President Donald Trump has criticized the growing number of states refusing to pass on voters’ details to his commission on electoral fraud.
The president tweeted: “What are they trying to hide?”
At least 20 states have said that they will not or only partly comply with the request, citing privacy concerns.
Democrats fear that the commission may be used to justify tightening voting procedures – changes which could make certain groups less likely to vote.
The groups most affected by so-called voter suppression tend to vote Democrat.
However, it is not just Democrats who are opposed to the collection of such data by the federal government.
Mississippi’s Secretary of State, Delbert Hosemann, a Republican, said in an official statement that his reply to the commission would be “they can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi is a great state to launch from”.
Donald Trump set up the commission to investigate claims – unsubstantiated, but which he repeats – that millions of fraudulent votes cost him the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election.
Image source Flickr
He secured more votes in the all-important Electoral College than Hillary Clinton, thus winning the presidency.
Donald Trump established the Presidential Advisory commission on Election Integrity in May, despite evidence that voter fraud is not a widespread problem in the US.
The aim is to “increase the American people’s confidence in the integrity of our election systems”.
Kentucky’s Secretary of State, Alison Lundergan Grimes, said she would not be releasing “sensitive personal data to the federal government”.
She said in a statement: “Kentucky will not aid a commission that is at best a waste of taxpayer money and at worst an attempt to legitimize voter suppression efforts across the country.”
The panel, described by President Trump as “very distinguished,” is chaired by Vice-President Mike Pence.
On June 28, its vice-chair, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, sent a letter to the 50 US states and the District of Columbia requesting details from voter rolls including: names, addresses, dates of birth, political affiliation, last four digits of social security number, voting history since 2006, criminal convictions and military status.
The information would be used “to fully analyze vulnerabilities and issues related to voter registration and voting,” the letter said.
Many other states, including Alabama, California, Connecticut and Minnesota have said they will not send the information, or will only send information that is already publically available.
Accusations of fraud sparks over Ecuador’s presidential elections after early results projected victory for the incumbent party’s candidate.
Results show former VP Lenin Moreno of the Socialist Party has 51.12% of the vote, with just 4% of districts still waiting to be counted.
However, challenger Guillermo Lasso had already begun celebrations after an exit poll predicted his victory.
Guillermo Lasso demanded a recount, and called on supporters to take to the streets.
He also alleged electoral fraud had been used to grant victory to his opponent.
In a series of tweets, Guillermo Lasso told the public to “peacefully defend your vote” and said he was “going to defend the will of the people”.
Final official results have yet to be announced.
If Lenin Moreno is declared the winner, he will continue a decade of left-wing leadership begun by President Rafael Correa in 2007.
Image source Wikipedia
He would also become one of a small number of disabled world leaders – he became paraplegic after being shot in the back during a robbery in 1998.
An apparent victory for Lenin Moreno was welcomed by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange – as Guillermo Lasso had vowed to evict him from his asylum in the country’s London embassy if victorious.
Julian Assange tweeted that he “cordially invites” Guillermo Lasso to leave the country within 30 days – referencing the timeframe the candidate gave for Assange’s own eviction.
Guillermo Lasso, a former banker who wants to promote foreign investment, called for a recount after Lenin Moreno started to take a lead in the preliminary results.
Exit polls released on April 2 had suggested an extremely tight race.
A poll by Periles de Opinion had shown Lenin Moreno leading with 52.2%, while a poll by Cedatos showed Guillermo Lasso winning with 53.02%.
Incumbent President Rafael Correa, meanwhile, tweeted criticism of what he termed “violence” in several cities as early results emerged.
Local media reported that some of Guillermo Lasso’s supporters had gathered in the capital of Quito, as well as the city of Guayaquil. According to The El Comercio newspaper, the crowd removed barriers placed in the road, and bottles were thrown by some in Guayaquil.
When he was first elected in 2007, Rafael Correa was one of a group of left-wing leaders in power in Latin America.
However, in the decade since, conservative politicians have taken power in Argentina and Brazil. A victory for Guillermo Lasso would have continued that trend.
The US and UK have expressed concerns after Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe won a seventh term in office amid claims of electoral fraud.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the results did not “represent a credible expression of the people”.
