ReportWire

Tag: political law

  • DiZoglio launches effort to pry open Beacon Hill

    BOSTON — With her voter-approved audit of the Legislature stalled, State Auditor Diana DiZoglio is leading a new effort to pry open Beacon Hill’s secret legislative process.

    The Methuen Democrat has launched a ballot initiative to make the House of Representatives, Senate and the governor’s office subject to the state’s public records law and she said supporters have cleared a major hurdle to the 2026 ballot by collecting more than 100,000 signatures from registered voters.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • OK registration trend continues shift from Dem to GOP, independent

    An area trend in party affiliation over the past 14 years shows a dramatic shift in registered voters, including an increase in folks voting independent.

    Cherokee County Election Board Secretary Tiffany Rozell shared the data with Tahlequah Daily Press, which shows that over this time span, the number of Republicans increased from 5,833 in 2011 to 12,924 by October 2025. Registered Democrats in 2011 numbered 14,768, and by 2025, the number registered in that party has decreased to 9,313.

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    By Lee Guthrie | lguthrie@tahlequahdailypress.com

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  • OK registration trend continues shift from Dem to GOP, independent

    An area trend in party affiliation over the past 14 years shows a dramatic shift in registered voters, including an increase in folks voting independent.

    Cherokee County Election Board Secretary Tiffany Rozell shared the data with Tahlequah Daily Press, which shows that over this time span, the number of Republicans increased from 5,833 in 2011 to 12,924 by October 2025. Registered Democrats in 2011 numbered 14,768, and by 2025, the number registered in that party has decreased to 9,313.

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    By Lee Guthrie | lguthrie@tahlequahdailypress.com

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  • OK registration trend continues shift from Dem to GOP, independent

    An area trend in party affiliation over the past 14 years shows a dramatic shift in registered voters, including an increase in folks voting independent.

    Cherokee County Election Board Secretary Tiffany Rozell shared the data with Tahlequah Daily Press, which shows that over this time span, the number of Republicans increased from 5,833 in 2011 to 12,924 by October 2025. Registered Democrats in 2011 numbered 14,768, and by 2025, the number registered in that party has decreased to 9,313.

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    By Lee Guthrie | lguthrie@tahlequahdailypress.com

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  • GOP candidate files lawsuit over legislative audit

    BOSTON — The state Legislature has been hit with another lawsuit over its refusal to open up the books to allow a voter-approved audit of its inner workings.

    The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Middlesex County Superior Court by Republican candidate for lieutenant governor Anne Brensley, who asked a judge to declare a voter-approved law giving State Auditor Diana DiZoglio the power to audit the Legislature constitutional and invalidate an internal state House of Representatives rule on audits.


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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Salisbury OKs almost all Town Meeting articles

    SALISBURY — The fall Town Meeting went off without a hitch Monday with all recommended articles being approved by townspeople.

    The Town Meeting warrant included 38 articles, with the warrant advisory committee recommending all but Article 38.


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    By Caitlin Dee | cdee@newburyportnews.com

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  • AG certifies record number of ballot questions

    BOSTON — Plans to bring back rent control to Massachusetts, roll back the state’s personal income tax, repeal the MBTA Communities Act, ditch the state’s gas tax and require voters to show ID to cast ballots are among a record number of proposed referendums inching toward the 2026 ballot.

    On Wednesday, Attorney General Andrea Campbell certified 44 proposed initiatives filed by individuals and groups seeking voter approval for changes in state law.


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    kAmx? E96 a_ac 6=64E:@?D[ |2DD249FD6EED G@E6CD 2AAC@G65 A=2?D E@ 2F5:E E96 DE2E6 {68:D=2EFC6[ D4C2A E96 |rp$ 9:89 D49@@= 8C25F2E:@? >2?52E6 2?5 2==@H C:5692:=:?8 5C:G6CD E@ F?:@?:K6[ 3FE C6;64E65 AC@A@D2=D E@ =682=:K6 ADJ49656=:4 >FD9C@@>D 2?5 5@ 2H2J H:E9 E:AA65 H286D 7@C H@C<6CD]k^Am

    kAmr9C:DE:2? |] (256 4@G6CD E96 |2DD249FD6EED $E2E69@FD6 7@C }@CE9 @7 q@DE@? |65:2 vC@FAUCDBF@jD ?6HDA2A6CD 2?5 H63D:E6D] t>2:= 9:> 2E k2 9C67lQ>2:=E@i4H256o4?9:?6HD]4@>Qm4H256o4?9:?6HD]4@>k^2m]k^Am

    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Trahan faces renewed criticism over term limit pledge

    BOSTON — A Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group is renewing its criticism of U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan for reneging on a previous pledge to support term limits for congressional lawmakers.

