Tag: elections

DeSantis Admits Marijuana Legalization Is Popular With Florida Voters Even Though He Opposes It

The Republican governor of Florida is conceding that “more people probably agreed” with a marijuana legalization ballot initiative he helped defeat last year than sided with his prohibitionist viewpoint—but he argued that it was the “morally right” choice for him to intervene to prevent the sale of “dangerous stuff” in his state.

At an event hosted by the Pennsylvania Family Institute on Saturday, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) talked about his administration’s uphill work to dissuade voters from approving both the cannabis measure as well as a separate reproductive rights initiative during the November 2024. While both initiatives received majority support from voters, they failed to meet the state’s high 60 percent threshold required to enact constitutional amendments.

In the speech, DeSantis claimed that the marijuana proposal, Amendment 3, wouldn’t just have legalized cannabis but also made it a “constitutional right to possess and smoke it, including in public,” while giving one company in particular “a lot of benefits,” seemingly referring to the Smart and Safe Florida campaign’s largest financier Trulieve.

“Somehow you got people that are going to spend a lot of money to basically make us California through the back door with these initiatives and these amendments,” DeSantis said. “The marijuana people spent $150 million on this. The abortion people spent $130 million. So we had to contend with $280 million of spending on very misleading language—and, let’s just be honest, they were pushing issues in which probably more people agreed with them than agreed with me or agreed with us.”

“Marijuana was somewhat popular,” the governor said in comments first reported by Florida Politics. “I didn’t do it to be popular. I did it because it was the right thing to do. So we were having to deal with navigating all this.”

Despite raising money to finance ads opposing the cannabis measure, DeSantis said governors don’t officially “have a role in these amendments.” He faulted “special interest” parties and the state Supreme Court approval of the initiative language that he described as a “mistake.”

“I mean, most people that get elected in my positions like mine, all their advisors say, ‘stay away from this. There’s nothing for you to gain by getting involved in this. All you’re going to do is alienate supporters,’” he said. “And that may be true, but that also wouldn’t be the right thing to do. It wouldn’t be the morally right thing to do. So I was in a position. I had this platform as governor. I had a megaphone. There were things being proposed that would be harmful for my state.”

“In terms of the marijuana, I mean, you can’t function as a state if you smell marijuana everywhere—if these kids are doing it,” DeSantis said. “And this isn’t the marijuana they had in Woodstock. This is really, really dangerous stuff, so it would have been terrible for Florida.”

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Spanberger Won’t Condemn School Board Member For Sympathetic Emails To Sex Offender Using Girls’ Bathroom

If you want to see Democrat Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger dance, ask her opinion about allowing men in women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams. She has been tap-dancing around a straight answer for weeks. In a recent debate, when pressed, she said the decision is up to individuals and school districts.

A political gift in the news should have made it much easier for Spanberger to find clarity.  

An Arlington School Board allowed a sex offender to shower and dress in the girls’ pool locker room last year, WJLA TV’s Nick Minock reported on Thursday. As with many public schools, the pool and facilities are open to the public outside school hours. He also revealed that a current Arlington School Board member, when running for her school board position, had an empathetic email exchange with a male sex offender who used girls’ spaces at Arlington schools.

The Federalist asked Spanberger in an email if she supports trans-identifying, male sex offenders showering with young girls? And does she condemn the sympathetic emails between the sex offender and a school board member candidate?

Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears knows her position and is not ashamed to say it out loud: “Girls are girls, and boys are boys.” She will support policies that promote the separation of the sexes in sports and private areas.  

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HERE WE GO AGAIN – In California Election For Congressional Redistricting – “See Through” Ballot Envelopes Allow You to See How Voter Voted

Another California election and another corrupt result in the works.

California doesn’t have elections.  They have madness and those with oversite gaslight the entire sham. The state is codifying unconstitutional election activities and like communist takeovers throughout history, no one is stopping them. 