Robert Mugabe, 89, won 61% of the vote, against PM Morgan Tsvangirai’s 34%.
But Morgan Tsvangirai rejected the vote for parliament and president as fraudulent and vowed to take legal action.
He said his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would no longer work with Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party and boycott government institutions.
The two parties have been in a coalition since 2009, after the last election sparked widespread violence.
Results from this week’s parliamentary election showed the MDC had been trounced, winning just 49 seats compared with Zanu-PF’s 158.
Major Western groups were not invited to send observer missions to monitor Wednesday’s election.
The US has described the vote as “deeply flawed”.
“In light of substantial electoral irregularities reported by domestic and regional observers, the United States does not believe that the results represent a credible expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people,” John Kerry said.
Former colonial power the UK also expressed “grave concerns” over reports of large numbers of voters being turned away from polling stations.
British Foreign Minister William Hague urged a thorough investigation of all allegations of violations.
The US and UK have expressed concerns after Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe won a seventh term in office
Meanwhile the European Union which maintains sanctions on Robert Mugabe and his senior aides, said it was worried about “alleged irregularities and reports of incomplete participation” in the election.
Monitoring groups disagreed over the conduct of the election.
The most critical account came from the largest group of monitors, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), which had 7,000 workers observing the vote.
The organization said problems with voter registration had left up to one million people unable to cast their ballots, mostly in urban areas regarded as MDC strongholds.
On Saturday, one of the nine members of the election commission resigned over the way the election was conducted.
Commissioner Mkhululi Nyathi said in his resignation letter: “While throughout the whole process I retained some measure of hope that the integrity of the whole process could be salvaged along the way, this was not to be.”
However, the African Union, which had 70 observers, said its initial report suggested the election was “free and credible”.
The AU’s mission chief Olusegun Obasanjo said there had been “incidents that could have been avoided” and asked Zimbabwe’s election authorities to investigate claims that voters had been turned away from polling stations.
SADC, with 600 observers, broadly endorsed the election as “free and peaceful”, but said it would reserve judgement on the fairness of the process.
In a news conference before the presidential result was announced, Morgan Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe was “in mourning”.
“The fraudulent and stolen election has launched Zimbabwe into a constitutional, political and economic crisis,” he said.
He said he would produce a dossier of the alleged electoral fraud and he called on the southern African regional bloc, SADC, to investigate.
His MDC colleagues had earlier called for a campaign of civil disobedience to isolate Zanu-PF.
Robert Mugabe has been president since 1987. He became prime minister when Zimbabwe won independence from the UK in 1980.
Robert Mugabe has won a seventh term in office as Zimbabwe’s president, officials say, amid claims of electoral fraud.
Robert Mugabe, 89, won 61% of the vote, against PM Morgan Tsvangirai’s 34%.
Morgan Tsvangirai earlier said the elections for parliament and president were fraudulent and promised to take legal action.
He said his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would no longer work with Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party.
The two parties have been in a coalition since 2009, after the last election sparked widespread violence.
Results from this week’s parliamentary election showed the MDC had been trounced, winning just 49 seats compared with Zanu-PF’s 158.
In a news conference before the presidential result was announced, Morgan Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe was “in mourning”.
“The fraudulent and stolen election has launched Zimbabwe into a constitutional, political and economic crisis,” he said.
He said he would produce a dossier of the alleged electoral fraud and he called on the southern African regional bloc, SADC, to investigate.
Robert Mugabe has won a seventh term in office as Zimbabwe’s president
His MDC colleagues had earlier called for a campaign of civil disobedience to isolate Zanu-PF.
The European Union, which maintains sanctions on Robert Mugabe and his senior aides, said it was concerned about “alleged irregularities and reports of incomplete participation” in Wednesday’s election.
Former colonial power the UK said it had grave concerns about the conduct of the election, and urged a thorough investigation of all allegations of violations.
Monitoring groups disagreed over the conduct of the election.
The most critical account came from the largest group of monitors, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), which had 7,000 workers observing the vote.
The organization said problems with voter registration had left up to one million people unable to cast their ballots, mostly in urban areas regarded as MDC strongholds.
On Saturday, one of the nine members of the election commission resigned over the way the election was conducted.