    The group U.S. Term Limits has paid for a billboard ad along Interstate 93 in Methuen, criticizing the Westford Democrat for backing away from a proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution limiting House members to three terms, or six years, and senators to two terms, or 12 years.


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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Methuen city, school officials debate legal services

    METHUEN — School officials defended the separation of school and city legal services Monday night in opposition to efforts by some to consolidate resources.

    The City Council has been discussing a tabled measure that would affirm City Solicitor Paul O’Neill is in charge of all legal services for Methuen, including its schools.


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    By Teddy Tauscher | ttauscher@eagletribune.com

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  • Mass. voters flock to polls ahead of election

    Mass. voters flock to polls ahead of election

    BOSTON — Massachusetts voters are flocking to the early polls, and sending and dropping off mail ballots at local election offices ahead of the presidential election Nov. 5.

    Hundreds of thousands have already voted through the mail and during the two-week early voting period that got underway Saturday, according to Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s office, which said it sent more than 1.3 million ballots to registered voters who requested them.

    As of Wednesday, at least 818,904 ballots had been cast, or roughly 16.2% of the state’s 4.9 million registered voters, Galvin’s office said. That included 154,684 in-person early voting ballots.

    Locally, many communities have already seen thousands of votes cast with 13 days until the election. As of Wednesday, voters in Beverly cast nearly 1,100 ballots while North Andover voters had cast 770 ballots, according to a tally provided by Galvin’s office.

    Salem voters had cast 756 mail ballots by Friday while Gloucester voters had turned in 428 ballots, according to the data. Newburyport voters had cast 716 votes as of Wednesday, Galvin’s office said.

    Topping the statewide ballot is the historic race for the White House between former Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who will be on the ballot with their running mates, Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

    Recent polls show Harris with a wide lead over Trump in deep-blue Massachusetts, but the race is tight nationally – especially in battleground states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona, where the candidates and their running mates have been campaigning to rally their supporters and win over undecided voters.

    Besides picking a new president and deciding a handful of contested legislative and local races, voters will consider ballot questions to audit the Legislature, scrap the MCAS graduation mandate, allow ride-hailing drivers to form unions, legalize psychedelic mushrooms, and boost the wages of tipped workers.

    More than half of the state’s voters are registered as independent – not affiliated with a major party – with their ranks swelling in the months leading up to the election. Those who aren’t registered can do so until Oct. 26, Galvin’s office said.

    Galvin is urging voters to check that they are still registered and if not, make sure that they do so before the deadline Saturday to register ahead of the election. Under Massachusetts law, there is a 10-day cutoff to register before a statewide election.

    “If you want to vote for president, any other office on the ballot, or these ballot questions, you need to be registered to vote,” Galvin said in a statement. “Even if you are already a voter, if you’ve moved since the last time you voted, I urge you to check that your address is up to date before it’s too late.”

    Voters can see a full list of candidates, register to vote, and look up early voting locations and times on the secretary of state’s website: www.VoteInMA.com.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • DiZoglio blasts legislative leaders in audit

    DiZoglio blasts legislative leaders in audit

    BOSTON — The state Legislature lacks transparency and accountability in its dealings, according to a new state audit, which blasts legislative leaders for refusing to open up their books for the performance review.

    The audit, released Monday by Auditor Diana DiZoglio, faults the state House of Representatives and Senate for failing to conduct timely financial reviews of its spending, a lack of transparency in its procurement policies and a website that makes it difficult for the public to navigate, among other criticisms.

    But DiZoglio also leaned into House and Senate leaders for refusing to provide information her office requested for the audit, including tracking year-end budget spending, how they decide which major bills are brought up for a vote and whether the two chambers are following their own rules regarding non-disclosure agreements.

    “It is deeply concerning that legislative leaders have refused to cooperate with our office to help promote transparency and identify ways to improve service to the people of Massachusetts,” the Democrat said in a statement. “Transparency and accountability are cornerstones of our democracy and enable the people to participate in government as intended in our Constitution, in a system of checks and balances.”

    The audit comes as DiZoglio urges voters to approve Question 1, which if approved would force legislative leaders to open up their books for an independent review.

    Under current laws, the auditor has the power to examine “all departments, offices, commissions, institutions and activities of the commonwealth” but the ballot question would expand those powers to specifically include the Legislature.

    The referendum was proposed by DiZoglio, a Methuen Democrat and former state lawmaker, whose high-profile efforts to audit the House and Senate have been blocked by legislative leaders who argue the move is unconstitutional.

