faced an uphill battle in the deeply red state where former President Donald Trump, a Florida resident, said during the campaign that he would vote against it. In comparison to 2020, nearly all of Florida has moved right during this presidential election cycle. Miami-Dade County saw the greatest increase, with an 18 percentage point shift right. It was enough to move the county from the Democrats’ column in 2020 to the Republicans’ this year. Florida is the third-biggest prize of the night in electoral votes, but Trump’s win is no surprise since Florida has been trending Republican for the past decade. The last Democrat to carry Florida was Barack Obama in 2012, but it since has slipped decidedly into GOP ranks in statewide elections. Read more about Florida voters rejecting abortion rights.
10 months ago Large turnout in North Carolina: ‘We really are at play this year’ By News Desk A mother and son join other residents of Mecklenburg County waiting in a line to cast their ballots at a polling site on the last day of early voting in the state, in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Nov. 2, 2024. Photo by Jonathan Drake/ Reuters North Carolina saw a large turnout and long lines at the polls on Election Day, with some of the biggest numbers seen at universities. PBS News Hour’s Amna Nawaz spoke with Colin Campbell, a reporter for The News & Observer in Raleigh about North Carolina voter turnout. Campbell said student voters at Appalachian State University stood in line to vote for four hours Campbell said early voting numbers favor Vice President Kamala Harris, but pointed to the attention both campaigns have shown the state as evidence that North Carolina is up for grabs. “You see the Trump campaign not taking this state for granted at all,” Campbell said, detailing the number of campaign rallies the former president held in recent days. “That shows that we really are at play this year that we weren’t in the last couple of presidential cycles.” Watch Campbell’s breakdown of North Carolina’s voters.
10 months ago FBI warns of fake statements designed to spread misinformation By News Desk The FBI warned tonight that a written statement and two videos bearing its name were circulated today “to promote false narratives surrounding the election.” They were the latest in a series of fabricated videos and statements designed to look like they came from the FBI in an effort to “mislead the American public” about what was happening at polling stations. These items were “not authentic,” “not from the FBI,” and the content is false, the agency said.
10 months ago Voting hours extended in Georgia after bomb threats By Associated Press Of the 177 polling places in Georgia’s Fulton County, 32 received bomb threats Tuesday, county Police Chief W. Wade Yates said. Some of the threats were called directly into the locations where voting was happening, while others were called into 911 or received by email, he said. As a result, voting hours were extended at five polling places in Georgia’s Fulton County that were briefly closed because of bomb threats that were determined to be non-credible. Each voting location’s hours were extended for as long as they were closed. The extensions ranged from 10 minutes at one location to 45 minutes at two locations. A metro Atlanta county also saw voting disrupted by bomb threats. About an hour before polls were to close, officials in DeKalb County said they received bomb threats against five polling places. Officials in the overwhelmingly Democratic suburb said voting had been suspended at those locations until police confirm there are no bombs. County officials say they’re seeking a court order to extend voting, which is routine in Georgia when a polling place is disrupted. Read more about Georgia extending voting hours due to threats.
10 months ago Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester makes Senate history By Joshua Barajas Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who’s currently serving in the House of Representatives for her fourth term, will become Delaware’s first woman and first Black person to represent the state in the Senate. With the battle for control of Congress in both chambers a toss-up, Rochester’s historic Senate victory over her Republican and independent opponents in the race give Democrats an early win on election night. Of the 57 Black women who have served in Congress, only two have won seats in the Senate. Vice President Kamala Harris, who’s aiming to make presidential history, became a California senator in 2017. Carol Moseley Braun, a Democrat in Illinois, was the first, elected to the Senate in 1992.