ELECTION 2016
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Philadelphia
transit strike
ends, avoiding
election impact
PHILADELPHIA (AP) —
The city’s crippling weeklong
transit strike ended early
Monday, ensuring that all
buses, trolleys and subways
will be up and running by
Election Day.
The Southeastern
Pennsylvania Transportation
Authority and the union
representing about 4,700
transit workers announced a
tentative agreement before
daybreak. By afternoon,
limited service was restored
on bus and trolley routes, and
operating subway trains were
making all stops.
SEPTA said it usually
takes 24 hours to have all
buses, trolleys and subway
trains running after a shut-
down but it was on track to
be in full service by Tuesday
morning.
Democratic city leaders
had feared the strike could
weaken turnout at the polls on
Tuesday and hurt Democratic
presidential nominee Hillary
Clinton, who needs a big haul
of votes in the city if she is
to win the battleground state
instead of Republican Donald
Trump. The big concern
was people were spending
so much time getting to
and from work that some
wouldn’t have time to go to
the polls.
The city and the state
intervened on Sunday in an
effort to bring the walkout to
an end. The city sought an
injunction that would have
forced SEPTA workers to at
least provide service on Elec-
tion Day. The state announced
it would join SEPTA in
court to permanently end the
strike, citing its impact on the
elderly, the disabled, students
and the economy.
But a deal reached
overnight made a continued
court fight unnecessary.
SEPTA Chairman
Pasquale Deon said the
agreement provides wage
increases and pension
improvements and maintains
health care coverage levels
while addressing rising costs.
GOP paying
consultant
dogged by voter
fraud charges
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Donald Trump’s campaign
and the Republican National
Committee have paid at
least $1.8 million to a
political operative whose
roster of companies include
several that have been
repeatedly investigated
for voter registration
fraud, even as Trump has
complained that the election
is rigged against him.
Three employees of
Strategic Allied Consulting,
a firm owned by conser-
vative operative Nathan
Sproul, pleaded guilty in
Florida four years ago to
felony charges related to
altering and destroying
scores of voter registration
forms. There were no formal
actions against the firm.
Yet recent federal
campaign finance reports
reviewed by The Associated
Press show Sproul is now
back on the RNC’s payroll,
this time with a firm
named Lincoln Strategy
Group. That’s a renamed
version of his former firm
Sproul & Associates, an
Arizona-based company that
was investigated for alleged
voter registration misconduct
in Nevada and Oregon.
Although Sproul was
never charged in the 2012
Florida case, GOP officials
and Mitt Romney’s presi-
dential campaign considered
the charges against his
employees alone serious
enough to fire his company
in 2012. The chairman of
the RNC said this week he
didn’t know Sproul’s firm
has been rehired. Neither
the Republican Party nor
the Trump campaign would
discuss the specifics of the
work Sproul or the firm is
doing and in what states.
“We have zero tolerance
for any threat to the
integrity of elections,”
Sean Spicer, spokesman for
the Republican National
Committee, told the AP in
September 2012. “When we
were informed of an alleged
incident, we immediately cut
all ties to the company.”
East Oregonian
Page 7A
No charges for Clinton from new emails
By ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — FBI Director
James Comey told Congress in a
letter sent Sunday that a review of
newly discovered Hillary Clinton
emails has “not changed our conclu-
sions” from earlier this year that she
should not face charges.
Sent just two days before Election
Day, the letter appeared to resolve
any lingering ambiguity over the
prospect that the Democratic pres-
idential nominee could yet face a
criminal indictment over her use of
a private email sever as secretary of
state.
“Based on our review, we have
not changed our conclusions that
we expressed in July with respect to
Secretary Clinton,” Comey wrote to
congressional leaders, less than two
weeks after first telling them about
a cache of newly found emails that
investigators thought might be perti-
nent to their investigation.
But the letter left unresolved other
questions, including the content and
number of new emails, and how
many of the messages investigators
reviewed were duplicates of emails
they had already seen.