BALLOT HARVESTING and MAIL-IN BALLOTS

Since California went to ballot harvesting the results have been devastating for the GOP in Orange County, California and across the state. Heritage reported in 2019:

Vote harvesting is the collection of absentee ballots from voters by a third party who then delivers them to election officials. The term “vote harvesting” was essentially unknown to the general public until the North Carolina State Board of Elections overturned the results of the 2018 election for the Ninth Congressional District due to illegal vote harvesting, what the board called a “coordinated, unlawful and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme.”

It was also raised as a concern in California after the unexpected losses of Republican-held congressional seats, including in Orange County, a traditional Republican stronghold, where the registrar of voters said that individuals were “dropping off maybe 100 or 200 ballots” at a time.

Ballot harvesting is still in place and all registered voters receive a ballot for the election in the mail.  The chain of custody surrounding ballots harvested in the state is not adequate or is non-existent.  Who knows where the completed ballots come from?

VOTER IDENTIFICATION

Not only is it almost impossible to determine where a ballot came from, it is also impossible to determine who the ballot came from.  Local governments in the state can’t ask for ID’s from voters.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation that prevents local governments from requiring voters to present identification at the polls, a law aimed at curbing conservative efforts in cities like Huntington Beach.

Californians literally have no idea who sent in the millions of ballots counted in the 2024 Election.

ELECTION OBSERVER VOTER SIGNATURE CHALLENGES DENIED

We can add to the above list this additional lack of transparency.  Election observers were prevented from the reasonable ability to observe the 2024 Election.  If they identified anything, they lacked the ability to do anything about it.

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Foreign Billionaire Pours Millions Into U.S. Politics to Push Radical Green Agenda

For more than a decade, British billionaire hedge-fund manager Christopher Hohn has quietly funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into American politics. 

Federal law strictly prohibits foreign nationals from directly or indirectly influencing U.S. elections, yet Hohn has become one of the most aggressive violators of that rule.

Through his London-based nonprofit, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Hohn poured more than $553 million into U.S. organizations between 2014 and 2023. 

These dollars didn’t go toward charity; instead, they went toward advancing radical left-wing policy campaigns: climate protests, anti-fossil-fuel litigation, and efforts to ban natural gas stoves. 

Much of this money flowed through the Arabella Advisors dark-money network, which bankrolls progressive activism nationwide.

CIFF’s ties raise even deeper concerns. The group has close connections to Communist China. 

Its CEO sits on the International Green Development Coalition, a program tied to China’s Belt and Road initiative. 

The coalition’s work is overseen by top officials in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

In fact, Hohn’s foundation has even honored CCP figures with “Friendship Awards,” further signaling its alignment with Beijing’s agenda.

While Democrats in Washington turn a blind eye, a foreign billionaire with ties to the CCP has been allowed to bankroll groups that shape America’s energy policy. 

By funding climate litigation and pressure campaigns, Hohn’s foundation has worked to dismantle U.S. energy independence, leaving America weaker and more reliant on foreign adversaries.

Democrats rail against supposed “foreign interference” in U.S. elections, but they have no problem cashing checks from foreign billionaires who bankroll their policy goals. 

From California to Washington, D.C., progressive nonprofits fueled by CIFF money have radicalized debates on climate and social justice, all while operating under the radar with little oversight or regulation.

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COLD WAR DISINFORMATION & ASSASSINATIONS by CIA in the GLOBAL SOUTH. Operation Colombo, Killing of Chile’s Allende and Ceylon’s Bandaranaike

September saw anniversaries in the chilling deaths of two democratically elected Socialist heads of state during the United States’ led Cold War anti-communist crusade that unfolded across the world between 1948-91:

The first assassination of concern here happened in Colombo, the capital of the geostrategic Indian Ocean island of Ceylon on September 25, 1959. The second death happened half way across the world fourteen years after the assassination of South Asia’s first Socialist Prime Minister S.W.R.D Bandaranaike.

On September 11, 1973, President Salvador Allende, South America’s first Socialist head of state died during a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), backed coup as military helicopters strafed the Presidential Palace in Santiago de Chile. The campaign of murder, suppression and disinformation against the Left that followed Allende’s death was Code Named “Operation Colombo”.

Both deaths of democratically elected Socialist heads of State were Cold War operations, which sent shock waves around the world at the time.

