Maricopa County GOP votes overwhelmingly to censure John McCain

JOHN-MCCAINU.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is frequently characterized by his critics as a “RINO” — Republican in name only — but such criticism hit especially close to home on Saturday.

The Maricopa County Republican Party, McCain’s home county, voted overwhelmingly to censure the 2008 Republican nominee for president for his “betrayal” of party values, according to the local CBS affiliate.

McCain was admonished for pushing liberal legislation, backing liberal nominees and for “assaults on the Constitution and 2nd amendment,” the resolution said.

The vote wasn’t even close, with 1,169 voting for censure, compared to just 358 voting against it.

The censure concluded that “until he consistently champions our Party’s Platform and values, we, the Republican leadership in Arizona will no longer support, campaign for or endorse John McCain as our U.S. Senator.”

Read more at BizPac Review

Election Results 2013

WILLIAMS—As of 10:30 pm a little over 25.5% of the voters voted in the elections held in Coconino County.

With only one precinct left to report, the Coconino Community College Question appears to have failed. As of this writing 54.76% voted no on assessing a secondary property tax to raise $4.5 million for the college. 45.24% voted yes.

Williams voted to continue the tax for the Williams Health Clinic. The vote is 56.08% for with 43.92% voting against.

Both the Grand Canyon Unified and Sedona-Oak Creek Joint Unified school districts voted to approve additional property taxes for the schools. The vote on the Grand Canyon Question was approved by a vote of 75%. The vote for the Sedona-Oak Creek Joint Unified school district was 52.10% for and 47.9% against, but not all of the votes have been counted at this point.

These are unofficial results until after the canvas process is complete.

In the closely watched and hotly contested race in Virginia, Democrat Terry McAuliffe appears to have won the race for governor with 47.39% of the vote with 99.5% of the precincts reporting. Republican Ken Cuccinelli received 45.8% of the vote with the Libertarian challenger Robert Sarvis receiving 6.66%. Democrat Ralph Northam won the race for Lieutenant Governor.

Republican Mark Obenshain is barely winning the race for Attorney General against Democrat challenger Mark Herring. The vote is currently 50.27% to 49.52%.

It’s Election Day

"Here" is the Grand Canyon Railway if you are in Williams.

“Here” is the Grand Canyon Railway if you are in Williams.

If you have not already, make sure you take time to vote in the election today. No candidates are on this ballot, but you are voting for something as important. Whether or not to raise property taxes.

In Williams, you will determine whether or not to keep the property tax which supports the Williams Health Clinic.

The Coconino Community College is asking for $4.5 over seven years:

To maintain the operations of Coconino Community College, shall the Coconino County Community College District be authorized to levy a secondary property tax in an amount not to exceed $4,500,000 each year for the next seven years. The incremental funding to be used to continue its missions to:

• Maintain Career and Technical education programs that prepare local students for careers as Nurses, Emergency Medical Technicians, Firefighters, Detention Officers, Computer Technicians, Network Engineers, Alternative Energy Technicians and others; and

• Continue to prepare local students for higher education and for transfer to Arizona’s public universities; and

• Maintain programs to train and re-train local workers, in conjunction with local employers, for new occupations and careers in areas including Health Care, Manufacturing, Alternative Energy and others.

The Grand Canyon School and Sedona-Oak Creek Joint Unified School districts will be asking voters to exceed revenue control limits set by Arizona Revised Statute. The Grand Canyon proposal would add approximately $1.21 per $100 assessed value of your property while the Sedona-Oak Creek proposal claims .21 per $100 assessed value.

At the Williams voting station there is also a poster urging people to become an election board worker. You must be registered to vote in Coconino County and may register online. You may call 928-679-7860 or 800-793-6181 if you have questions.

Lawsuit filed to force recount in Allen West’s congressional race

ST. PETERSBURG — Calling attention to one of the closest November congressional races nationwide, the Houston-based voter integrity group True the Vote announced on Monday that it will be filing a lawsuit to force an independent review of the election which cost Republican Allen West his seat.

The complaint, filed in the Southern District Court of Florida on Sunday, aims to completely review all records and recounts in the race for the 18th Congressional district between Democrat Patrick Murphy and West.

“This dramatic recount was an extraordinary example of how our elections can suffer systematic failure,” said True the Vote president Catherine Engelbrecht. “We run the risk seeing episodes like this becoming ordinary if citizens do not demand answers and hold election officials accountable. The American people own the voting system – we have the right to ask tough questions when we witness the failure of one of America’s core functions.”

Read more at Watchdog

Death of Hugo Chavez could set off shock waves across region

The likelihood that Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez is close to death will pitch rivals against one another in a battle for power and oil riches, and trigger political shock waves across the region. The Telegraph

On Thursday, Hugo Chavez is set to be inaugurated after his re-election, but it is reported that he may currently be kept alive with a respirator while being treated for cancer.

The Venezuelan leader and full-time hater of the United States is famous for his praise of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Jesus Christ as revolutionary socialists.

As Philip Sherwell describes in his article on The Telegraph:

The orchestra played and loyal lawmakers erupted in adulatory applause as Hugo Chavez invoked Fidel Castro and Jesus Christ as his revolutionary role models.

His right hand raised, the fiery Venezuelan leader echoed the famous call to arms of his Cuban mentor. “Fatherland, socialism or death,” he proclaimed, then added with a typical flourish: “I swear by Christ, the greatest socialist in history.” That was six years ago as “El Commandante” was sworn in for his third term as president and blew kisses to rose petal-tossing crowds when he returned in an open-topped car to his palace to watch a military parade.

The Chavez regime has been financing terrorist socialist causes with his oil money and set up an alliance with Iran.