Commissioner Mkhululi Nyathi said in his resignation letter: “While throughout the whole process I retained some measure of hope that the integrity of the whole process could be salvaged along the way, this was not to be.”
However, the African Union, which had 70 observers, said its initial report suggested the election was “free and credible”.
The AU’s mission chief Olusegun Obasanjo said there had been “incidents that could have been avoided” and asked Zimbabwe’s election authorities to investigate claims that voters had been turned away from polling stations.
SADC, with 600 observers, broadly endorsed the election as “free and peaceful”, but said it would reserve judgement on the fairness of the process.
Major Western groups were not invited to send observer missions.
Robert Mugabe has been president since 1987. He became prime minister when Zimbabwe won independence from the UK in 1980.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in central Moscow to protest against Vladimir Putin and the alleged electoral fraud.
The protesters passed a resolution “not to give a single vote to Vladimir Putin” at next year’s presidential election.
Protest leader Alexei Navalny told the crowd to loud applause that Russians would no longer tolerate corruption.
“I see enough people here to take the Kremlin and [Government House] right now but we are peaceful people and won’t do that just yet,” Alexei Navalny said.
Protesters say parliamentary elections on December 4, which were won by Vladimir Putin’s party, were rigged. The government denies the accusation.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in central Moscow to protest against Vladimir Putin and the alleged electoral fraud
A sea of demonstrators stretched along Sakharov Avenue, a few miles from the Kremlin, in sub-zero temperatures.
Rallies were taking place across Russia, with the first big protest in the far eastern city of Vladivostok.
At least 28,000 people turned out in the capital, according to the Russian interior ministry, but rally organizers said the true number was around 120,000.
President Dmitry Medvedev announced political reforms this week, but many demonstrators say it is not enough.
They are demanding a re-run of the poll, which was won by Vladimir Putin’s party – but with a much smaller share of the overall vote.
Vladimir Putin poured scorn on protesters during a recent live chat on Russian TV, calling them “Banderlog” after the lawless monkeys in The Jungle Book, and likening their protest symbol, a white ribbon, to a condom.
However, Vladimir Putin also said protesters had the right to demonstrate if they kept within the law.
In Moscow, many protesters clutched white balloons and banners with the slogan “For Free Elections” while some mocked Vladimir Putin with images of condoms, to the extent that the first speaker, music journalist Artyom Troitsky, dressed himself up as one.
The resolution passed at Saturday’s rally built on demands expressed at an earlier rally in Moscow on December 10.
Another new point was a call for the creation of a new election monitoring body – the Moscow Voters’ Association – to investigate ballot-rigging.
Alexei Navalny, a prominent anti-corruption blogger who was jailed for 15 days over a street protest just after the elections, greeted the crowd with the words: “Greetings to the Banderlog from the net hamsters [internet activists].”
Condemning Russia’s leaders as “swindlers and thieves”, he listed victims of injustice including imprisoned former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in custody.
“Who’s the power here?” he shouted to cries of “We are” from the crowd.
Alexei Navalny promised that the next protest rally would be a “million strong”.
Alexei Kudrin, who recently resigned after serving a decade as Vladimir Putin’s finance minister, was booed when he took the microphone to call for early parliamentary elections and urge a dialogue between the Kremlin and the opposition.
“There needs to be a platform for dialogue, otherwise there will be a revolution and we lose the chance that we have today for a peaceful transformation,” he said.
A total of 22 speakers were lined up for the Moscow rally, with rival opposition figures addressing a crowd which mixed liberals with nationalists.
• In a video message, Russian rock musician Yury Shevchuk urged protesters to maintain their dignity and avoid “competing in hatred for the authorities”
• Billionaire and Putin election challenger Mikhail Prokhorov had been expected to address the rally but stayed in the crowd, saying he had heard presidential candidates were “not supposed to speak”
• Another presidential candidate, veteran liberal Grigory Yavlinsky, did speak, and called for a free electoral system
• Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, 80, did not attend after all, sending a message of support instead. He later told Moscow Echo radio that Mr Putin should not stand for another term in office
Saturday’s rally in Moscow ended peacefully, with the last speaker a Grandfather Frost (Russian Santa Claus) figure who wished citizens of a “free Russia” a Happy New Year.
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