Both Bandaranaike and Allende, had promised to fully de-colonize and nationalize their countries’ plantations, ports, minerals and mines to benefit their native peoples, rather than foreign corporations drawing profits from the resource wealth of Global South countries. Both Bandaranaike and Allende died three years into their terms in office before they were able to deliver on the promise of full Economic independence for their citizens.

Remarkably, Prime Minister Bandaranaike was killed minutes after the US Ambassador, Bernard Gufler, had visited him in Colombo. Details of Gufler’s brief visit to Bandaranaike and departure from the scene of the crime just minutes before the assassination were revealed in de-classified US State department documents, some published on Wikileaks and corroborated by British intelligence source reports.

The narrative that a Buddhist monk had shot the Prime Minister compounded the shock, horror and grief that engulfed the British Dominion of Ceylon which had received faux independence just 9 years earlier in February 1948.

US Ambassador Guffler’s profile is of interest here. He was a Special Ambassador and a veteran of GLADIO, the clandestine NATO and CIA ‘stay behind’ secret operations network in Europe, established after World War 2 in partnership with British intelligence.

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Ukrainian parliament confirms local elections will not be held due to martial law

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a resolution that ensures the continuity of representative bodies of local self-government given the conditions of military aggression by Russia, Ukrinform reported, quoted by BTA.

The document states that the organization, preparation and holding of local elections in accordance with national legislation and European standards for democratic elections are impossible in the conditions of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and given the declared martial law in the country.

At the same time, the parliamentary resolution emphasizes the stable functioning of local government bodies and the exercise of their powers in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.

According to the document, mayors, municipal and city councilors and regional councils will remain in power until holding elections after the war with Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a meeting with Donald Trump earlier this year that he was ready to hold elections after the end of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

According to the Ukrainian constitution, the country was supposed to hold local elections on October 26, five years after the 2020 elections. This would affect the term of Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who has been in office since 2014. Due to martial law in the country, regular parliamentary elections in October 2023 and presidential elections in March 2024 were canceled. This gives Russia reason to question Volodymyr Zelensky’s legitimacy, DPA reports.

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Arkansas AG Busts Three Non-Citizens for Illegal Voting, Vows to Protect Election Integrity

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has announced the arrests of three non-citizens accused of illegally casting votes in recent elections.

The probe began earlier this year when federal officials alerted Griffin’s office to discrepancies between the voters’ records and their citizenship status.

Working alongside Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, investigators identified three individuals who had illegally voted.

All three women face felony charges for violating Arkansas election laws, with two also charged with perjury for falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on voter registration forms.

Cecilia Castellanos, 59, of Rogers, was arrested and charged with one count of perjury (a Class C felony) and one Class D felony count for violating Arkansas’s election laws.

Castellanos is a Cuban national with a pending order of removal from an immigration judge dating back to 1999 and has three prior felony convictions in New York state. She allegedly marked on her voter registration form that she was a U.S. citizen and had no prior felonies, then proceeded to vote illegally in the 2024 general election.

Zlata Risley, 50, of Hot Springs Village, faces one Class D felony count for violating Arkansas’s election laws. Originally from Kazakhstan, she is a lawful permanent resident but not a U.S. citizen. She is accused of voting illegally in the 2024 primary.

Chi Baum, 59, of Texarkana, was charged with one count of perjury (a Class C felony) and one Class D felony count for violating Arkansas’s election laws. From Nigeria, she holds conditional permanent resident status but is not a citizen.

Like Castellanos, Baum allegedly falsely claimed citizenship on her registration form and voted in the 2024 general election.

Attorney General Griffin emphasized the state’s commitment to election security in a statement, writing, “Arkansas’s elections are sound and secure, which is why we deal swiftly and decisively when rare infractions like these come to our attention. I am committed to preserving the integrity of our democratic process.”

Griffin credited his office’s Special Investigations Division’s Election Integrity Unit and local prosecuting attorneys for their work on the cases.

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Elections Canada head testifies on electoral mishaps, deflects blame

Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault deflected responsibility Thursday for several electoral irregularities in the April 28 federal election, including 822 uncounted mail-in ballots in Coquitlam, B.C.