    The partial audit released on Monday found that the Senate and House didn’t ensure annual financial audits were completed, filed with required recipients, or made available to the public in a timely way, in an apparent violation of their own rules.

    The review also found that the Legislature’s procurement policies lack transparency, which auditors said limit the public’s ability to hold the Legislature accountable.

    The Massachusetts Legislature’s website also lacks content and is hard to navigate, compared to other state’s legislative bodies, which auditors said “hinders the public’s ability to understand and engage in the legislative process and hold the Legislature accountable for ensuring an equitable mode of making laws.”

    Other concerns flagged by auditors included a lack of details about how legislative leaders appoint committee chairpersons and other posts that bump up lawmaker’s prestige and compensation.

    Legislative leaders were asked to respond to the findings of the audit, but DiZoglio’s office said they declined.

    “The purported audit of the Legislature released by the Auditor today confirms only one thing: the Auditor has abandoned all pretext of faithfully performing her statutory responsibilities in favor of using her office for pure political self-promotion and electioneering,” House Speaker Ron Mariano said in a statement on Monday in response to the report.

    “The Auditor should instead be focusing on her statutorily mandated reviews, as she continues to underperform her predecessors in the completion of that important work,” he added.

    DiZoglio launched her review of the Legislature more than a year ago but said she hasn’t been able to get access to individuals and records her office needs for a forensic investigation.

    Mariano, a Quincy Democrat, and Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, have so far blocked her efforts to conduct the investigation into the House and Senate’s inner workings, calling the proposed audit “unconstitutional” and claiming it would violate the separation of powers.

    DiZoglio has framed the plan as part of a broader effort to improve transparency and accountability in Legislature, which is continuously ranked as one of the least effective and least transparent legislative bodies in the country. It is also one of only four state Legislatures that exempts itself from public records laws, DiZoglio points out.

    The effort was dealt a blow last year when Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office rejected DiZoglio’s request to file a lawsuit to force the audit, saying a review of state laws, judicial rulings and the historical record, suggests she doesn’t have standing to file the legal challenge.

    A panel of six lawmakers who reviewed the proposal issued a report concluding that passage of Question 1 would “undermine the separation of powers between the branches of government.” The report included testimony from constitutional scholars and civics educators who oppose the move.

    Despite that, recent polls have shown voters strongly support Question 1 — one of five referendums on the Nov. 5 ballot — which hasn’t drawn any organized opposition.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Early voting gets underway ahead of Nov. election

    Early voting gets underway ahead of Nov. election

    BOSTON — Hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts voters have already cast ballots for next month’s crucial presidential election with a two-week early voting period getting underway this weekend, according to state election officials.

    Each community will have at least one early voting station available during regular business hours, as well as Saturdays and Sundays, through Nov. 1, according to Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s office.

    Voters can also cast their ballots through mail, which can be received by Nov. 8 if postmarked by Election Day, Galvin’s office said.

    “Early voting offers each voter the convenience of casting their ballot at a time that works for them,” Galvin said in a statement. “If you prefer to vote in person, this gives you that opportunity, even if Election Day is a busy day for you.”

    More than 360,000 voters have already cast their ballots by mail as of Thursday, according to Galvin’s office, which says it has sent more than 1.3 million ballots to registered voters who requested them.

    Massachusetts has more than 4.9 million voters, over half of whom are registered as independent – not affiliated with a major party – and whose ranks have swelled in the months leading up to the election. Those who aren’t registered can do so until Oct. 26 and can register online or at early voting locations, Galvin’s office said.

    Topping the Nov. 5 ballot is the contentious, neck-and-neck race for the White House between former Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who will be on the ballot with their running mates, Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

    Recent polls show Harris with a wide lead over Trump in deep-blue Massachusetts, but the race couldn’t be closer nationally and in battleground states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona, where the candidates and their running mates have been campaigning to rally their supporters and win over undecided voters.

    Trump and Harris will share the Massachusetts ballot with several third-party and fringe candidates, including the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s candidates, Claudia De La Cruz and her vice presidential running mate, Karina Garcia.

    Green Party candidate Jill Stein and her vice presidential candidate Gloria Caballero Roca, Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver and his running mate Mike ter Maat, and independent presidential candidate Shiva Ayyadurai and his running mate, Crystal Ellis, will also be on the ballot.

    Besides picking a new president and deciding a handful of contested legislative and local races, voters will consider ballot questions to audit the Legislature, scrap the MCAS graduation mandate, allow ride-hailing drivers to form unions, legalize psychedelic mushrooms and boost the wages of tipped workers.

