PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, Aug. 11 -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island issued the following news release: Two weeks ago, the state of Rhode Island agreed to eliminate witness/notary requirements for vote by mail throughout the 2020 elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in a consent decree resolving a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Rhode Island, Campaign Legal Center, and the law firm Fried Frank on behalf of Common Cause of Rhode Island, th  more

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, Aug. 14 -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island issued the following news release on Aug. 13: In an important win for voting rights, the Supreme Court today rejected efforts by the Republican National Committee and Rhode Island Republican Party to try and block RI from eliminating witness/notary requirements for vote by mail in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The state had agreed to drop the requirements via consent decree, resolving a lawsuit brought  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The American Civil Liberties Union, a 501(c)3 non-profit that works to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the U.S., issued the following news release on Aug. 13: In an important win for voting rights, the Supreme Court today rejected efforts by the Republican National Committee and Rhode Island Republican Party to try and block Rhode Island from eliminating witness/notary requirements for vote by mail in 2020  more

MONTGOMERY, Alabama, Aug. 12 -- The Alabama Republican Party issued the following statement by Chairman Terry Lathan: * * * ALGOP Chairman Terry Lathan issued the following statement on Joe Biden's choice of Kamala Harris as his running mate in the 2020 presidential election: "Joe Biden's VP pick drags the Democrats' ticket even further to the left. Kamala Harris was the first proud co-sponsor Bernie's Medicare for All government healthcare takeover. She's applauded efforts to defund the poli  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Aug. 12 -- The Massachusetts Republican Party issued the following news: The Massachusetts Republican Party announced on Tuesday the launch of the MassGOP Veterans Coalition, an outreach organization that founder John MacDonald said is geared towards providing Massachusetts veterans with a Republican-based platform. "As a veterans advocate, for years I have spoken with my fellow veterans who have expressed aggravation with politicians and often misguided policies that ef  more

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 12 -- The Republican Party of Texas issued the following statement by Chairman Allen West: * * * Former VP and Democrat presidential nominee appears to have chosen California Senator Kamala Harris as his VP running mate. In Texas we do not want the failed economic policies of California -- nor its far left progressive socialism -- in the Lone Star State. There's a reason why people are fleeing California, and other failed blue states, for the growth, opportunity, and promi  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The Democratic Governors Association issued the following statement on Aug. 13 by Co-Chair Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: * * * Today, during an interview with CNBC, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow called Democrats' fight to protect voting rights during the COVID-19 pandemic a "really liberal left" wish list item. The disturbing dismissal of a Constitutional right as a partisan agenda item comes hours after President Trump openly admitted that he supported blocking fu  more

ATLANTA, Georgia, Aug. 13 -- The Democratic Party of Georgia issued the following news release: While Republican Party leaders have "condemned" Marjorie Taylor Greene as "bigoted" and "appalling," the candidate known for spewing racist sentiments and peddling dangerous internet conspiracy theories received the strong and immediate backing of both Congressman Doug Collins and Senator Kelly Loeffler after winning her primary runoff last night. Greene's long history of racist, anti-Semitic, and I  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The Democratic National Committee issued the following statement on Aug. 12 by spokesperson John Weber: * * * Ahead of the Trump campaign's fundraiser in Lake Keowee, South Carolina today, Democratic National Committee spokesperson John Weber released the following statement: "South Carolinians don't need the Trumps parachuting in for a high-d0llar fundraiser. They need tests, personal protective equipment, and a president with the capacity to lead. "But nearly seven m  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 -- The Federal Election Commission issued the following weekly digest: Commission meetings and hearings No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week. Advisory Opinions Request Closed Advisory Opinion Request 2020-03 (McCutcheon for Freedom). On August 10, the Commission sent a closeout letter to the requestor as the Commission currently lacks a quorum of four Commissioners to take action on advisory opinion requests. Enforcement The Commission made p  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 -- The League of Women Voters issued the following news release on Aug. 10: Last week, a First Circuit Court judge upheld the ruling of a district court judge to accept an agreement waiving the witness/notary requirements for mail-in ballots throughout the 2020 elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The consent decree with the State of Rhode Island resolved a lawsuit brought by the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island, Common Cause of Rhode Island, and three voters who fa  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The League of Women Voters issued the following news release on Aug. 13: Today, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of two lower courts to waive the two-witness and notary requirement for absentee ballots in Rhode Island for 2020 elections. The case was brought by the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island, Common Cause Rhode Island, and individual Rhode Island voters with significant risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19. "The court's decision t  more

