After days of intense negotiations, budget talks between Governor Brown and Republicans have once again reached an impasse. The suspension of negotiations casts doubt on a proposed special election to extend tax increases, a key feature of Brown’s budget proposal. more ›

In a city of four million people, how many come out to vote? Unless it's a historic election, not many. And sometimes turnout dwindles to a sad single digit number. That's why two Los Angeles City Councilmembers are trying to encourage more participation through four reforms nicknamed the Los Angeles Voters' Bill of Rights. Three of them must be approved by voters, likely during the March 2011 election, but they first must be approved by the City Council for placement on that ballot. more ›

Protesters upset over recent elections in Iran waved flags, marched, shouted, and made a scene without fear of government reprisal. more ›

The ACME Comedy Theatre is hosting the LA Comedy Festival today through May 17. Tonight there are two shows on the schedule. At 8:30 pm has the long-form troupe The Waterbrains, followed by Rick Ramos and the sketch comedy of FUCT. The late show at 9:30 pm has Shredding the Envelope, Adam Harrington and Improperetta. For more comedy this week, check out our LAist Week in Comedy. more ›

Fundraising events when re-election campaigns are imminent are nothing all that noteworthy, unless you happen to be the Mayor of Los Angeles getting cash in another Mayor's territory, namely Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco. more ›

On June 3rd, California went to the polls, voting on representatives and various bits of legislation, most notably Props 98 and 99. It was a real race for those of those measures, both had real potential for real change, whether it was for the better or worse. But voters also voted for Congressmen such Howard Berman and Henry Waxman. The choices were simple (because choice was not a choice other than not voting) and there was hardly a mention of their campaigns in the news. Welcome to gerrymandering, the practice of drawing districts in favor of one voter base, and California has ranked the 9th worst state in the nation, according to one non-profit's report [pdf]. The LA Times breaks it down: more ›

Last Friday, Sarah Miller's Open Letter to Barack Obama in the LA Times Opinion section caught my eye. Got me thinking. Had me nodding my head. I'm not the only one, as the comments on her letter are getting heated. As an Obama supporter, she raised some concerns about his seeming inability to be concrete and clear about how he is different from Hillary Clinton. In short, Sarah Miller asked Obama to be specific so that people could know why they were behind him, other than wanting radical change in how our country is run.

Hope is an empty diversion without substantive, original arguments on issues. When will you discuss rebuilding New Orleans? Can you offer creative thinking on the Iraq war as it currently exists, instead of just reminding people you opposed it years ago? Why don't you demonstrate a respectful, nuanced view of the Middle East instead of referring to the "the terrorists," as you did in a recent debate? How do you envision the United States' role in Africa's many dire problems and conflicts? How do you plan to fix our decrepit infrastructure and invigorate the economy in just and environmentally responsible ways? Will you argue for the value of a well-regulated, domestically produced food supply, favoring produce over commodity crops, for our safety and environmental health? What are your positions on international trade agreements? Do you have creative ideas for generating more affordable housing in our cities? And how will you handle the responsibilities of the presidency when you can't unite and persuade, as will inevitably happen sometimes?

Both the Democrat and American Independent parties held open primaries on Super Tuesday. Voters who declined to state an affiliation were handed a "nonpartisan" ballot and were allowed to select a presidential candidate in either of the open primaries. more ›

As of writing this, more ›

• Don't forget: LAist Super Tuesday Election Party tonight at Seven Grand! Details and RSVP here.
• Did you have any problems voting in Los Angeles today? The Los Angeles Times and LAist report on problems in the precincts, especially for non-partisan voters.
• Is it still a long strange trip if it's only just begun? The last remaining members of the Grateful Dead are reuniting tonight in San Francisco to show their support for Obama.
• The HuffPost says that Obama AND Clinton will be the big winners on Super Tuesday...of course, that depends on what "win" means.
• Polls are closing one by one over the next few hours: so far Huckabee has won West Virginia and Obama has Georgia.
• If prisoners can vote, so can you! Even California's inmates have been swept up in election fever this year.
• Want to know about where LAist, your absolutely favoritest ever LA city blog, will be headed in the next year? Check out this interview with the your favorite cute n' cuddly Editor, Zach Behrens, over at the San Fernando Valley Business Journal (paid subscribers only, sorry, email Zach and harass him if this upsets you as much as it upsets me).
• Tired of election news? Why not take a break with this classic Disney cartoon from the 1950's: Willie the Operatic Whale. Why not, you know?

It's just another day at the beach for this polling place in Marina Del Rey, where volunteers hand out fresh-baked goodies to the voters and are hosting a BBQ for the poll workers. more ›

The eyes of the nation are turning to the Ronald Reagan Library today, where debates for the Republican front-runners will begin. This is the last debate opportunity for the GOP before "Super Tuesday" next week (LAist is throwing an Election Party to celebrate). more ›

The TelePromTer-readers and out-of-touch-hate-mongers of the mainstream media thought that they were being super-cool by discussing/bitching about the presidential candidate debates that were posted on YouTube. So since that new, interesting, and youth-vote promoting aspect of the next election has been talked to death by the talking-heads, I have found these candidate related webpages to occupy me during my early in the ante meridian down-time: At SuperBook.com, you can go to their "Exotic Lines"... more ›

Yesterday on doorsteps of homes in Studio City came flyers telling people to vote in today's Studio City Neighborhood Council (SCNC) election. Yesterday in the e-mail boxes of many Valley residents was an e-mail telling them to vote tomorrow. If you know anything about Neighborhood Councils... Actually, let's rephrase that. If you don't know anything about Neighborhood Councils and these elections, there is a good reason to that: outreach is hard. So one would think... more ›

Because of the election that no one is talking about and no one is going to participate in, Mayor Tony has instructed his army of meter maids to take it easy on parking violations "within one block of all city polling places." The question is, do you trust em? Motorists trying to find a parking spot near their polling places will not have to deposit money in meters, while street cleaning, time limits and... more ›

If you vote, take a picture like xTx did, above, of your sticker. Then upload the picture on Flickr or Buzznet or somewhere, and put the link in the comments below. One lucky winner will get a cd six pack. Deadline tomorrow at noon. - Experience polling problems? Log them on this nationwide election blog - Voters Unite - Voting snags across the country - MSNBC - Delays in voting in Denver. Dems ask... more ›