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At a signing ceremony in April, Michigan's Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, officially repealed the state's 1931 abortion ban. The old statute was unenforceable after voters enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution last November. Now Whitmer is backing more bills to repeal abortion regulations involving paperwork and payment, but one Democratic lawmaker could jeopardize the vote. AP Photo/Carlos Osorio hide caption

At a signing ceremony in April, Michigan's Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, officially repealed the state's 1931 abortion ban. The old statute was unenforceable after voters enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution last November. Now Whitmer is backing more bills to repeal abortion regulations involving paperwork and payment, but one Democratic lawmaker could jeopardize the vote.

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, patients seeking abortions have been coming to Michigan in record numbers from around the country. Voters passed Proposition 3 last November, enshrining abortion rights in the state's constitution.

But it can still be difficult to access abortion care in Michigan, and even patients who have secured appointments are regularly turned away, according to doctors. That's because of restrictions that are still on the books in Michigan, including an online consent form that has to be printed and signed 24 hours before the appointment begins.

"Patients tell me, 'Doctor, why are you stopping me from getting the care that I need?'" says Dr. Halley Crissman, an OB-GYN who provides abortions as part of her practice, and is also an assistant professor at the University of Michigan. "The answer is that Prop 3 made access to abortion care a right in Michigan. But these laws remain on the books."

This fall, Democrats in Michigan pledged to address several of the remaining regulations. They introduced the Reproductive Health Act. The wide-ranging legislation would repeal the 24-hour mandatory waiting period, get rid of the informed consent form, allow Medicaid to cover abortions for low-income patients, and make it easier for private insurance to cover abortions. It would also lift regulations on abortion clinics that advocates say are unnecessary and burdensome.

The time is ripe, Democrats say. Since the 2022 election, the party controls both houses of the legislature and the governorship, positioning them to pass what they said would be another landmark victory for reproductive health.

But now that legislation is stalled not because of predicted opposition from the Republican minority, but because of dissension within the Democrats' own ranks. Michigan is one of the few remaining Midwest states where abortion remains legal, so Democrats' efforts to make the procedure more accessible in the state will have wide-ranging consequences.

Pre-visit paperwork requires internet access, a printer, and exact timing

Dr. Crissman, the OB-GYN in Ann Arbor, has a request for anyone who thinks Michigan's 24-hour mandatory waiting period and informed consent form laws are reasonable: see if you can figure them out.

Dr. Halley Crissman, an OB-GYN and assistant professor at the University of Michigan, is supporting a legislative effort to repeal regulations on abortion care. She says that patients often get turned away from their appointments because of the complicated paperwork requirements. The mandatory waiting period, and rules barring insurance coverage, also cause significant obstacles to care, she says. Beth Weiler/Michigan Radio hide caption

Dr. Halley Crissman, an OB-GYN and assistant professor at the University of Michigan, is supporting a legislative effort to repeal regulations on abortion care. She says that patients often get turned away from their appointments because of the complicated paperwork requirements. The mandatory waiting period, and rules barring insurance coverage, also cause significant obstacles to care, she says.

"Try to figure out what you're supposed to print. See if you get it right," says Crissman. She also testified last month in support of the Reproductive Health Act at a committee hearing in the state capitol in Lansing. She spoke as the advocacy chair of the Michigan Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. "Because everyday I see patients who've driven five hours for abortion care. And they haven't gotten it right."

When patients book their appointments, staffers tell them about the state's mandatory forms. They direct them to a state website, which links to another site, which then has links for both patients and providers. The patient link then connects to a third site with information that patients are legally required to review: illustrations of fetal development, a section on abortion coercion, medical summaries of abortion procedures, and a 19-page pamphlet on prenatal care and parenting, called the Pregnancy and Infant Health Education Packet.

The pamphlet has photographs of smiling pregnant women cradling their bellies, and parents tenderly holding newborns. At a statehouse hearing last month, Dr. Sarah Wallett, the chief medical operating officer of Planned Parenthood of Michigan, testified about a patient who found the pamphlet disturbing.

That patient was ending a much-wanted pregnancy because of a fetal "anomaly incompatible with life," Wallet testified. "She asked me with tears in her eyes why I had forced her to look at information that wasn't relevant to her, that only made this harder for her and her family going through this heartbreak. I could only reply, 'Because Michigan law requires me to.'"

