O’FALLON, Mo. — Just 15 days after voters passed a comprehensive smoking ban, opponents on Wednesday disclosed plans to gather signatures to spur another election on the issue. A group called Repeal The Ban notified the city of its intention to petition for a referendum on the ban at a special election in November. The ban – covering bars, restaurants and other indoor public places in St. Charles County’s largest city – ... Jump to full article >>

Now that the worst kept secret in politics seems to be semi-officially out — another special election about the state budget — keep your eye on one of the wild cards: the campaign won’t just be about the budget. That’s because California’s election laws say that once an initiative has qualified for the ballot, it will be considered in the next statewide election — regardless of whether it’s a scheduled e ... Jump to full article >>

As Jon Runyan prepares for his freshman term in the U.S. House, he has some “thank yous” to send to his new colleagues, as well as to donors from the oil and tobacco industries. House Republicans, and the corporations that support them, helped Runyan beat Democratic U.S. Rep. John Adler in South Jersey’s Third Congressional District, according to general-election reports filed last week. Runyan lent himself $350,000 and then st ... Jump to full article >>

In his closing statement, the Prime Minister made a last-ditch plea to voters, acknowledging for the first time that Mr Cameron is on course to take the keys to Number 10. He said: “I know that if things stay as they are, perhaps in eight days’ time David Cameron, perhaps supported by Nick Clegg, would be in office. “But I have the duty of telling you this evening that while we have policies for the future, the Conservatives ... Jump to full article >>

With the opinion polls suggesting that we’re heading for a hung parliament – or a “balanced parliament”, as Nick Clegg calls it – many are asking whether Britain is facing its first coalition government since the war. It is being presented as a step into the unknown. But there is a template for what might happen after May 6, and it is not an edifying sight. Anyone expecting our leaders to pull together for the good of the n ... Jump to full article >>

I tell you it’s enough to shake a chap’s confidence in Her Majesty’s Press. It was barely a month ago that my trembling fingers reached for a Sunday paper proclaiming in huge type, all over the front page, that Gordon Brown was “on course” to win the election. So imagine my feelings of bewilderment yesterday morning when I went to the same newsagent to buy the very same newspaper. And there – on the same front pag ... Jump to full article >>

West St. Louis County townships provided more votes last Tuesday in St. Louis County for banning smoking in indoor public places, but the strongest sentiment for the ban came from townships in the central part of the county. The St. Louis County Election Board on Friday made public township-by-township results on the smoking ban and on a 0.1-cent sales tax for a countywide emergency communications system. The breakdown was from unofficial final ... Jump to full article >>