Month: April 2022

On Tuesday, Oklahoma lawmakers passed a bill that would make it illegal to perform an abortion in the state except in medical emergencies, penalizing those who do with up to $100,000 in fines and 10 years in prison.

The state House of Representatives brought the bill to a vote this week, after it was passed last year by the state’s Senate. It now heads to the desk of Governor Kevin Stitt for signing, who has stated his support for anti-abortion legislation. The bill would then take effect this summer, unless blocked by courts.

Several other anti-abortion bills are making its way through Oklahoma’s legislature. Separate legislation introduced this year proposes banning almost all abortions and relying on private citizens to sue any person who “aids or abets” abortions, similar to Texas’ six-week abortion ban. The measure approved on Tuesday states, “a person shall not purposely perform or attempt to perform an abortion except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency.”

Oklahoma has become a destination for Texas women seeking abortions, since Texas in September banned abortions for pregnancies of six weeks or less.

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Matt Mowers — a former Trump administration official, and leading Republican primary candidate running for Congress in New Hampshire — voted twice during the 2016 primary election season, possibly violating federal voting law.

Mowers cast an absentee ballot in New Hampshire’s 2016 presidential primary, voting records show. At the time, Mowers served as the director of former New Jersey governor Chris Christie’s presidential campaign in the pivotal early voting state. Four months later, Mowers cast another ballot in New Jersey’s Republican presidential primary, using his parents’ address to re-register in his home state, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press.

Legal experts say Mowers’ actions could violate a federal law that prohibits “voting more than once” in “any general, special, or primary election”. That includes casting a ballot in separate jurisdictions “for an election to the same candidacy or office”.

Mowers’ campaign declined to make him available for an interview. In a brief statement, campaign spokesperson John Corbett said: “Matt was proud to work for President Trump as the GOP establishment was working to undermine his nomination. Matt moved for work and was able to participate in the primary in support of President Trump and serve as a delegate at a critical time for the Republican Party and country.”

Editorial credit: Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock.com

The vote to advance the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court ended in deadlock on Monday, setting up a procedural vote on the Senate floor. The Senate judiciary committee voted 11-11 on whether to advance Jackson’s nomination to succeed retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the high court with all of the Democrats on the panel voting in favor of President Joe Biden’s selection, while all 11 Republicans opposed.

Following the vote, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer moved to discharge the nomination of Jackson and send it to a vote by the full Senate, which will require 51 votes. In order for the measure to pass the evenly split Senate, the vote would have to receive the support of all Democrats in the chamber and at least one Republican.  Jackson’s confirmation is expected to receive the support of every Democrat in the full Senate.  Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine last week said that she will vote to confirm Jackson, and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who has often sided with Republicans on various issues, has also said he’ll vote to confirm Jackson.

If confirmed, Jackson would assume her seat on the Supreme Court when Breyer retires after its current term ends in June. She is the first Black woman ever nominated for the high court.

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