Perrault stated that they are implementing controls to immediately detect errors like the Coquitlam incident, which he attributed to employees.

Conservative MP Tako van Popta questioned 822 ballots in 74 contests, which Elections Canada confirmed did not alter riding outcomes. Van Popta called the misplaced votes “inexplicable.” It prompted an apology from the federal agency.

Elections Canada’s Report On The 45th General Election noted 467 displaced mail-in ballots in two ridings. Other issues included incorrect return addresses in Terrebonne, Quebec, where a Liberal won by one vote, and unannounced poll closures in Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou, Quebec, which also led to a Liberal win.

Perrault stated the Nunavik incident investigation is complete, with findings forthcoming. He noted that in that instance, inclement weather is expected in regions like Nunavik and that last-minute deployment of election workers “is a risky proposition.”

Conservative MP Michael Kram observed the Elections Canada website crashed on April 28 after 7 p.m. ET, while polls were still open, impacting access to poll locations.

“What exactly went wrong?” asked MP Kram. “There was a failure of a firewall set up by a private partner that provides the web services for us,” replied Perrault. Managers have “introduced protocols where we will be monitoring the pre-election tests,” he said.

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Maine Woman Receives 250 State Election Ballots in Amazon Package Delivery

As voters in Maine prepare to cast their ballots in a state referendum election on November 4th, a Newburgh woman received a surprise delivery.  She was expecting a package with household goods and a toy lightsaber, but instead received bundles of ballots for the November 4th election, totaling over 250 ballots.

According to the Maine Wire:

The discovery raised alarms about election security, leading the Maine Republican Party Chairman to call for a federal criminal investigation as the state is mere weeks from deciding on whether it will join 36 other states in requiring some form of Vote ID.

The package arrived Tuesday looking beat up and re-taped, as if tampered with. Inside, along with household items, were bundles of ballots packaged in tamper-evident packs of 50 — the same format used for official shipments to local clerks. Election officials who reviewed photographs confirmed the documents appear to be authentic 2025 ballots.

The resident, stunned by the find, immediately turned the ballots over to the town office.

“I am greatly concerned for our state and its voting requirements,” she said.

“When I opened it, there were 250 official State of Maine referendum ballots inside my box. Thank goodness I am an honest citizen and immediately reached out to my town clerk and took the ballots to the town for safekeeping.”

Photographs obtained by the Maine Wire show that the ballots were included in the box with the household items the woman had ordered.

Previously Maine Wire posted to X a clip of Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows admitting that non-citizens may be on the voter rolls in Maine, prompting calls for voter identification.

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California’s Orange County to Probe Voter Rolls for Dogs, Cats Ahead of Nov. 4 Election

Orange County officials have launched an unusual effort to verify no dogs or cats are registered voters, instructing the local elections chief to compare voting lists against animal licensing records in a bid to root out any fraudulent entries.

The Board of Supervisors voted on Sept. 23 to expand a review of pet registrations across the county, aiming to confirm no dogs, cats, or other pets are poised to cast ballots in the upcoming November special election.

This move was made after Laura Lee Yourex, a 62-year-old resident of Costa Mesa, was charged with five felonies for allegedly registering her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, to vote.

Prosecutors claim Yourex submitted registration forms for the pet and mailed in ballots during the 2021 gubernatorial recall and the 2022 primary contest. The 2021 vote was tallied under state rules that don’t mandate ID for such matters, but the 2022 federal-related ballot was flagged and discarded due to stricter identification requirements.

Yourex turned herself in after reportedly confessing the act on social media, where she posted images of her dog alongside an “I Voted” sticker and a ballot envelope. Her attorney argued the stunt was intended to highlight perceived flaws in the voting system, though authorities view it as a serious breach, carrying up to six years behind bars if convicted.

The incident has ignited debates among county leaders, particularly Republicans on the board who see it as evidence of vulnerabilities in registration procedures. Supervisor Don Wagner, a vocal proponent of ID verification, said the case illustrates how easy it is to cast fake ballots.

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