Latest Local elections News

Charisse Davis poses for a portrait on Friday, July 24, 2020, in Marietta, Ga. Davis was recently elected the only Black woman on the Cobb County School Board.

'If not now, when?': Black women seize political spotlight

Aug. 3, 2020 5:42 AM EDT

MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) — The little girl ran up to her, wide-eyed and giddy. “Are you Charisse Davis?” the fourth grader asked. Davis was stunned. A former kindergarten teacher and librarian, she was more accustomed to shuttling her two sons to basketball practice than being seen as a local...

FILE - This Feb 23, 2019, file photo shows the inside of a computer in Jersey City, N.J. Ransomware attacks targeting state and local governments have been on the rise, with cyber criminals seeking quick money by seizing data and holding it hostage until they get paid. The fear is that such attacks could affect voting systems directly or even indirectly, by infecting broader government networks that include electoral databases. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Ransomware feared as possible saboteur for November election

Aug. 2, 2020 12:22 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities say one of the gravest threats to the November election is a well-timed ransomware attack that could paralyze voting operations. The threat isn't just from foreign governments, but any fortune-seeking criminal. Ransomware attacks targeting state and local governments...

FILE - In this April 7, 2020, file photo, voters wait in line to cast ballots at Washington High School while ignoring a stay-at-home order over the coronavirus threat to vote in the state's presidential primary election in Milwaukee. Many Black voters are skeptical of voting by mail even as states seek to expand that option during the coronavirus pandemic. Decades of racism and voter disenfranchisement are at the heart of the uneasy choice facing Black voters. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

Despite virus threat, Black voters wary of voting by mail

Aug. 2, 2020 4:00 AM EDT

DETROIT (AP) — Despite fears that the coronavirus pandemic will worsen, Victor Gibson said he's not planning to take advantage of Michigan’s expanded vote-by-mail system when he casts his ballot in November. The retired teacher from Detroit just isn't sure he can trust it. Many Black Americans share...

St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell announces Thursday, July 30, 2020, that no charges will be filed against former Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson for shooting and killing Michael Brown Jr. on August 9, 2014 in Clayton, Mo. Bell said his administration reopened the case and spent five months reinvestigating. (Chris Kohley/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

Change laws that shield police, Missouri prosecutor says

Jul. 31, 2020 7:54 PM EDT

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — After a third review failed to uncover enough evidence to charge the officer who fatally shot Black 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, some prosecutors and civil rights leaders agree it’s time to focus on changing the laws that shield police. In an interview Friday...

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks during a press conference in Hong Kong, Friday, July 31, 2020. She announce to postpone legislative elections scheduled for Sept. 6, citing a worsening coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Hong Kong postpones elections by a year, citing coronavirus

Jul. 31, 2020 12:49 PM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced Friday that the government will postpone highly anticipated legislative elections by one year, citing a worsening coronavirus outbreak in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. The Hong Kong government is invoking an emergency ordinance in delaying the...

A Miami-Dade County Elections Department employee places a vote-by-mail ballot for the August 18 primary election into a box for rejected ballots as the canvassing board meets at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department, Thursday, July 30, 2020, in Doral, Fla. President Donald Trump is for the first time publicly floating a

Election officials game out worst-case scenarios in drills

Jul. 30, 2020 8:19 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity agency this week hosted a three-day tabletop exercise aimed at helping local, state and federal officials prepare for and respond to worst-case scenarios on Election Day. The virtual exercise, which concluded Thursday, involved more than...

FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2019, file photo, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Egypt’s president has approved new legal amendments that further exclude any serious competitors from elections and give the military greater control over civilian affairs, a leading rights group said on Thursday, July 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Rights group: Egypt's new laws entrench el-Sissi's rule

Jul. 30, 2020 7:18 PM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s president has approved new legal amendments that further exclude any serious competitors from elections and give the military greater control over civilian affairs, a leading rights group said on Thursday. The amendments, published earlier this week in the country’s...

FILE - In this Aug. 26, 2019 file photo, U.S. Rep. Steve Watkins, R-Kan., makes a point during a town hall meeting in Topeka, Kan. Watkins, a Kansas congressman facing felony voting fraud charges told a detective he didn't vote in a 2019 Topeka city council election, according to an affidavit in support of criminal charges. Freshman Rep. Watkins is facing three felony charges. (AP Photo/John Hanna File)

Detective: Kansas congressman lied about voting in 2019 race

Jul. 30, 2020 11:59 AM EDT

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A detective who investigated Rep. Steve Watkins wrote in an affidavit that the Kansas congressman told her he didn't vote in a 2019 Topeka City Council election, despite evidence showing he had cast a ballot in the race after listing a UPS store as his home address. The affidavit...

Pro-democracy Civic Party members, Cheng Tat-hung, right, Dennis Kwok, second right, Alvin Yeung, fourth right, and Kwok Ka-ki, fifth right, attend a news conference after disqualifying for a September legislative election in Hong Kong, Thursday, July 30, 2020. At least 12 Hong Kong pro-democracy nominees including Joshua Wong were disqualified for a September legislative election, with authorities saying Thursday they failed to uphold the city's mini-constitution and pledge allegiance to Hong Kong and Beijing. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Hong Kong disqualifies 12 opposition nominees for assembly

Jul. 30, 2020 7:43 AM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) — At least 12 Hong Kong pro-democracy nominees including prominent activist Joshua Wong were disqualified for September legislative elections, with authorities saying Thursday they failed to uphold the city's mini-constitution and pledge allegiance to Hong Kong and Beijing. Others who were...

FILE - In a Monday, Jan. 13, 2020 file photo, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner speaks in St. Louis. Gardner became St. Louis' first Black circuit attorney when she was elected in 2016 and has enacted a progressive, reformist agenda. She also earned attention for high-profile cases against Missouri's former governor and a couple who waved guns at protesters. Gardner is being challenged in the Aug. 4, 2020, Democratic primary by Mary Pat Carl, who is white and who previously worked as the city's lead homicide prosecutor. She's pledging to put more violent criminals behind bars. (AP Photo/Jim Salter, File)

Ex-homicide prosecutor challenges St. Louis circuit attorney

Jul. 29, 2020 4:51 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The fate of St. Louis’ elected prosecutor may rest with which side city voters fall in two competing national debates: criminal justice reform versus the push to crack down on crime. Kim Gardner became St. Louis’ first Black circuit attorney when she was elected in 2016 and...

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