Category Archives: Elections

Thanks to NLRB’s Cemex Decision, ‘Union-Busting Just Got a Lot Harder’

“The Cemex decision reaffirms that elections are not the only appropriate path for seeking union representation, while also ensuring that, when elections take place, they occur in a fair election environment,” said the NLRB chair.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 8-25-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: Teamsters

The National Labor Relations Board on Friday announced a new framework for determining when companies must bargain with unions without an election—a policy that supporters said will make union-busting much more difficult.

Following the NLRB’s decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, when workers ask an employer to voluntarily recognize a union as their bargaining representative, the company can voluntarily do so and begin good-faith negotiations.

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To Protect Abortion Rights, Organizers Urge Ohioans to ‘Vote No on Issue 1’ in Tuesday Election

“Preserve your voice and protect our democracy,” said one Democratic lawmaker. “Vote NO on August 8th to ensure fairness and equity in the democratic process.”

By Julia Conley. Published 8-7-2023 by Common Dreams

Organizers pose for a photo as they rally in opposition to Issue 1, a measure on ballots in Tuesday’s special election in Ohio which would raise the threshold needed to amend the state constitution.
 (Photo: @shammasmalik/Twitter)

Recent polling in Ohio has shown that a majority of residents disapprove of a proposed measure that will be on ballots across the state in a special election on Tuesday, but abortion rights advocates have spent recent days warning voters that failing to block the proposal could have major repercussions for reproductive freedom in the state.

In the special election, Ohioans will be asked their position on Issue 1, which if approved would raise the threshold for passing new constitutional amendments to 60% rather than a simple majority.

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Federal Court Strikes Down Mississippi’s ‘Jim Crow’ Felon Disenfranchisement Law

“Mississippi stands as an outlier among its sister states, bucking a clear national trend in our nation against permanent disenfranchisement.”

By Brett Wilkins. Published 8-4-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: Common Cause

A U.S. federal appellate court on Friday ruled that a Jim Crow-era Mississippi law permanently disenfranchising people with certain felony convictions is unconstitutional.

In a decision that can be appealed to the full U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, a three-judge panel of the tribunal ruled 2-1 that Section 241 of Mississippi’s 1890 Constitution “violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment and the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.”

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‘Huge Victory’: Ohioans to Vote on Abortion Rights Amendment in November

The news is “a potential game-changer for reproductive rights in Ohio,” said one journalist, but the pro-choice movement must still clear another electoral hurdle in an August special election.

By Julia Conley. Published 7-25-2023 by Common Dreams

Protest Against the Ohio Heartbeat Bill on June 1, 2019 at the Ohio Statehouse. Photo: Becker1999/flickr/CC

The pro-abortion rights movement in Ohio has gathered enough momentum to place a referendum on the ballot this coming November which could codify the right to abortion care in the state constitution—but advocates on Tuesday warned of a caveat which could make the amendment harder to pass unless rights advocates clear another hurdle next month.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced Tuesday that petitioners calling for the measure to be included on the ballot on November 7 collected more than 495,000 signatures in support of their effort, far surpassing the required 413,446 signatures.

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‘Day of Disruption’: Tens of Thousands of Israelis Protest Imminent ‘Judicial Coup’

“We are going to show them that the power of the people is stronger than that of the people in power,” said one demonstrator.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 7-11-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: Alissa Pavia/Twitter

At least tens of thousands of Israelis on Tuesday took to the streets, shutting down highways, and marching through the country’s main international airport in a “day of disruption” after the nation’s far-right governing coalition advanced a deeply controversial overhaul of the legal system critics condemn as a “judicial coup.”

Demonstrators thronged the highways leading to cities including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa, pitching tentsblocking roadways, and hanging banners from overpasses.

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Voting Rights Groups Raise Alarm About House GOP Introducing ‘Big Lie Bill’

One critic warned the legislation would “increase the influence of billionaires, corporations, and secret money in our elections while putting up barriers for eligible voters to vote.”

