referendum

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Virginia's Former First Lady Joins a Crowded House Primary

Dorothy McAuliffe is running for Virginia's 7th Congressional District

(Newser) - Dorothy McAuliffe is stepping off the sidelines and into one of Virginia's most closely watched House races, reports the Hill . The former first lady of Virginia and ex-Biden administration official said Wednesday she's running in the already crowded Democratic primary for the 7th Congressional District, situated in the solidly-blue outer...

Swiss to Vote on Far-Right Plan to Cap Population

Business leaders warn initiative could damage the economy and EU ties

(Newser) - Switzerland will soon decide whether there should be a hard ceiling on how many people can live there. Voters on June 14 will weigh a proposal from the far-right Swiss People's Party (SVP) to cap the permanent population at 10 million until 2050—a move critics warn could upend...

Canadian Secessionists' US Talks Blasted as 'Treason'

Pro-Alberta independence group has met with Trump administration officials at least 3 times

(Newser) - Canadian leaders have strongly condemned the Trump administration's meetings with secessionists from Alberta. Separatists seeking support for the province's independence have held meetings with administration officials at least three times since last April, the Financial Times reports. "To go to a foreign country and to ask for...

Trump Offers Ukraine 15-Year Security Guarantee

Zelensky is pushing for up to 50 years

(Newser) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says President Trump has offered a security pledge that would last for 15 years, but Ukraine is pushing for longer. On Monday, the day after a meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort , Zelensky said Trump proposed US-backed security guarantees for 15 years after the war ends,...

Millionaire Inheritance Tax Flops in Switzerland

Proposal to tax inheritances over $62M couldn't get majority support anywhere

(Newser) - Swiss voters have overwhelmingly rejected a 50% inheritance tax on millionaires, with more than 78% voting no in a national referendum. The measure, aimed at assets over 50 million francs (about $62 million), was designed by the Young Socialists to fund climate initiatives, but it gained little traction outside the...

Swiss Voters Reject Requiring National Service for Women

Voters also decisively turn down inheritance tax

(Newser) - Swiss voters on Sunday decisively rejected a measure to require women to do national service in the military, civil protection teams, or other forms, as men must already. In a referendum, over 84% of voters rejected the "citizen service initiative," with none of the country's 26 cantons,...

Town in Canada May Sell Its Name, Residents Revolt

Duck Lake residents call proposal a threat to heritage

(Newser) - A small Canadian town's mayor has floated a controversial proposal: selling the town's name to the highest bidder. Duck Lake, a Saskatchewan community of about 580 people best known as the site of an 1885 battle, is now the focus of a heated debate over heritage, identity, and...

Florida's 6-Week Abortion Ban Will Be Widely Felt
Florida's 6-Week Abortion
Ban Will Be Widely Felt
the rundown
May 1, 2024 7:21 AM CDT

Florida's 6-Week Abortion Ban Will Be Widely Felt

The state had served those in other Southern states with strict abortion laws

(Newser) - As of Wednesday, a law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they're pregnant, took effect in Florida. As the Washington Post reports, the state went "from one with the fewest restrictions for the procedure in the South" to one where abortion is "...

Putin: 'Will of Millions' That We Annex a 5th of Ukraine

Ukraine, West don't recognize 'sham' referendums on Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin's announcement on Friday wasn't an unexpected one, but it's one that is already receiving international pushback. The Russian president informed the world that his country would be annexing four regions of Ukraine—Luhansk and Donetsk in the east, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south—after...

New Twist May Raise the Stakes in Ukraine War
New Twist May Raise
the Stakes in Ukraine War
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 24, 2022 11:30 AM CDT

New Twist May Raise the Stakes in Ukraine War

Separatist regions to hold quick referendums to become part of Russia

(Newser) - It's no secret that Ukraine's military has been making big gains against Russian forces, gains that have Ukrainian officials talking about forcing the Russians out completely. Now, however, comes a potentially major wrinkle. Amid the Ukrainian military surge, four regions at least partially controlled by Russian troops plan...