LANSING, Michigan, Aug. 14 -- The Michigan Republican Party issued the following news: On Thursday, Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox called on Representative Jon Hoadley to be removed from his position as Vice-Chair of the State House Appropriations Committee. The action comes after troubling blog posts surfaced (https://nypost.com/2020/08/04/michigan-democrat-jon-hoadley-blogged-about-drug-use/) last week in which Hoadley spoke about hardcore drug usage, disparaging women and chil  more

LANSING, Michigan, Aug. 12 -- The Michigan Republican Party issued the following news on Aug. 11: Since early spring, Gretchen Whitmer has done countless late-night comedy shows, cable TV appearances, and magazine profiles in her quest to become Joe Biden's Vice Presidential nominee. Today, she lost the Veepstakes to Kamala Harris. Since endorsing Biden in the spring, Michigan took a backseat to Whitmer's political ambitions. In true Democrat fashion, Gretchen Whitmer never let a crisis go to   more

LANSING, Michigan, Aug. 12 -- The Michigan Republican Party issued the following news: Over the weekend, President Trump took executive action to ease the lives of many Michiganders still suffering the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. In true partisan fashion, Governor Whitmer criticized President Trump's actions, stating that the president must instead "work together with Congress." The hypocrisy of such a statement coming from a governor who has signed over 100 executive orders, and wh  more

LANSING, Michigan, Aug. 14 -- The Michigan Republican Party issued the following news: In an unprecedented gambit to build a winning coalition in November, Democrat U.S. Senator Gary Peters' newest television ad seeks to portray that he has a strong working relationship with President Donald Trump - despite the fact that Peters votes with Nancy Pelosi 95% of the time. It's a desperate move because Peters' campaign has repeatedly attacked John James over his willingness to work with the Preside  more

LANSING, Michigan, Aug. 12 -- The Michigan Republican Party issued the following news: U.S. Senator Gary Peters is dragging his feet on filing his 2019 annual financial disclosure report, despite being up for reelection. Or, is it because he is up for reelection? Peters' upcoming report is important because it will reveal if Peters still benefits from an exclusive, gold-plated private health insurance plan not available to the public. Peters recently came under fire by opponent John James fo  more

LANSING, Michigan, Aug. 14 -- The Michigan Republican Party issued the following news: As the coronavirus pandemic unfolded in America and across the world in February, U.S. Senator Gary Peters repeatedly sounded the alarm about international travel across our borders in order to protect the country against COVID-19. What did he do next? Peters jumped on an airplane and flew out of the country to collect campaign cash for his own benefit, putting Michigan residents at risk of accelerated sprea  more

LANSING, Michigan, Aug. 13 -- The Michigan Republican Party issued the following news on Aug. 12: U.S. Senator Gary Peters loves to talk about being the Ranking Member on the Senate Homeland Security Committee. However, under his watch, a departmental audit said that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was not ready for a pandemic. Peters had been on the important oversight committee for nearly two years when the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued the scathing report in Oc  more

LANSING, Michigan, Aug. 12 -- The Michigan Republican Party issued the following news: After repeatedly praising China at the start of the global coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Senator Gary Peters probably wishes he could have his words back. Peters, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in an appearance on Fox News on February 12th that, "Certainly, the Chinese government has instituted some very, very aggressive actions..." Peters   more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 15 -- The North Carolina Republican Party issued the following news on Aug. 14: In an interview with WNCN-Raleigh last night, Cal Cunningham praised Kamala Harris and claimed her ideas are "good for North Carolina." Harris' ideas include: * Eliminating private health insurance (https://www.nc.gop/r?u=GQ96LxW7tJscudkL8mlwNzVEKXk7dMDJzwJlfbbiiRZgT7jsqPUhl8spexKkUclhvqqg_E7_w06gzCb8lLO1aw&e=ea5d33ff039d049803094201b448212c&utm_source=ncgop&utm_medium=email&utm_camp  more

LUMBERTON, North Carolina, Aug. 14 -- The North Carolina Republican Party issued the following news on Aug. 13: The North Carolina Republican Party held our sixth roundtable in Lumberton, NC today bringing together small business owners and local leaders to discuss the impact of Cooper's lockdown orders. Governor Cooper has refused to meet with these leaders to hear about the actual impacts of his unilateral actions. Here Are Some Quotes From Today's Participants "I'm Deputy Majority Leader B  more