Once patients have reviewed the required materials, they need to click "finish." That automatically generates a signature form, with a date and time stamp of the exact moment they clicked "finish." That time stamp must be at least 24 hours before their appointment, but no more than two weeks before the appointment. Otherwise, under Michigan law the appointment must be canceled.

Patients must then print and bring a copy of that signed, time-stamped page to the appointment.

Cancellations over paperwork can lead to increased risks

Planned Parenthood of Michigan says they turn away at least 150 patients per month because of mistakes with that form: either the patient didn't sign it in the right time window, or printed the wrong page, or didn't have a printer.

That delay in care can be medically risky, according to Dr. Charita Roque, who also testified at the bill hearing. Roque explained that a patient had developed peripartum cardiomyopathy, a potentially life-threatening heart problem that can occur during pregnancy.

"Not wanting to risk her life, or leave the young child she already had without a mother, she decided to get an abortion," said Dr. Roque, an OB-GYN and assistant professor at Western Michigan University's medical school. "But by the time she finally got to me, she was 13 weeks pregnant, and the clock was ticking due to her high-risk health status."

But the patient didn't have a printer, so when she arrived at her appointment, she hadn't brought a hard copy of the required form. Her appointment had to be postponed.

"During that time, her cardiac status became even higher risk, and it was evident that she would need a higher level of care in a hospital setting," Roque said. "This meant that the cost would be much, much higher: over $10,000. And since her insurance was legally prohibited from covering abortion care, she anticipated she would have to incur significant medical debt. In the end, she suffered a five-week delay from the first day I saw her [to] when her procedure was finally completed. The delay was entirely unnecessary."

A coalition of hundreds of Michigan doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers are publicly urging legislators to pass the RHA.

A Democrat breaks with her party

Republicans and abortion opponents have called the Reproductive Health Act a political overreach, pointing out that the bill goes far beyond Proposition 3's promise last fall, which was to "#RestoreRoe."

"The so-called Reproductive Health Act, with its dangerous and unpopular changes, goes far beyond what Michigan voters approved in Proposal 3 of 2022," Republican State Representative Ken Borton said in a statement.

"While claiming to promote reproductive health, this plan ultimately risks hurting Michigan residents by undermining patients and decriminalizing the worst parts of abortion practices," Borton's staement said. "These bills strip away critical information and safety standards, and they delegitimize the ballot initiative process by discarding the will of Michigan voters, tricking them by delivering a plan they never wanted."

Still, until a few weeks ago, Democrats appeared poised to pass the Reproductive Health Act thanks to their majorities in both the state House and Senate. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has already vowed to sign it.

Michelle O'Grady is a patient escort at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She uses her umbrella to shield patients from the view of any protestors as they walk into the clinic. Beth Weiler/Michigan Radio hide caption

Michelle O'Grady is a patient escort at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She uses her umbrella to shield patients from the view of any protestors as they walk into the clinic.

Then, on September 20, State Representative Karen Whitsett stunned her own party: she cast the lone Democratic "no" vote in the House of Representatives health policy committee. The bills still passed out of committee, but Democrats' majority in the state house is so slim that they can't afford to lose a single vote.

But Whitsett says she's not alone in her concerns, and that other Democrats in the state legislature have privately voiced similar doubts about the RHA.

Whitsett says that at first, she thought her discussions with Democratic leadership were productive, "that we were actually getting somewhere."

"But it was pushed through," she says, "And I was asked to either not come to work, or to pass on my vote. I'm not doing either of those."

It's not that Whitsett doesn't support abortion rights, she says. "I've been raped. I've gone through the process of trying to make the hard decision. I did the 24-hour pause. I did all these things that everyone else is currently going through."

And because she's had an abortion, she says that she is proof the current restrictions aren't so unreasonable. If the current online forms are confusing, she says, then "let's bring this into 2023: How about you DocuSign?"

"But I still do not think that 24 hours of a pause, to make sure you're making the right decision, is too much to ask," she adds.

Most of all, Whitsett says, her constituents in Detroit and neighboring Dearborn do not want Medicaid and therefore, their state tax dollars funding elective abortions.

