ballots

Forget the actual Oscars. Increasingly, the highlight of awards season is the sudden influx of Anonymous Oscar Ballots, in which actual Oscar voters scurry away to various industry publications to explain why they voted the way they did.To be clear, the fun of these pieces isn’t getting to hear film-making veterans, who intrinsically have more insight into the production of feature films than a member of the public, laud the work that most impressed them this year. No, the fun of it is that these people are cartoonishly…

Tiffany Campbell used to describe herself as a “hardcore, church-going Republican.” That changed back in 2006, when she was still running an in-home daycare in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and learned she was pregnant with twins. The prognosis was dire: one twin’s heart was pumping blood for both of them and, without intervention, neither would survive. She has a healthy 16-year-old son today because she was able to obtain an abortion. After that experience, she threw herself into politics; today she is working full-time…

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain When it comes time to vote, you may think having more candidate options is better. But that's not necessarily the case. Andrew Janusz, assistant professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Florida, and his co-authors tested the idea using data from real elections to…

About 10,000 people get to vote for the Academy Awards. By all accounts they enjoy a relatively simple process. First they watch all the films. Then they decide which films they like the best. And then they run off to screech at as many media outlets as they possibly can about their choices.That’s right, if it’s Oscar season it must be anonymous Oscar ballot season. This year, as with most other years, a fat swath of Oscar voters have spoken to various publications about their choices. Taken independently, the resulting…

Hello, it’s Friday, Nov. 25, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:TOP STORIES Bass notched a record in the race for mayorA record number of Los Angeles voters cast ballots for mayor in this month’s election. The turnout reflects changes in the electoral calendar, the state’s easing of voter registration rules and the provocative contest between U.S. Rep. Karen Bass and businessman Rick Caruso, according to analysts and nearly complete returns from county officials.Bass took advantage of the new political…

How states plan to spend 'millionaire tax' revenueWhile the proposed taxes sound similar, there are differences in how each state plans to use the revenue. In Massachusetts, assuming voters pass the measure, the tax is expected to generate about $1.3 billion of revenue in 2023, according to a Tufts University analysis. The state aims to use the revenue to fund public education, roads, bridges and public transportation.California's tax is projected to bring in $3.5 billion to $5 billion annually should it pass, and the…

Photo: OLIVIER TOURON/AFP (Getty Images)This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.For years, with climate bills stalled in Congress, advocates, community groups, nonprofits, and even businesses have relied on ballot initiatives — where citizens vote on new laws alongside new candidates — to push forward environmental action at the state and local levels. In 2020, Michigan voters approved a proposal to use money from oil leases on public lands to fund parks. Two years…

LONDON—Members of the U.K.’s ruling Conservative Party who are voting to decide the country’s next prime minister are for the first time casting ballots online in a leadership election, a rarity among democracies wary of internet voting because of cybersecurity concernsOver a several-week period, the party is offering internet voting alongside voting by mail, in part to provide greater convenience during August weeks when Britons take vacation and to avoid disruptions by striking postal workers. The results are to be…

Breadcrumb Trail Links News Canada 'I've never lost an election, and I don't plan on doing so now,' Kenney said this week Alberta Premier Jason Kenney will get the results of the UCP Party leadership vote on Wednesday evening. IAN KUCERAK/Postmedia File Article content EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Jason Kenney will find out tonight whether he keeps his job. Article content Sometime after 4 p.m. MT, the United Conservative Party will announce whether the embattled premier has retained the support…