CONCORD, New Hampshire, Aug. 12 -- The New Hampshire Republican Party issued the following statement by Chairman Stephen Stepanek: * * * NHGOP Chairman Stephen Stepanek released the following statement following Democrat Presidential Candidate Joe Biden naming California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate: "By choosing Kamala Harris, Joe Biden has made it clear his campaign is only trying to appeal to far-left California Democrats. "Remember that while Joe Biden left New Hampshire in   more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 14 -- The North Carolina Republican Party issued the following news on Aug. 13: Late yesterday, Governor Roy Cooper's Department of Health And Human Services sent a press release admitting to over counting at least 221,444 COVID-19 tests. The Cooper Administrations' jaw-dropping law of oversight only heightens the need for them to comply with North Carolina's Public Records law. Currently, a coalition of media companies, including the New York Times and Associated   more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 13 -- The North Carolina Republican Party issued the following news on Aug. 12: In light of Cal Cunningham's fundraiser with former Obama flack and extreme liberal media host, Dan Pfeiffer, tonight, here's a look back at what Cunningham was doing when COVID-19 first hit North Carolina. While Senator Tillis sprung into action to combat the COVID-19 in the early stages of the pandemic, Cunningham was taking a cross-country flight to participate in an interview with   more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 11 -- The North Carolina Republican Party issued the following news: North Carolinians will begin casting their votes via absentee on September 4. President Donald J. Trump, Senator Thom Tillis and Lt. Governor Dan Forest have all sought to debate their opponents as soon as possible. Yet, Joe Biden, Cal Cunningham and Roy Cooper have all refused to debate until weeks after the first votes are cast. Currently, North Carolina is experiencing an unprecedented surge i  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 11 -- The North Carolina Republican Party issued the following news: President Trump took decisive action over the weekend to provide assistance to the American people because Cal Cunningham's Democratic allies, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, are holding critically-needed relief hostage by taking a "HEROES Act or nothing" approach to COVID-19 relief legislation. While Senator Tillis has denounced the HEROES Act and called on Congress to forge bipartisan consensus   more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 12 -- The North Carolina Republican Party issued the following news on Aug. 11: Yesterday, Cal Cunningham opposed President Trump's decisive action to extend relief to North Carolinians and confirmed his support for Nancy Pelosi's $3 trillion plan to give checks to illegal immigrants and tax breaks to the wealthy New Yorkers and Californians that are funding his campaign. While Senator Tillis agreed with the President's decision (https://www.nc.gop/r?u=YqgukYA3Mr  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 13 -- The North Carolina Republican Party issued the following news: The Raleigh News and Observer reported a new study by Wallet Hub, examining the extent of COVID-19 rules in different states. The report from Wallet Hub highlights how North Carolina ranks third in the nation for having the most amount of rules and regulations related to COVID-19. Governor Roy Cooper's severe lockdown measures do not seem to align with the data or reality. North Carolina has the   more

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 11 -- The Ohio Democratic Party issued the following news: State Rep. Gayle Manning held a news conference last week to promote new legislation designed to crack down on dark-money political ads and end the "the shell game of hiding money," but Manning benefited from that shell game in 2014 when a shadowy super PAC run by one of Josh Mandel's former operatives spent big to support her re-election. "Gayle Manning's hypocrisy on the issue of political dark money is absolutel  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 -- President Trump issued the following remarks in a news briefing on Aug. 11 where he discussed about mail-in voting: THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. I thought I'd start by talking about some mail-in voting that just was revealed -- just the news. Half a million incorrect absentee ballot applications were sent all across the state of Virginia, including to many dead people. This was an unprecedented mailing flub that's heightened concerns about the integrity of expandin  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 -- Rep. Eliot L. Engel, D-New York, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement: * * * Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement on the passing of Brent Scowcroft: "I'm saddened by the passing of Brent Scowcroft, who dedicated his life to protecting the American people. General Scowcroft served as National Security Advisor to two presidents, always seeking to harn  more

PATERSON, New Jersey, Aug. 11 -- Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Aug. 9: Today, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) hammered the Trump Administration's rampant abuse of executive actions as Republicans continue to dither on the next round of coronavirus relief. While the House passed the HEROES Act in May, Trump and Senate Republicans continue to delay as expanded unemployment benefits expired last week and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) supp  more