Medicaid is jointly funded by state and federal dollars, and the longstanding federal Hyde amendment prohibits federal funds from paying for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the patient. But states have the option to use their own funding to cover abortion care for Medicaid recipients.

In Michigan, voters approved a ban in 1988 on state funding for abortion, but the RHA would overturn that. The change would increase state Medicaid costs by an estimated $2-6 million, according to a Michigan House Fiscal Agency analysis.

"People are saying, 'I agree to reproductive health. But I never agreed to pay for it,'" Whitsett says. "And I think that's very fair...I just do not think that that's something that should be asked of anyone as a taxpayer."

As legislative clock ticks, political pressures ramp up

Whitsett is now the target of a public pressure campaign by advocates such as the ACLU of Michigan and Planned Parenthood of Michigan. This included a virtual event targeted at Detroit voters in Whitsett's district and public statements that claim Whitsett would be "solely responsible for the continued enforcement of dozens of anti-abortion restrictions that disproportionately harm women of color and people who are struggling to make ends meet."

Dr. Crissman says opponents of the bill, from either party, might learn a lot from the conversations she has with her patients.

"I wish Representative Whitsett could sit with me, and tell a patient to their face: 'No, we can't provide your abortion care today, because you printed the wrong page on this 24-hour consent,'" Crissman says. "Or 'No, mother of five trying to make ends meet and feed your kids, you can't use your Medicaid to pay for abortion care.' Because I don't want to tell patients that anymore."

But abortion opponents say they're not surprised the legislation has stalled.

"These hastily crafted bills present a real danger to women and our broader communities," said Genevieve Marnon, legislative director of Right to Life of Michigan, in an email. "I have no doubt many people of good conscience are finding cause for hesitation, for a whole host of reasons."

At least three people with knowledge of the ongoing legislative negotiations, who asked not to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the issue, told NPR there's still hope for a compromise before the legislative session ends later this year.

But on Monday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer told reporters she still expects every piece of legislation in the Reproductive Health Act to pass.

"Any and every bill of the RHA that hits my desk, I'm going to sign. I'd like to see them come as a package. It's important, and I think that the voters expect that," she said.

"It was a result of an overwhelming effort to enshrine these rights into our constitution. But also with an expectation that additional barriers are going to be leveled. So I'm not going to pick and choose. I'm not going to say that 'I can live with this and not that.' I want to see the whole package hit my desk."

This story comes from NPR's health reporting partnership with Michigan Radio and KFF Health News.

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U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, a top Democrat in Congress, will travel to Jackson this weekend with fellow Democrat U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson to help energize voter turnout ahead of Mississippis November statewide election.

Clyburn, assistant Democratic leader in the House, is expected to meet with Mississippis Democratic leaders, visit local churches, interact with college students and dine with statewide Democratic candidates.

Elections in Mississippi have far-reaching consequences for people all over the state and the country, Clyburn told Mississippi Today in a statement. Congressman Thompson and I are proud to stand up and encourage Democrats to do whats right and head to the polls on Nov. 7.

The string of visits will culminate in a reception for Clyburn in downtown Jackson on Sunday night, doubling as a celebration of the state party and its candidates.

The South Carolina congressmans visit comes roughly a month before Mississippians will vote on who should represent them in state offices, with the competitive governors race at the top of the ticket.

Brandon Presley, the Democratic nominee for governor, has raised a significant amount of money in his quest to defeat Republican Gov. Tate Reeves reelection bid, and public polls have shown the governor could face trouble in capturing an outright majority of the ballots cast on Nov. 7.

Reeves is almost certain to seize on the event as a way to link Presley to national Democrats a strategy he has relied on throughout the campaign.

But to become the first Democratic candidate to win a governors race since 1999, Presley will need an energized base of support to turn out on Election Day, something Clyburn could help deliver.

As north Mississippis current utility regulator, Presley has previously worked with Clyburn and Thompson on legislation to expand broadband internet to rural areas and cultivated a relationship with them. But the underlying purpose of the events goes beyond Presley and the November election.

The focus of much of the weekend is to raise funds for the state party infrastructure and strategically finalize plans to mobilize Democratic voters, the foundation of which is Black Mississippians.

And Clyburn is one of the nations most prominent Black public officials and has touted the growing influence Deep South states such as Georgia and his home state of South Carolina have on national elections.