    The state’s strong consumer protection laws often make it a testing ground for controversial changes in law and policy through the ballot box, and the outcomes of several of the questions are being closely watched nationally.

    Neither of the North of Boston area’s two Democratic congressional members, Reps. Lori Trahan of Westford and Seth Moulton of Salem, are facing challengers. Republicans didn’t field any candidates in 3rd or 6th Congressional District races, ensuring that Trahan and Moulton will win another two years in Congress.

    Despite the lack of contested races in this year’s election cycle, good government groups are still urging Massachusetts voters to cast ballots by mail, during the early voting period or on Election Day.

    “There’s a lot at stake and it’s a huge, consequential election,” Geoff Foster, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, said Tuesday during a livestreamed briefing on voting options.

    “The election isn’t three weeks away. It’s now,” he said. “You can vote by mail. You can vote in person during early voting. Or, if you want to keep it old school, you can wait until Tuesday, Nov. 5, and cast a ballot at your local polling station.”

    Voters can see a full list of the candidates, register to vote and look up early voting locations and times on the secretary of state’s website: www.VoteInMA.com.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Mitch McConnell Donates Body To Lobbyists For Research

    Mitch McConnell Donates Body To Lobbyists For Research

    WASHINGTON—In what many of his congressional colleagues have described as the most noble act of his storied career, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced Thursday that upon his death, he would donate his body to lobbyists for research. “By studying this extraordinary specimen capable of such tremendous feats of opportunism, lobbyists will gain great insights into the human capacity for corruption,” said Don Stewart, McConnell’s deputy chief of staff, explaining that lobbyists would be able to take what they learned from the remains of a seven-term senator without scruple and discover new ways to buy and pay for lawmakers. “They will be asking questions like: How much influence can the human body peddle? Was there something unique in Sen. McConnell’s genetic makeup that allowed him to engage in shameless obstructionism and fight against campaign finance reform for all those decades? And is this a quality that can be replicated in future generations of congressional leaders? The advances for the field of lobbying could be quite profound.” Reached for comment, top D.C. lobbyists said the donation of the senator’s body would finally allow them to pinpoint the exact location of the great emptiness inside of McConnell that could only be filled with cash.

    Americans Describe What It’s Like Surviving A Mass Shooting

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  • Law firm launches political law practice | Long Island Business News

    Law firm launches political law practice | Long Island Business News

    On Long Island, a law firm has launched a political law practice.

    Partners at the Harris Beach Long Island office say the firm’s new practice has a focus on election law, campaign finance and lobbying compliance.

    Two of the firm’s partners, Keith Corbett and Jared Kasschau, are co-leading the group for the firm, whose attorneys have long represented candidates, corporations, governments, political committees, trade associations and other individuals and organizations seeking to run for office or shape government policy.

    “Given today’s political environment, it’s essential that participants in the election process obtain experienced counsel to ensure compliance with myriad regulations governing elections and politics,” Corbett said in a statement. “Non-compliance creates reputational risk, impacts the course of campaigns and could also result in legal liability.”

    “We can quickly assemble an integrated team with experience across industries to help mitigate risk and navigate political processes, campaigns, elections, ballot initiatives, political advocacy, campaign finance, lobbying, ethics and more at the federal, state and local level,” Kasschau said in a statement.

    Attorneys on the team have provided counsel to mayors, commissioners, council members, superintendents, trustees, governors, congressional representatives and two past presidential candidates.

    Corbett’s expertise spans all aspects of election law, having litigated hundreds of ballot access proceedings across New York state while also advising constituted committees. He is also a campaign finance attorney who regularly represents candidates, trade associations, political action committees and all entities engaged in campaign finance-related activities in state, federal and New York City politics. He represented President Barack Obama in a “birther” case, counseled the presidential campaign of President Joseph R. Biden and regularly advised the past three governors of the State of New York.

    Kasschau served as Nassau County attorney from 2017 to 2020. He has extensive experience in all aspects of municipal law with a particular focus in New York State election and campaign finance law. He represented candidates for federal, state and local offices, including candidates for the U.S. presidency, and counseled candidates through every phase of the election process, from ballot access to post-election recounts.

    Kasschau also has deep campaign finance experience, routinely advising and counseling candidates, candidate committees, and other political committees in registration, filing obligations, winding up, audits and investigations. As a municipal attorney, he advised and counseled municipalities and special districts on election and referendum procedures, as well as in actions brought by candidates or voters.

    Harris Beach attorneys routinely assist in the administration of local, state, and federal elections, including interposing and defending various election law proceedings under the New York State Election Law. The team provides comprehensive counsel and advice, representing many on both sides of the political aisle.

    Adina Genn

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