Category: Electoral process
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Republicans Still Fighting in the Fifth District
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Republicans are still fighting each other over the primary results in the Fifth Congressional District. As reported by Cardinal News, Bob Good is still contesting his loss in the Congressional primary and a candidate for Lynchburg City Council has filed suit to invalidate the results. According to the latest tally, Good, the…
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Defending Jon Baliles: An Answer to the Lost Cause of Dick Hall-Sizemore
by Paul Goldman Does Bacon’s Rebellion recognize the validity of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States? I’m not sure and here’s why. Had Dick Hall-Sizemore written his response to Jon Baliles’ column, “Bonding With (or Against) the People,” prior to the Civil War, he would have caught Jon with his constitutional…
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Careful There, Dems, These Are Your Voters
by Kerry Dougherty I’m not in the habit of offering political advice to Democrats, but they might want to consider toning down the “convicted felon” rhetoric. Ever since Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony charges in New York, the left has become a Greek chorus, chanting “convicted felon” every time they mention his name.…
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Richmond’s Electoral Woes Continue
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The situation with the Richmond city registrar just keeps getting worse. For once, however, one cannot blame the city administration or city council. The registrar is appointed by, and answers to, the Richmond electoral board, which is comprised of two Republicans and one Democrat. Nevertheless, the city can exercise some control over…
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Swallow the Money, Part 3 of 3
by Joe Fitzgerald VPAP and CFReports let you go from “How about that?” to “Oh, my God!” in 5.2 seconds. They’re attractive to the kind of nerds who used to go through the encyclopedia or the World Almanac. Yes, I did. Why do you ask? One local PAC became a subject for a dive into…
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Swallow the Money, Part 2 of 3
by Joe Fitzgerald There’s a donor in CFReports named “no name.” He, she, or it is listed on the report as “Name, No.” This same donor is called “Unknown Entity” in VPAP. Or perhaps “Entity, Unknown.” (VPAP and CFReports are described in Part 1.) This donor’s address shows up as Matt Cross’s house on his…
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Swallow the Money, Part 1 of 3
by Joe Fitzgerald When a governor was accepting gifts and amenities from a supporter some years back, the surprise for many Virginians came when it was time to indict him. The Feds had to do it, because he probably hadn’t broken any state laws, and eventually, after trials and appeals, he didn’t stand convicted of…
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Dueling Fiscal Impact Statements
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Providing a fiscal impact statement (FIS) for legislation is a positive aspect of the legislative process. The statement can alert the legislators to the possible fiscal implications of a bill under consideration and its estimated cost. Thus, legislators are in a position to make a more informed decision about supporting the bill.…
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Richmond Shoots Itself in the Foot–Again
by Dick Hall-Sizemore It never ceases to amaze me how the City of Richmond seems unable to accomplish even the most basic functions of government right. The latest snafu occurred in the office of the General Registrar. A fourth of the voters requesting absentee ballots for the upcoming Democratic presidential primary election received outdated instructions.…
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Most ‘Diverse’ General Assembly in Virginia History Takes Over in January
by Ken Reid The new post-redistricting Virginia General Assembly that will take control in January, probably with a Democrat majority, will be the most ethnically, racially and religiously diverse group of legislators in Richmond in history, and about ¼ will be female. In addition, some 52 of the 140 members of the General Assembly will…
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The Problem with Local Elections
by Joe Fitzgerald I once told a candidate for Harrisonburg City Council that ten thousand people would show up to vote and more than half would never have heard of him. Referring to the expense and effort of campaigning, he asked, “Why the Hell am I doing this then?” The answer might be to give…
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Sam Rasoul and Jewish Democrats in the General Assembly – An Uneasy Alliance
James C. Sherlock Salam “Sam” Rasoul is a Democrat delegate from Roanoke. He still publicly blames Israel for an explosion at a Gaza hospital that the western world’s intelligence services have blamed on an errant Hamas rocket. Even The New York Times changed its story after jumping the gun on that report. At the rally…
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A Day in the Election Trenches
by Dick Hall-Sizemore I just finished my first stint as an election official. I was surprised by some aspects but, upon retrospect, I should not have been surprised. Voters came in steadily throughout the day, with some backups occurring. The biggest push was between 5:15 and 6:15, when the line was much longer. But it…
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Dems Work to Suppress Minority Votes in Senate Race
by Victoria Snitsar Churchill In the heart of Virginia’s Senate District 31 race, where political fervor has ignited a spirited campaign, allegations of voter suppression tactics are taking center stage. Juan Pablo Segura – the Republican contender for the seat – has raised concerns about what he describes as attempts by his opponent Russet Perry’s…
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List of Wrongly Purged Voter Registrations Gets Larger
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Remember my earlier report on the Youngkin administration cancelling the registrations of voters eligible to vote? These were felons whose voting rights had been restored who had committed a parole violation, which shows up as a felony in the State Police’s official crime database. In mid-October, the state Department of Elections reported…