The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Lawmakers sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill Thursday designed to make California more relevant in presidential politics by giving the state's electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote.

The bill would take effect only if Brown signs it and if it's approved by states with a total of 270 electoral votes — the minimum number needed to elect a president.read more >>

RALEIGH - Republican-backed legislation requiring North Carolina voters to show picture identification before casting a ballot they know will count was headed Thursday to the desk of Gov. Bev Perdue, who sounds ready to veto the measure that fellow Democrats have called purely partisan.read more >>

RALEIGH, N.C. - Republicans don't just control much of the electoral map. In some cases, they now have the power to redraw it.

Overwhelming victories in statehouses and governors' races across the country this week have placed the GOP in command of redrawing both congressional and legislative districts to conform with Census results. It's a grueling and politically charged process that typically gives the party in power an inherent advantage for a decade, allowing them to preserve current strongholds or to put others in play.read more >>

PORT CHESTER, N.Y. — The court-ordered election that allowed residents of one New York town to flip the lever six times for one candidate — and produced a Hispanic winner — could expand to other towns where minorities complain their voices aren't being heard.

But first, interested parties will want to take a look at the exit surveys.

The unusual election was imposed on Port Chester after a federal judge determined that Hispanics were being treated unfairly.read more >>

WASHINGTON, DC — Five states — New York, California, Texas, Arizona and Florida — are perilously close to losing out on congressional seats because of lackluster participation in the U.S. census.

The five were average or below average in mailing back 10-question census forms when compared to other states, trailing by as many as 5 percentage points, according to the final census mail-in tally released Wednesday.read more >>

Locke Urges End to GOP Block on Census Nominee

June 24, 2009
By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Wednesday urged Congress to immediately end a GOP block on President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the 2010 census, saying continued delays are putting the high-stakes head count at risk.read more >>