Mississippi Democrats have long struggled with successfully organizing and remaining competitive this century, with the Republican Party now holding every statewide office and a supermajority of seats in both chambers of the Legislature.

Two of the primary reasons are a lack of funding and virtually little from national progressive organizations. But that could be changing.

Before Clyburns weekend visit, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison surprised south Mississippi Democrats in August when he visited the Gulf Coast, an area of the state typically viewed as a GOP stronghold.

Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Cheikh Taylor told Mississippi Today that he hopes that a competitive slate of state races mingled with intentional grassroots movement could lead to a new chapter for the progressive party.

You cant organize quietly, Taylor said. Were not ducking and dodging and hiding anymore. Were here to organize in Mississippi.

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Biden is unpopular in New Jersey, with an August poll showing 52 percent of voters disapproved of his job performance.

Though vastly outnumbered, Republicans have repeatedly outpaced Democrats in monthly new voter registrations.

And Republicans, having worked out a compromise legislative district map with Democrats last year, are for the first time in decades running under a map that wasnt drawn exclusively by their opponents.

Democrats after Labor Day began a near-universal pushback against Republicans on protecting abortion rights, highlighting Republican opponents sometimes inflammatory anti-abortion statements. Feeling the strength of the issue, some began to grow more at ease about their electoral prospects. But not even a week later, federal authorities released an explosive indictment of Menendez (D-N.J.) that has dominated media coverage since.

Republicans hope the indictment could cause voters already souring on the president to rethink casting ballots for Democrats, even though Biden and Menendez are not on the ticket.

Culture wars and alleged corruption werent the campaign issues Democrats prepared for. Following the 2021 election, when Murphy defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli by a surprisingly close three points and Democrats lost seven seats in the Legislature, party leaders promised to focus more on affordability a perennial issue in this high-cost, high-tax state.

We clearly need to touch more people. We need to get at more kitchen tables, Murphy said shortly after the election.

That culminated in a StayNJ tax credit for seniors that would provide up to $6,500 for incomes up to $500,000. The credit engineered by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin was one of the last actions Democratic legislative leaders took before breaking for summer. And while most Republicans joined Democrats to vote for it, it drew their skepticism as an election year stunt, as it wont take effect until 2026 and includes provisions that would allow it to be delayed.

The main issue we have is a proven track record of running the state appropriately. Thats why our coffers look good, our budgets were solid the last two years and people trust our leadership, state Senate President Nick Scutari said.

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The most foregone of conclusions for local voters in this years November 7 elections is that a majority of the seats in the Ulster County Legislature will be filled by Democrats.

Those who follow local politics know that of the 23 seats on the body, a majority 12 will be occupied, come 2024, by Dems who are running unopposed. Another five legislative seats will be won, so to speak, by Republicans running without opposition.

Uncertainty only lies with six contests, the results of which will determine if the Democrats can keep, or add to their current 16-7 supermajority.

The races this year are more highlighted by who is not returning than glittering newcomer names. Starting at the top, Legislative Chairwoman Tracey Bartels (no party, but who has caucused with Democrats) of Gardiner and Shawangunk will not return. Nor will Ken Ronk Jr. of Shawangunk, the Republican Minority Leader and one-time Legislature Chair Ronk will now seek the supervisors position in Shawangunk unopposed. Majority Leader, Democrat Jonathan Heppner of Woodstock, will step aside as will Town of Ulsterite Brian Cahill, and Kingston upstart one-termer Phil Erner. Stalwart Republican Dean Fabiano of Saugerties and Ulster will not return, nor will Esopus Democrat Laura Petit.

As of last February, New York State statistics say that Ulster County has a population of 182,319 and that 133,254 (a full 73 percent) are registered to vote. The breakdown of those registrations is glaring. Used to be, until the last decade and a half, Republicans had been dominant in the legislature save for a lone term in the late 1970s, when Dems eked out a majority and proceeded to do away with the county property tax, only to get walloped at the next election.

But Democrats now total a healthy plurality of 56,048; next comes those registered voters who are not enrolled in any party, with 38,063; Republicans trail, with 30,100 registrations. Conservatives have around 2600, Working Families are under 1000; other parties come in the 5600 range.