Chavez has not been seen or heard from since he left Venezuela in December for his operations in Cuba.

The death of Hugo Chavez could set off a Constitutional struggle to control the oil rich South American country. The Los Angeles Times reports:

Constitutional law expert Carlos Ayala agreed that Chavez can be granted two oath-taking postponements for a total of 180 days in the event he is “temporarily incapacitated.” But he said Venezuelans are entitled to proof that Chavez is alive, is tending to his duties and has a positive prognosis.

“The citizenry has a legitimate right to know the facts surrounding the mental and physical condition of the head of state,” said Ayala, a professor at Andres Bello Catholic University in Caracas. “If he cannot exercise his duties and obligations under the constitution, then that leads to constitutional consequences.”

If Chavez is so ill that he cannot competently carry out his duties, then he could be declared “permanently incapacitated.” That would trigger a constitutional requirement for the National Assembly president to call a new presidential election within 30 days, Ayala said.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro is the hand-picked successor of Chavez and he is reporting that Chavez is simply resting comfortably after emerging from a “delicate postoperative phase.” Maduro indicated that his inauguration could be sworn in by Supreme Court appointees of Chavez at a later date and unspecified location if still alive. Re-elected National Assembly leader Diosdado Cabello puts him next inline to become caretaker president if Mr Chavez does not recover.

This has infuriated the opposition who insist on new elections in thirty days if Chavez does not take the oath on January 10th. With no even pretended separation of powers in the government, that is not likely to happen.

Chicago Bar Offers Free Drink for Votes Against Romney

BreitBart News

A Chicago Bar called “Rocks” is currently offering free drinks to voters at their election-night party. The above photo of the flyer for the bar makes light of the Chicago way, of voting “early and often, (As long as it isn’t for Romney).”

The bar clearly promotes Barack Obama, with the Obama logo appearing in the “O” of this instance of the bar’s name “Rocks.” More importantly, regardless of whom you interpret the sign to endorse, the bar is offering a free beer of the month to those that bring in their voting receipt.

What’s the problem? In Illinois, it’s against the law.

Read more at BreitBart

TRR: Romney Gallup Numbers Best Since 1936

Mitt Romney’s Gallup daily tracking poll numbers are now better than any presidential challenger dating back to 1936.

The Gallup daily tracking poll of likely voters released on October 26 shows Mr. Romney leading Barack Obama 51% to 46%. Mr. Romney holds the lead in the nine elections since 1936 in which either an incumbent president was defeated or there was no incumbent. Tied for second are Mr. Obama (2008) and George H.W. Bush (1992) with 50% at this point in the race, followed by John F. Kennedy (1960), Jimmy Carter (1980) and George W. Bush (2000) with 49%, Dwight D. Eisenhower with 48% (1952), Richard M. Nixon with 44% (1968), Bill Clinton with 40% (1992) and finally Ronald Reagan who actually trailed Jimmy Carter in 1980 with 39% to Carter’s 45%.

Read more at the Washington Times
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Arrest threats in Texas puzzle election monitors

AUSTIN, Texas — Threats of arrests made by Texas’ top prosecutor puzzle international voting monitors who say the state didn’t make any fuss while they were there for the 2008 elections.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is warning the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe that its poll watchers face criminal charges if they come too close to voting sites. The U.S. State Department has even been dragged into the fray.

OSCE spokesman Thomas Rymer said Friday that its polling monitors were present in San Antonio in 2008 without issue.

He says the organization is stationing four pairs of observers in Texas, California, New York and Florida – the states with the most electoral votes.

Abbott says he’s leery because OSCE has met with groups that oppose voter ID initiatives.

Read more at HuffPost
More: Abbott threatens foreign election observers with arrest

Today is the last day to request early ballot.

FLAGSTAFF—If you are not hunting U.N. election monitors and wish to get your ballot early, today is the last day to request an early ballot for the November 6 election. You can call the Elections Office at 928-679-7860 or toll-free 800-793-6181.

Voters are reminded NOT to use Sharpie-type or other markers that bleed through the ballot. A regular black pen is recommended. The ballot may otherwise be rejected.

If you do not contact the office by today, you will be required to go to the polls to vote.

The official list of write-in candidates for the election in PDF can be found here.

Concerned About Conservatives, UN Affiliate to Monitor U.S. Election

An international outfit associated with the controversial United Nations, invited in by various American organizations and authorities, is set to deploy election monitors across the United States for the upcoming November 6 presidential vote. The campaign is supposedly aimed in part at keeping tabs on alleged “voter suppression” efforts by conservatives.

While there have been plenty of legitimate questions raised in recent years about the integrity of U.S. elections, the latest news sparked fierce criticism from a broad range of organizations and activists. Opponents blasted the move as everything from a cheap propaganda stunt to a dangerous harbinger of future developments.

Other critics pointed out that the UN and its affiliates have absolutely no jurisdiction on U.S. soil. Besides, outraged activists said, concerns about American elections should be addressed by domestic authorities through constitutional means — not by international organizations, especially discredited groups with dictatorial regimes as members.

Dozens of election observers with a UN-partner group known as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will be stationed throughout the country, the outfit said in a statement. The monitors come mostly from Europe and Asia. Among the countries represented are Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Russia, Serbia, and others not exactly known for their regimes’ human-rights track records or even honest elections.

The “observer” mission, according to a statement released by the OSCE, is to ensure that U.S. elections comply with “international” standards. “They [will] observe the overall election process, not just the ballot casting,” a spokesperson for the OSCE was quoted as saying by The Hill. “They are focusing on a number of areas on the state level, including the legal system, election administration, the campaign, the campaign financing [and] new voting technologies used in the different states.”

Read more at The New American