“The growing number of unan-
swered questions demand expla-
nations,” Sen. Charles Grassley of
Iowa, the Republican chairman of
the Senate Judiciary Committee, said
in a statement.
A senior law enforcement official,
who spoke on condition of anonymity
to discuss internal decision-making,
said the letter was intended to reflect
a conclusion to the email review and
not merely a status update.
The letter also drew fresh criti-
cism from lawmakers who said the
new email review, announced in a
vague letter to Congress on Oct. 28,
shouldn’t have been made public
so close to the election and created
unnecessary suspicion.
“Today’s letter makes Director
Comey’s actions nine days ago even
more troubling. There’s no doubt that
it created a false impression about
the nature of the agency’s inquiry,”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said.
Republican presidential nominee
Donald Trump said Clinton was
being protected by a “rigged system”
and pronounced her “guilty,”
notwithstanding the FBI’s conclu-
sion.
Members of
group honoring
Comey have long
ties to Trump
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hil-
lary Clinton walk off stage Monday after both spoke at a rally at
Independence Mall in Philadelphia.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File
In this July 7, 2016 file photo, FBI
Director James Comey testifies
on Capitol Hill in Washington be-
fore the House Oversight Com-
mittee to explain his agency’s
recommendation to not prose-
cute Hillary Clinton.
The FBI had been under pressure
to reveal additional details about
its new email review following
Comey’s abrupt disclosure on Oct.
28 that the bureau had discovered
emails that were potentially relevant
to the Clinton investigation.
The emails were found on the
computer of Anthony Weiner,
the disgraced congressman and
estranged husband of Clinton aide
Huma Abedin. Weiner is under
investigation by federal authorities
for online communications he had
with a 15-year-old girl.
Upon discovering emails thought
to be potentially pertinent to the
Clinton email investigation, Comey
advised Congress that investigators
would review the messages to see
whether they were classified. The
FBI subsequently obtained a warrant
to begin the process of going through
the emails.
That disclosure, made over the
objections of the Justice Department,
roiled the presidential race in its final
days and revived an issue that the
Clinton campaign thought had ended
over the summer when the investiga-
tion closed without charges.
In July, the FBI chief chastised
Clinton for her use of a private mail
server but said the bureau would not
recommend criminal charges against
the Democratic presidential nominee
or her aides. The Justice Department
accepted that recommendation.
NEW YORK (AP) — FBI
Director James Comey was
honored Monday night
by a group whose board
includes several people with
longtime ties to Donald
Trump, including the CEO
of the National Enquirer and
a convicted felon who goes
by the nickname “Joey No
Socks.”
Comey, already criticized
over his handling of Hillary
Clinton’s email investigation
in the final days of the presi-
dential campaign, accepted the
lifetime achievement award
from the nonprofit Federal
Drug Agents Foundation.
The group lists more than
three dozen board directors
on its website; another was
the developer of a troubled
Trump-branded tower in
Toronto.
An FBI spokesman said the
foundation provides disability,
bereavement and personal
crisis support to federal agents
and educational and charitable
grants. Foundation represen-
tatives did not immediately
respond to phone and email
messages from The Associated
Press.
The foundation regularly
hosts dinners and events
honoring law enforcement
officials. Past recipients of the
lifetime achievement award
include Attorney General
Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney
Preet Bharara, former NYPD
Commissioner Bill Bratton
and U.S. District Judge
Richard Sullivan.
It was not clear whether
Comey — a former U.S.
attorney in Manhattan — was
aware of the board members’
ties to Trump, or whether he
decided those connections
were not consequential given
the group’s stature with New
York law enforcement.
Record level of early voters may give Clinton edge
WASHINGTON
(AP)
— A record number of
Americans have voted ahead
of Election Day, driven by
soaring turnout from Latino
voters. That could be good
news for Hillary Clinton.
At least 46.27 million
people have cast ballots by
early voting — by mail or
at polling stations, according
to Associated Press data,
surpassing the level seen in
2012. Record levels have
been reported in 28 states
and the District of Columbia.
Millions more ballots are still
coming in.