One other statistic matters for our purposes. If you divide the county population (according to the 2020 census) of 182,319 by 23 (the number of districts in the legislature) you see that each contains approximately 7926 citizens.

So, whos running? Heres the breakdown

District 1 in the Town of Saugerties has Democrat incumbent Aaron Levine running unopposed.

District 2 in the town and village of Saugerties has incumbent Democrat Joseph Maloney running unopposed.

In District 3 in the towns of Saugerties and Ulster, Conservative Republican Dean Fabiano, is not running again. Democrat and Working Families (WF) party candidate Keith Gurgui will square off against Republican Conservative Jason Kovacs.

District 4 in the Towns of Kingston, Ulster, will get a new look, as Democrat Brian Cahill steps out, leaving Tamika Dunkley, Democrat, WF vs. Eric J. Kitchen, Republican and Conservative.

District 5 in the City of Kingston will reelect Abe Uchitelle, Democrat and Working Families, who has no opponent.

With Democrat Phil Erner not running District 6 in the City of Kingston will feature Greg McCoullough, Democrat, WF, versus Suzanne Timbrouck, on the Independence line.

District 7 in the City of Kingston will reelect Democrat Peter Criswell with no opposition.

Joe Donaldson Democrat, WF will be unopposed in District 8, Esopus, as incumbent Laura Petit steps aside.

District 9 in the towns of Lloyd and Plattekill, will feature a real race. Incumbent Republican Conservative Herbert Litts III faces Robert Haskins, Democrat, WF.

Gina Hansut, Republican, Conservative incumbent runs unopposed in District 10 (Towns of Lloyd and Marlborough) as does Thomas Corcoran Jr. Republican, Conservative in District 11 (Town of Marlborough.)

Same with Kevin Roberts, Republican, Conservative in, Plattekills District 12.

With Kenneth Ronk Jr., Republican, Conservative, not running, fellow Republican Richard T. Walls, will be unopposed in the Town of Shawangunks 13th District.

District 14 in the Towns of Shawangunk and Wawarsing presents Republican incumbent Craig V. Lopez, but not running as Republican. Hell be on the ballot for the Independence Party, and will be opposed by Kelli Palinkas Greer, Democrat, WF.

District 15 in Wawarsing, and the village of Ellenville has a contest between John Gavaris, the Democratic incumbent vs. Daniel C. McQuillan, on the Republican, and Independence lines.

In District 16, (Towns of Gardiner, Shawangunk) Tracey A. Bartels (No party) is not running again, so weve got Debra Clinton, Democrat and WF vs. Phil R. Johnson Republican, Conservative.

Democrat Megan Sperry is unopposed in District 17, Esopus and New Paltz.

Same in District 18 (Hurley, Marbletown), where Eric Stewart, Democrat and WF is unopposed.

Also unopposed is Democrat and WF partys Manna Jo Greene, in District 19, Marbletown and Rosendale.

In New Paltz District 20 Democratic incumbent Tricia Bowen is not running. Democrat, WF Limina Grave Harmon, will run unopposed.

District 21, in Rochester and Wawarsing gives us incumbent Chris Hewitt, Democrat, WF, versus Ronald G. Lapp Jr. Republican, Conservative.

Incumbent Democrat and Working Families candidate Kathy Nolan is unopposed in District 22, consisting of Denning, Hardenburgh, Olive and Shandaken.

And finally, in District 23, consisting of Woodstock and Hurley, where Legislature Majority Leader Jonathan Heppner, Democrat, WF, is not running, Democrat Jeff Collins is unopposed.

Early voting information

Early voting for the November 7 election will take place from Saturday, October 28 through Sunday, November 5 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on October 28, October 29, October 31, November 1, November 3, November 4 and November 5; noon to 8 p.m. on October 30 and November 2. Locations for early voting will be at the Olive American Legion Hall, 26-28 Mountain Road, Shokan; Midtown Neighborhood Center, 467 Broadway, Kingston; the New Paltz Community Center, 3 Veterans Drive, New Paltz; Saugerties Senior Center, 207 Market Street, Saugerties; Ellenville Public Library, 40 Center Street, Ellenville and the Marlborough Town Hall, 21 Milton Turnpike, Milton.

Residents will be able to vote at any of the early voting locations. On election day, November 7, voting will take place at poll sites in the home districts.