RICHMOND, Virginia, Aug. 12 -- The Republican Party of Virginia issued the following statement on Aug. 11 by Chairman Jack Wilson: * * * RPV Chairman Jack Wilson issued the following statement in reaction to Joe Biden's picking of Kamala Harris to be his Vice-Presidential nominee: "In a time that our nation is crying out for healing and and end to partisan divisiveness, Joe Biden just went full bore in the opposite direction. Kamala Harris exemplifies the worst parts of the Democratic Party:   more

MADISON, Wisconsin, Aug. 13 -- The Wisconsin Republican Party issued the following news: The Republican Party of Wisconsin launched a television and digital ad campaign on Wednesday highlighting how Gov. Tony Evers was asleep at the switch when violence and lawlessness broke out this spring in Wisconsin's state capital. Gov. Tony Evers has multiple law enforcement agencies and the National Guard at his disposal, and Wisconsin's capital city still burned under his watch. When Wisconsinites were  more

RICHMOND, Virginia, Aug. 11 -- The Virginia Republican Party issued the following statement Chairman Jack Wilson: * * * RPV Chairman, Jack Wilson, issued the following statement after HD29 nominee, Bill Wiley's, resounding primary victory on Saturday: "Bill Wiley's victory is a critical first step in taking back the General Assembly in 2021. "Fielding qualified candidates in all of our House Districts and electing a Republican governor starts in HD29. "I want to congratulate Bill on his res  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission's Administrative Law Judges issued the following initial decision involving Laurie Bebo and John Buono: In the Matter of Laurie Bebo and John Buono, CPA Initial Decision as to Laurie Bebo Appearances: Benjamin Hanauer, Eric M. Phillips, Daniel J. Hayes, Timothy Stockwell, and Scott B. Tandy for the Division of Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission Mark A. Cameli, Ryan Stippich, Jennifer L. Naeger, and Alexander B. Handel  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 -- Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, issued the following news release: Our nation has always defended free speech and the right to express different viewpoints. Until recently, it was fair to assume U.S. internet companies were committed to those same rights. But in the last few years, reports have uncovered a disturbing trend of online platforms censoring conservative speech. In 2018, for example, Twitter was exposed for "shadow banning" prominent conservatives on the pla  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 -- Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, issued the following weekly report: Our nation has always defended free speech and the right to express different viewpoints. Until recently, it was fair to assume U.S. internet companies were committed to those same rights. But in the last few years, reports have uncovered a disturbing trend of online platforms censoring conservative speech. In 2018, for example, Twitter was exposed for "shadow banning" prominent conservatives on the pl  more

LANSING, Michigan, Aug. 13 -- The Michigan Democratic Party issued the following news release on Aug. 12: Today, the Michigan Democratic Party held a virtual press conference with Senator Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, and autoworker Percy Johnson to highlight Donald Trump's erratic trade actions, his failed record on auto jobs, and Joe Biden's plans to invest in Michigan manufacturing. The presser comes as Trump has continued his erratic trade war, putting a 10%  more

PIERRE, South Dakota, Aug. 10 -- The South Dakota Republican Party issued the following news release on Aug. 8: In a letter released today, South Dakota's Governor and entire federal delegation called for an additional, earlier Presidential Debate to held in South Dakota this September. South Dakota Republican Party Chairman Dan Lederman noted "When the debate calendar was created 30 years ago, as little as 5% of votes were cast by absentee ballot. Now, with early voting starting September 16   more

CORAL GABLES, Florida, Aug. 12 -- The University of Miami issued the following news: The Republican and Democratic parties will hold small gatherings with virtual programming to avoid the usual large crowds and multiple events. Political conventions in modern times have become each party's major celebration to not only have delegates network with each other and make new contacts but to ultimately--with a lot of fanfare and thousands of balloons--nominate its candidate for president. This year  more

MONTPELIER, Vermont, Aug. 13 -- The Vermont Democratic Party issued the following news release on Aug. 12: Tonight, the Vermont Republican Party nominated Scott Milne, a two time failed candidate for statewide office, for a position he once disparaged. Milne declined to run for lieutenant governor in 2016 opting to run for U.S. Senate, saying: "so I can get in line to do something down the road, which is basically what everyone that's doing lieutenant governor is doing, right?" Instead, Milne  more

MADISON, Wisconsin, Aug. 12 -- The Wisconsin Republican Party issued the following statement by Chairman Andrew Hitt: * * * Following Tuesday's primary elections across the state of Wisconsin, Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Andrew Hitt released the following statement regarding the party's strong bench of candidates headed to the November General Election: "Republicans are ready to fight and win in November. The winners of tonight's primaries have built strong organizations that have  more