French far right works to turn election win into power. Its rivals want to stop it in decisive vote

PARIS (AP) — With the ultimate outcome still up in the air, France's fiercely anti-immigration National Rally and opponents of the long-taboo far-right party scrambled Monday to capitalize on an indecisive first round of voting in surprise legislative elections. Round one on Sunday...

Top California Democrats announce ballot measure targeting retail theft

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Top California Democrats announced Sunday they will ask voters to approve a plan cracking down on retail theft. The plan, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is an effort to compete with another crime-focused measure backed by a coalition of business groups that...

Campaign to get new political mapmaking system on Ohio’s ballot submits more than 700,000 signatures

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Backers of a proposal to change Ohio’s troubled political mapmaking system delivered hundreds of thousands of signatures on Monday as they work to qualify for the statewide ballot this fall. Citizens Not Politicians dropped off more than 700,000 petition...

Which states could have abortion on the ballot in 2024?

With Friday's announcement in Nevada that voters will decide a ballot question in November on enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution, five states now have abortion questions set for referendums this year. And more could join them. The U.S. Supreme Court removed the...

French far right ahead in 1st round of snap elections. Here's how runoff works and what comes next

PARIS (AP) — French voters face a decisive choice on July 7 in the runoff of snap parliamentary elections that could see the country’s first far-right government since the World War II Nazi occupation — or no majority emerging at all. Official results suggest Marine Le Pen's...

Mauritania's President Ghazouani wins reelection, provisional results show

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AP) — Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani will be reelected, provisional results from all polling stations showed on Sunday, after positioning the country as a strategic ally of the West in a region swept by coups and violence. Ghazouani, who...

French voters propel far-right National Rally to strong lead in first-round legislative elections

PARIS (AP) — The far-right National Rally leaped into a strong lead Sunday in France's first round of legislative elections, polling agencies projected, bringing the party closer to being able to form a government in round two and dealing a major slap to centrist President Emmanuel Macron and his...

California lawmakers unveil $10 billion bond proposals for climate and schools

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers on Sunday announced they plan to put two bond measures on the ballot in November, one that would ask voter approval to borrow $10 billion for climate programs and another that would borrow $10 billion to build or repair public schools. If passed by...

Venezuelans rehearse voting weeks before the pivotal presidential election

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Some Venezuelans cast mock votes in a rehearsal Sunday, less than a month before the highly anticipated election in which President Nicolás Maduro seeks a third term. The test allows Venezuela’s ruling party to gauge its voter-mobilizing powers, which...

French prime minister says 'not a single vote' must go to the far right in second round of parliamentary elections