Often forgotten, ignored or misunderstood, yet sometimes critical, the lonely propositions sit on the rear side of your ballots. This year we have four decisions to make that will appear on every ballot countywide, and several more that are specific to certain towns, and will only appear on the ballots for those towns.

So here goes:

Number One is a statewide issue. Its a proposed State Constitutional Amendment that calls for the Removal of Small City School Districts From Special Constitutional Debt Limitation

The only Small City School District that this applies to in Ulster County, is Kingston, but it nonetheless will appear on all ballots in New York State. Small Cities are defined as those with a population of fewer than 125,000, of which there are 57 in the state. Currently the State Constitution limits how much debt a small city school district can incur to no more than five percent of the value of taxable real estate in the district. (There are exceptions for certain expenses.) Other school districts are not subject to such a constitutional debt restriction, but have a different debt limit provided by state law.

An affirmative vote on your part will allow the Small Cities Districts, such as Kingston the same limitation on borrowing as all other schools.

Next comes a statewide constitutional amendment proposal that, if passed will extend for ten years an already in place authority of counties, cities, towns, and villages to remove from their constitutional debt limit calculations, debt for the construction of sewage facilities.

As we know, the state Constitution limits the debt counties, cities, towns and villages can incur. This limit currently does not include debt for sewage treatment and disposal construction projects. But the sewer debt exception expires on January 1, 2024. A yes vote will extend the sewer debt exception for ten more years until January 1, 2034.

Proposal number three is an amendment to the Ulster County Charter regarding the process of succession for the post of County Executive. It says, Shall Section C-29 of the Ulster County Charter, which establishes the process to fill a vacancy in office of County Executive, be amended to: Provide time to hold primaries to nominate candidates for the next General Election; and Require the Ulster County Legislature, as representatives of the electorate, to confirm the County Executives selection of qualified electors for Acting County Executive?

This allows voters to get to a primary election for county executive, should there be candidates for it, prior to a special election for the job and would replace the current process wherein political parties can select candidates without a primary for a special election.

You may remember that since the inception of the County Executive position in the 2000s, both Mike Hein and Pat Ryan have left the position before reaching the end of their terms. The jockeying to fill the job led to this proposal.

Proposal Number four says that it wants to improve transparency and accountability of Ulster Countys financial operations and oversight, protect taxpayer funds, and comply with state and federal auditing guidance by moving bank reconciliation authority from the Office of the Comptroller to the Department of Finance and that it would clarify the audit authority of the Office of the Comptroller over component units of the County, allow the Legislature and Comptroller to obtain digital records and appropriate access to all software licensed or owned by the County or its component units, and appropriately fill any vacancy in the Office of the Comptroller. These amendments, if passed, would become part of the Ulster County Charter.

We have some town proposals. These only apply, and will only appear on the ballots of the towns which put them there.

The town of Hardenburgh has advanced a proposition to abolish the elected position of town highway superintendent and establish an appointed town highway superintendent.

The town of Marbletown is asking its voters if they would approve of making the job of Town Supervisor a four-year term rather than a two-year term, as it is in most towns.

The town of Marlborough is also asking voters if they would prefer a four-year term for its supervisor, rather than a two-year sentence.

Marlborough and New Paltz both have Library budget propositions on the ballot.

Marlborough asks voters if theyd approve an operating budget of the Sarah Hull Hallock Free Library be increased by $36,700 to the sum $189,200 annually.

The town of New Paltz asks its voters, shall the annual contribution of the town of New Paltz provided in its budget for the Elting Memorial Library, a free association librarybe increased by $65,000 annually to $721,000 annually

The town of Shandaken has two libraries to take care of.

Shall the town of Shandaken it asks its voters, increase its annual contribution for the operating budget of the Morton Memorial Library by $5475 to the sum of $60,225 annually; and shall the town of Shandaken increase its annual contribution for the operating budget of the Phoenicia Library by $17,750 to the sum of $199,750 annually?

And finally, the town of Saugerties checks in with its voters to see if the manner of selecting the Receiver of Taxes in the Town of Saugerties be changed from elected to appointed, effective January 1, 2024

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Doug Skaff, who for the past couple of years has served as leader of the Democratic caucus in the House of Delegates, today said he has changed his registration to Republican and will run statewide for Secretary of State.