In Wake of Roe v. Wade, Kansas Delivers Its Own Verdict

Conservative-leaning state votes to protect abortion rights

(Newser) - Abortion rights have been upheld in the first state to vote on the issue since the overturning of Roe v. Wade—a reliably Republican state, too. Kansas voters on Tuesday rejected a state constitutional amendment that would have ended abortion protections, meaning the state will remain one of the few...

New Caledonia Overwhelmingly Votes to Stick With France

Macron praises result, though independence supporters sat referendum out

(Newser) - Voters in the French island territory of New Caledonia chose overwhelmingly Sunday to stay part of France, in a referendum boycotted by pro-independence forces and closely watched around the South Pacific. French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the result as a resounding confirmation of France's role in the Indo-Pacific, the...

New Zealanders Vote Yes on Euthanasia, No on Pot

Jacinda Ardern voted Yes on both questions

(Newser) - New Zealanders have voted overwhelmingly in favor of legalizing euthanasia—and narrowly against legalizing marijuana for recreational use. The euthanasia proposal, which appeared as a referendum question on ballots in the country's Oct. 17 election, passed with around 66% of the vote, the Guardian reports. The law will take...

Pacific Region Votes Overwhelmingly for Independence

Bougainville could become world's newest country

(Newser) - The South Pacific region of Bougainville voted overwhelmingly to become the world’s newest nation by gaining independence from Papua New Guinea, results showed Wednesday. Bougainville Referendum Commission Chairman Bertie Ahern, the former prime minister of Ireland, was cheered when he announced that more than 98% of valid ballots favored...

Islanders to Vote on Becoming World's Newest Country

Bougainville expected to choose independence

(Newser) - The Pacific people of Bougainville will on Saturday begin voting in a historic referendum to decide if they want to become the world’s newest nation by gaining independence from Papua New Guinea. The referendum will run over two weeks and is a key part of a 2001 peace agreement...

Their Community's Name Is for a KKK Member. They Voted to Keep It

'Stapleton' sticks following referendum vote in Denver

(Newser) - A Denver neighborhood named for a former Ku Klux Klan member is sticking by its moniker. About a third of property owners in Stapleton—named for former Denver Mayor Benjamin Stapleton—voted in a referendum, with 65% in favor of keeping the name, reports CNN . Liz Stalnaker of community group...

Georgetown Once Sold 272 Slaves. Now, Students Want to Pay $27.20 Fee

Fee approved in referendum would benefit descendants of slaves college once sold

(Newser) - Students at Georgetown University may soon see a new $27.20 fee pop up on their bill each semester, and it's one they voted to add. ABC News reports that undergrads at the Jesuit college voted Thursday, by an almost 2-to-1 margin, to approve a referendum that would mandate...

Taiwan to Consider Whether to Drop 'Make-Believe' Name

It competes at Olympics as 'Chinese Taipei'

(Newser) - Because of pressure from China, athletes from Taiwan compete at the Olympics under the name of a make-believe country: Chinese Taipei. They march behind an imaginary national flag and, if they win a gold medal, hear an "alternate national anthem" being played. Imagine if France or Australia had to...

In Historic Vote, French Territory Rejects Independence

Turnout hit 80% in New Caledonia

(Newser) - A majority of voters in the South Pacific territory of New Caledonia chose to remain part of France instead of backing independence Sunday, a watershed moment that led French President Emmanuel Macron to promise a full dialogue on the archipelago's future. Final results had 56.4% of the voters...

French Territory Could Become Newest Country

New Caledonia votes on Sunday

(Newser) - New Caledonia, a French archipelago in the South Pacific, is preparing for an independence referendum—the last step in a three-decades-long decolonization effort. Sunday's vote is key to settling tensions between the native Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies, and descendants of European colonizers. It is also...

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