Runoffs targeted in latest effort to tweak Georgia elections
Another prolonged and contentious election year in Georgia has legislators considering whether to kill off runoffs once and for all.
Georgia’s unusual system of requiring a runoff whenever candidates fall short of a majority could be changed by the Republican-run General Assembly during this year’s legislative session after a third straight runoff win by Democrats last month, when U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Republican Herschel Walker.
No other state requires runoffs after both primary and general elections, and only two other states — Louisiana and Mississippi — call for runoffs after general elections. Most states declare winners who achieve a mere plurality that’s less than 50% of the vote in a multicandidate race.
But some legislators say they see value in keeping Georgia’s runoffs because they force candidates to win a majority and prevent Libertarian Party candidates from hurting the chances of other candidates.
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sam Bankman-Fried asks judge to keep his bail guarantors secret
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried asked a judge to keep confidential the identities of two people who will help secure his bail to protect them from public scrutiny and potential harassment.
Lawyers for Bankman-Fried filed a letter seeking redactions of the names of the two people who intend to sign on as sureties to his $250 million bail package, saying there is no need for public disclosure. Their request was granted Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in New York, after Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges. A trial date was set for Oct. 2.
Courts frequently require sureties to sign onto significant bail packages to ensure a defendant’s appearances in court. Defense lawyers sometimes seek to mask the identities of the sureties to protect them from public scrutiny. Kaplan said he’d consider any requests seeking disclosure of the names, as long as they were filed with the court by Jan. 12.
“If the two remaining sureties are publicly identified, they will likely be subjected to probing media scrutiny, and potentially targeted for harassment, despite having no substantive connection to the case,” Bankman-Fried’s lawyers wrote.
—Bloomberg News
Florida Gov. DeSantis declares ‘freedom lives here’ as he begins second term
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Declaring “freedom lives here in our great Sunshine State of Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis was sworn in Tuesday for a second term amid widespread belief he’ll soon become a candidate for president.
In his 16-minute address outside the Old Florida Capitol far shorter than some of his campaign speeches, DeSantis gave few specifics about his agenda for the state, instead returning to the heated culture war rhetoric that helped him win reelection in November.
He did pledge the state would “enact more family-friendly policies” and “defend our children against those who seek to rob them of their innocence,” likely referring to the controversial law derided by critics as “don’t say gay” and his administration’s recent targeting of drag shows.
Florida Democratic lawmakers were quick to criticize the speech as long on platitudes and topics that appeal to former President Donald Trump supporters and a national audience, but short on specific problems like affordable housing and rising utility bills that need addressing in the upcoming legislative session in March.
—Orlando Sentinel
Iran upholds death sentences for teenage protesters
Iran’s judiciary upheld death sentences for two male teenagers who had taken part in anti-government protests that have gripped the country since September. If the executions are carried out they will be the youngest people put to death since unrest erupted over Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody in Tehran after being detained for allegedly flouting Islamic dress codes.
The protests, dominated by young women and men, have become some of the biggest against Iran’s theocratic leadership since it took power after a revolution in 1979. An increasing crackdown by authorities has triggered international condemnation.
Mehdi Mohammadifard, 18, has been sentenced to death on charges of “warring against God” and “corruption on earth,” the judiciary’s official website, Mizan Online, said on Tuesday. It said he had confessed to making a Molotov cocktail using a water bottle and petrol.
Mohammad Boroughani, 19, has also had his death sentence confirmed, Mizan said on Monday, despite public pleas from his family and several rights groups including Amnesty International.
—Bloomberg News
