local election

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Mayoral Election Really Could Be a Coin Flip

That's how the incumbent won the office, too

(Newser) - A mayoral election in a small Ohio village could once again be decided by a coin toss. Candidates Travis Boyd and Grant Downes each received 127 votes in Tuesday's election in Magnolia, a village of just under 1,000 people about 70 miles south of Cleveland. A coin toss...

Amazon's $1.5M in Seattle Races May Have Backfired

Company drew criticism for spending to support business-friendly candidates

(Newser) - Amazon poured $1.5 million into an effort to overhaul Seattle's City Council this year. It didn't deliver. Though many votes remain to be counted, early returns suggest the online retail giant and other business interests will have fewer obvious allies on the council than at any time...

Village Decides Election by Flipping Coin

2 candidates got 573 votes each

(Newser) - David DeLeshe has a coin to thank for his new role on the village of Stickney's board of trustees. DeLeshe and opponent Lea Torres both managed to get 573 votes in the Chicago suburb's April 9 election, the AP reports, so election officials resorted to a coin toss...

Fugitive Dog Wins Most Write-Ins in Iowa Election

Condemned Jake gets 62 votes in Sioux City contest

(Newser) - Were he not a dog, Jake Rochester would have made a fine politician. The fugitive Labrador Retriever earned the most write-in votes in a City Council election in Sioux City, thanks to a concerted “Vote Jake” campaign on his behalf. Jake’s story is a strange one. The dog...

Islamists Lose Ground in Turkish Election

Government suffers setback as voters turn to secular parties

(Newser) - Turkey's Islamist-leaning AK Party won local elections yesterday, but fell short of the overwhelming victory leaders had hoped for, reports the Los Angeles Times. With most of the votes counted, the party of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan won 39% of the vote, but lost ground to secularists in Istanbul and...

Tiny Town's Move May Redefine Voting Rights Act

Provision in 1965 act prevents moving polling station

(Newser) - A Supreme Court case may soon bring about a momentous change in the nation's voting laws, all because a Texas town of 3,500 moved a polling station three blocks, the Wall Street Journal reports. A local official made the switch to a more convenient location, galled that he needed...

This Time, Iraq Gets Politics With Its Elections

Stability gives candidates chance to compete more in Western democratic style

(Newser) - If Iraq’s tumultuous 2005 elections were a trial run at democracy, the current provincial race has main-event flavor, the Washington Post reports. Greater stability has allowed town-hall gatherings, where voters grill some 14,000 candidates running for 440 seats on everything from housing to militarization. And campaign posters, T-shirts...

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