By Jessica Corbett Published 7-10-2023 by Common Dreams

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.). Photo: Congressman Bryan Steil/Facebook

Voting rights advocates across the United States on Monday responded with alarm to Republicans introducing what its backers called “the most conservative election integrity bill to be seriously considered” in the U.S. House of Representatives in decades.

Dubbed the “Big Lie Bill” by critics, the American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act is spearheaded by Committee on House Administration Chair Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) and includes nearly 50 standalone bills from the chamber’s GOP members.

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On Eve of July 4th, Bishop William Barber Unveils ‘Moral Declaration for America’

“It is time for people with a moral conscience to wield every ounce of influence and power they have towards justice and to force this nation to be true to what it said on paper.”

By Jake Johnson. Published 7-3-2023 by Common Dreams

Bishop William J. Barber II at the Democracy Awakening rally at U.S. Capitol on April 17, 2016. Photo: Becker1999/flickr/CC

Bishop William Barber, founding director of Yale’s Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, penned an open letter on Monday decrying recent decisions by far-right Supreme Court justices and the complicity of political leaders who have “watched our democracy being slowly chipped away.”

Addressed to President Joe Biden, Congress, and the U.S. public, Barber’s “Moral Declaration for America” was released on the eve of July 4, which marks 247 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

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‘Historic Day’ as Brazilian Court Hits Bolsonaro With 8-Year Political Ban Over Election Lies

“This decision will end Bolsonaro’s chances of being president again, and he knows it,” said one political scientist.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 6-30-2023 by Common Dreams

Jair Bolsonaro, speaking during the Session: “Special Address by Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil“ at the Annual Meeting 2019 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 22, 2018. Photo: World Economic Forum/Flickr/CC

Brazil’s highest election authority on Friday barred Jair Bolsonaro from running for any public office for the next eight years over the disgraced former far-right president’s abuse of power related to baseless claims of electoral fraud—the first of 16 election-related charges he faces.

Five members of the seven-judge Superior Electoral Court (TSE) found that Bolsonaro violated election law last July when he summoned more than 100 international diplomats for a nationally televised 50-minute presentation in the Palacio da Alvarada—the executive residence—during which he disparaged the judiciary and claimed the country’s electronic voting system was vulnerable to hacking.

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Human Rights Defenders Appalled by DeSantis Call for ‘Deadly Force’ on U.S.-Mexico Border

The 2024 GOP presidential candidate’s proposals “wouldn’t advance any real solutions for our broken immigration system,” said one advocate. “Instead, they are all just ugly and unworkable anti-immigrant red meat to keep the MAGA base inflamed.”

By Kenny Stancil. Published 6-27-2023 by Common Dreams

Florida governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference near the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass, Texas on June 26, 2023.. Photo; Ron DeSantis/Twitter

The xenophobic immigration plan that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled Monday as part of his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination was quickly condemned as “dangerous” and “irresponsible” by human rights defenders.

Central to DeSantis’ plan, said America’s Voice, is “white nationalist messaging” that has already proven deadly. Last week, teasing the first formal policy rollout of DeSantis’ 2024 campaign, a spokesperson said, “He will stop the invasion and secure the border once and for all, and there will be no excuses.” Over the weekend, DeSantis’ campaign shared a fear-mongering video and stated that he will “secure the border,” “stop the cartels,” “build the wall,” and “stop the invasion.”

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Hundreds of Thousands Rally Against Poland’s Authoritarian Right-Wing Government

“We are now at a crossroads between being an authoritarian and a democratic country,” said one activist.

By Jake Johnson. Published 6-5-2023 by Common Dreams

People take part in a march against Poland’s right-wing government in Warsaw on June 4, 2023. Photo: Germany Today/Twitter

An estimated 500,000 people took to the streets of the capital Warsaw and other Polish cities on Sunday to protest the nation’s far-right government, which has assailed reproductive freedoms, attacked the rights of LGBTQ+ people, and cracked down on critical civil society groups and media outlets.

Sunday’s march against the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party—which has held power since 2015—was called by former Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, who is leading the Civic Platform opposition party into an expected October general election.

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