The AP estimates that
early votes could top 50
million. That comes to nearly
40 percent of all ballots in a
presidential election expected
to have higher turnout overall
due to intense public interest.
Four years ago, there were
46.22 million early votes, or
35 percent.
“Interest in early voting
has been unprecedented in
many states,” said Michael
McDonald, a University of
Florida professor and expert
on voter turnout who is a
consultant to AP.
The latest numbers show
declines in voting from
blacks in North Carolina — a
drop-off after historic levels
for Barack Obama in 2008
and 2012. But higher turnout
by Latinos, who often lean
Democratic, may be buoying
Clinton in Florida. Both are
must-win states for Donald
Trump.
The Hispanic vote is also
surging in Nevada and Colo-
rado, where Democrats are
running near or above their
successful 2012 pace. Trump
could be holding an edge
in Ohio and Iowa, but that
won’t be enough if Latinos
drive Clinton to victories in
other battleground states.
A look at early voting
trends:
Top battlegrounds
Trump’s
campaign
acknowledges he can’t win
without Florida and North
Carolina.
In Florida, a record 6.4
million early ballots are
already in, or more than
three-fourths of the expected
vote. Democrats are ahead,
39.9 percent to 38.5 percent.
Democrats had slightly wider
margins in 2008 and 2012.
Obama narrowly won the
state both years.
While the black share
of the vote is lower, ballots
from Hispanics have nearly
doubled to more than
976,000. Roughly one-third
of those did not vote in 2012,
according to an analysis by
Daniel Smith, a University
of Florida professor. That
could help Clinton. Demo-
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crats are seeking to draw in
new and sporadic voters to
boost overall turnout.
In North Carolina, more
than two-thirds of the
expected votes have been
cast. Democrats lead in
ballots submitted, 42 percent
to 32 percent. Democrats
were apparently hampered
by fewer polling locations in
the first week of early voting.
After more locations opened,
the party made up ground,
but black turnout remains
lower by nearly 65,000, or
8.6 percent.
Good signs for Clinton
Latinos may be boosting
Clinton in the West.
In Nevada, more than
three-fourths of the likely
vote has been cast. Democrats
lead, 42 percent to 36 percent.
That pace is largely
comparable
to
2012,
when Obama won by 6
percentage points. Latino
and Asian-American turnout
are up by double-digits while
black participation is down
slightly. The white share of
the vote is down, from 77
percent to 75 percent.
In Colorado, the two
parties are virtually tied at 35
percent. More than 70 percent
of the ballots are in. At this
point in 2012, Republicans
held an advantage.
Clinton also appears to be
holding ground in other states
won by Obama, but targeted
by Trump.
In Virginia, early voting
has surpassed 2012 levels,
lifted by higher turnout in
Democratic-leaning northern
counties. The state does not
provide breakdowns by party.
Turnout is also outpacing
2012 levels in Wisconsin,
with bigger shares coming
from Democratic counties
such as Dane and Milwaukee.
Good signs for Trump
Trump may hold a slight
edge in Iowa and Ohio.
In Iowa, Democrats
currently lead in early ballots,
41 percent to 35 percent.
That is a narrower gap than
in 2012. Republicans are
matching 2012 levels while
Democrats are running
below. Obama won the state
by 5 percentage points.
Ohio does not provide
breakdowns by party. But
voter modeling for the AP by
Catalist, a Democratic analyt-
ical firm, shows that black
turnout continues to lag 2012
levels. African-Americans
make up about 9 percent of
the vote share, compared to
12 percent in 2012. Ballots
from whites have risen.
In Georgia, where early
voting has already exceeded
2012 levels, turnout is up
across racial groups. But
ballots from whites have risen
more. In all, blacks made up
about 30 percent of early
votes compared to 36 percent
in 2012. White ballots rose
from 63 percent to 66 percent.
In Utah, Trump may be
holding ground despite a
challenge from third-party
candidate Evan McMullin.
Republicans lead in
returned ballots, 49 percent
to 13 percent for Democrats;
no-party voters make up 34
percent. The Republican
share is down from 2012
but has been improving,
according to Catalist.
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