2016 Election

The Associated Press reports: Kentucky’s Republican governor says he will not use the state’s new GOP majority to push through a bill restricting transgender bathroom use. Matt Bevin held a news conference Friday to discuss his first year in office and look ahead to the 2017 legislative session, where Republicans will hold super majorities in both chambers for the first …

Politico reports: President Barack Obama has ordered a “full review” of hacking-relating activity aimed at disrupting last month’s presidential election and he expects that report before he leaves office on Jan. 20, a top White House official said Friday. “We may have crossed into a new threshold and it is incumbent upon us to take stock of that, to review, …

The Detroit Free Press reports: After two days of ballot counting, conflicting court decisions and legal wranglings between frustrated lawyers, a federal judge on Wednesday night halted the hand recount of 4.8 million ballots cast for president in Michigan, concluding there’s no real evidence of foul play and there’s no valid reason to continue the recount. In his eight-page opinion, …

The New York Post reports: Donald Trump is the grinch who is ruining the holidays for some fashionistas. Manhattan fashion p.r. company LaForce — which reps Target, Banana Republic and Williams-Sonoma, to name a few — has canceled its holiday party because of Trump’s victory. James LaForce and his husband, Stephen Henderson, had booked Irving Plaza for a thousand guests …

Law Newz reports: Three voters in Florida filed a lawsuit in state court seeking a recount of the votes in November’s presidential election. The voters claim that Hillary Clinton really won Florida, but problems including hacking, faulty voting machines, and voters being turned away from the polls led to a Trump victory. They sued Governor Rick Scott, Donald Trump, State …

Talking Points Memo reports: A defeated Republican congressman has so far refused to communicate with the Democrat who beat him, raising concerns that constituent issues handled by his office will fall through the cracks when his successor is inaugurated. Congressman-elect Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) has tried and failed to communicate with his ousted opponent, Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), according to a …

From his op-ed published tonight by the New York Times: I am a Republican presidential elector, one of the 538 people asked to choose officially the president of the United States. Since the election people have asked me to change my vote based on policy disagreements with Donald J. Trump. In some cases, they cite the popular vote difference. I …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Trump headed to the White House has been good for business at the Grey Lady. The New York Times has seen paid subscriptions online skyrocket since the election on Nov. 8. “We’ve seen really remarkable growth,” reaching to over 200,000 new digital-only subscriptions during the fourth quarter, New York Times CEO Mark Thompson on Monday said …

From Jill Stein’s Facebook page: As Donald’s Trump’s margin in Pennsylvania drops significantly and his team desperately rushes to block recounts in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, Dr. Jill Stein will host a rally and press conference outside Trump Tower on Monday, December 5 at 10:00 a.m. ET, vowing to fight tooth and nail to verify the accuracy, security, and fairness …

The Detroit Free Press reports: A federal judge early Monday morning ordered a recount of Michigan’s presidential ballots to begin at noon on Monday, and for the state to “assemble necessary staff to work sufficient hours” to complete the recount by a Dec. 13 federal deadline. Lawyers for Green Party candidate Jill Stein urged the action in an emergency request, …

Via Mediaite: Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace engaged in a pretty combative exchange today while discussing Stein’s recount efforts, with Wallace trying to get Stein to admit that there have been no recounts that have switched tens of thousands of votes. “There’s not a chance in the world here, Dr. Stein, that the …

The New York Times reports: Pennsylvania will apparently not have a statewide recount of its votes, removing the last long-shot hope by opponents of Donald J. Trump that a review of the ballots could overturn his election as president. In a filing on Saturday, a lawyer for Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate, who began the recount bids in …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: Durham County will begin recounting ballots on Saturday afternoon, moving the date from Sunday to comply with an order from state elections officials to complete the task by Monday night. The Durham County Board of Elections scheduled an emergency meeting for 11 a.m. Saturday and planned to begin the recount at 1 p.m. After …

The Wisconsin State Journal reports: Donald Trump supporters are asking a federal judge to stop Wisconsin’s presidential election recount, which got underway Thursday. Great America PAC and Stop Hillary PAC, political committees supporting Trump and opposing Democrat Hillary Clinton, moved in Wisconsin’s Western District court late Thursday for a temporary restraining order to bring the recount to an immediate halt. …

Law Newz reports: President-elect Donald Trump filed an objection with the Michigan Bureau of Elections on Thursday, regarding the vote recount initiated by Green Party candidate Jill Stein. According to a statement from Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, recount activities will be postponed pending a decision on the objection by the Board of State Canvassers. The Board is scheduled …

The Winston-Salem Chronicle reports: If state lawmakers insert themselves into deciding North Carolina’s next governor, or changing the state Supreme Court to nullify Justice-elect Mike Morgan’s victory, there will be mass demonstrations and civil disobedience, promises N.C. NAACP President Rev. Dr. William Barber II. “We believe either attempting to stack the Supreme Court or deciding the governor’s race in the …

The Associated Press reports: Roy Cooper’s unofficial lead over North Carolina Republican Gov. Pat McCrory has surpassed a key threshold that would block McCrory’s request for a statewide recount if its holds. The Democratic attorney general was ahead of McCrory by more than 10,250 votes as of Wednesday afternoon. His advantage has doubled since election night and grew Wednesday as …

Somehow the right wing Washington Examiner manages not to mention Trump in their story about this tweet, which was flagged for us by JMG reader John. The good people at Merriam-Webster practically begged users to search for any word other than “fascism” so the dictionary company could avoid making it the word of 2016. In a tweet posted Tuesday afternoon, …

Bloomberg reports: President-elect Donald Trump will begin a “Thank You Tour” on Thursday in Cincinnati, replicating the arena events that powered his surprise campaign, three of his transition officials said. The Republican has credited his rallies as a central component of his victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. The events at times drew tens of thousands of people and were often …

The Hill reports: Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein says double-checking election results is the only way to detect voter fraud. “You cannot see voter fraud unless you actually check the votes,” she said on CNN Tuesday morning. “There’s absolutely no way to know. We should have checks and balances built into the process. “There should be an automatic audit …