Im not the first person to switch parties, and I wont be the last, Skaff said today on MetroNews Talkline.

Lets be honest, the Republican Party took the last two registrations by storm, but it wasnt because 100,000 Republicans just moved to West Virginia. These were hardcore West Virginians who were pro-life, pro-gun, pro-coal, pro-gas and they all switched parties. So like a lot of West Virginians, you know, my ideals never changed. I was always that way as well. I was registered a Democrat, and Im proud to be on the Republican team and just cant relate to the national party any more.

His party switch and candidacy received a skeptical response from the West Virginia Republican Party. A statement from state party chairwoman Elgine McArdle said the GOP welcomes people who join as a matter of priorities and principles. But McArdles statement questioned whether that applies to Skaff.

The West Virginia Republican Party recognizes the philosophical nuances that can exist within the Party and welcomes those who genuinely believe in our cause; however, Republican voters are sometimes tasked with differentiating between philosophical nuances and diametric ideological opposition. Now that Skaff is labeling himself as a Republican, despite his storied liberal record in the House, the upcoming primary is one of those times, McArdle stated.

The state Democratic Party also ripped into Skaff.

Skaff resigned from the House of Delegates last month, following his decision to step down as minority leader the prior month. All that surrounded speculation that Skaff, the president of HD Media, was considering a switch to the Republican Party and running for Secretary of State. But until now he would neither confirm nor deny the speculation

He now joins the race for Secretary of State that has an opening because the two-term incumbent, Mac Warner, is running for governor. That race also includes announced candidates Ken Reed, who is a former delegate from Berkeley County, current Delegate Chris Pritt of Kanawha County andPutnam County Clerk Brian Wood, all Republicans.

The Secretary of State is West Virginias chief elections officer and the office also has responsibilities for business licensing.

I want to use my past experience in the House of Delegates and look forward to putting my leadership style in place in government, Skaff said. The Secretary of States process is always one thats interested me. Its our elections process. Its always fascinated me.

He added, As Secretary of State you protect the freedom and the fundamental right to vote, and you want to maintain a secure, accessible, fair, efficient election process.

Skaff served in the House of Delegates as a Democrat from 2008 to 2012. In 2014, he ran for state Senate as a Democrat and was defeated by Republican Tom Takubo. He ran again for House of Delegates as a Democrat in 2018, winning, and remained in that chamber until his resignation. He was chosen to lead the Democratic caucus in the House in 2020.

Today, Skaff contended the national Democratic Party has drifted toward the left but he didnt make the same distinction about the state Democratic Party.

Its one of those things: the people of West Virginia, they were always called West Virginia Democrats or West Virginia Republicans. We were always kind of our own brand, so to speak. Our ideals, like mine and like many others, regardless of what you were registered, Skaff said on Talkline.

Those moderate Blue Dog Democrats, they helped make the Republican Party what it is today. Theyve all switched their party affiliation because their ideals and beliefs more align with the Republican Party.

The state Republican Party statement suggested that Skaff had key votes out of line with what the party believes.

During his tenure as the House Minority Leader, Skaff co-sponsored legislation to institute universal absentee voting, ballot drop boxes, and the elimination of signature match requirements for provisional ballots. Delegate Skaff voted to allow biological men to compete in womens sports, and he repeatedly voted against Republican, pro-life legislation, McArdle stated.

Skaff was a reliable vote for his caucus liberal agenda and a regular vote against many pieces of conservative Republican legislation that we now call law.

The West Virginia Democratic Party also blasted Skaff. Their statement contended Skaff led the Democratic caucuss opposition to strict abortion restrictions, allowing guns on college campuses and a bill that would have allowed discrimination based on sexual orientation through the exercise of religion.

While I appreciate Doug finally putting his cards on the table about his long-rumored, politically expedient party switch, Im surprised he would try to reinvent himself as a right-wing conservative in the process, stated West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Mike Pushkin, a delegate who sat just a few seats away from Skaff in the minority caucus.

I know Doug has long been intoxicated by the idea of winning a statewide office. Still, his candidacy could leave Republican primary voters with a hangover when they find out about his actual voting record. Nevertheless, we wish him well in all his affairs.

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