Latest news with #Assemblymember
News18
17-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
‘If A Guy Like This…': Vivek Ramaswamy's 'New York's Soul At Risk' Warning On Zohran Mamdani
Vivek Ramaswamy criticized Zohran Mamdani, warning his mayoral rise could erase New York's identity. American entrepreneur and Republican politician Vivek Ramaswamy sharply criticized Zohran Mamdani, warning that New York City's identity is under threat if the Queens Assemblymember ascends to the mayor's office. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Vivek Ramaswamy said that Zohran Mamdani's political rise would mark the 'death knell" for a city once defined by ambition and achievement. 'If a guy like this becomes mayor… the identity of New York City as we know it will be erased," Vivek Ramaswamy wrote, adding, 'The spirit is receding, and under someone like Mamdani, it could be gone entirely." Vivek Ramaswamy, who rose to prominence in the biotech industry before entering politics, said he moved to New York in 2007 because of its aspirational energy. Today, he says, that energy is being replaced by what he describes as a 'radical left" political agenda. 'We're reviving that American Dream in a new place: Ohio," he said, adding, 'The revival starts next November." Billboard In Times Square Urges New Yorkers To 'Flee' Vivek Ramaswamy's remarks coincide with a digital billboard campaign in Times Square urging residents to reject Zohran Mamdani's 'radical socialist" ideology and consider moving to Ohio instead. The billboard features slogans promoting Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign message of building a nation of 'Victors, not Victims." 'Focus On Ideology, Not Identity', Vivek Ramaswamy Says Vivek Ramaswamy emphasized that his concerns lie with policy, not personal identity, saying, 'The real problem with Mamdani isn't his race or religion. It's his anti-capitalist worldview." While Vivek Ramaswamy acknowledged the role of racial prejudice in public discourse, revealing that he too has been subjected to xenophobic attacks, he earlier said, 'Every time I post a photo, I'm asked to 'Go home'. It's a shame to watch the race-obsessed fringe of the right try to outdo the race-obsessed woke left." view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 18:21 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Al Arabiya
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
California republican lawmakers launch campaign to require voter id
Two California Republican state lawmakers launched a campaign Wednesday to place a measure on the 2026 ballot that would require voter identification and proof of citizenship at the polls. The proposal would require the state to verify proof of citizenship when a person registers to vote, and voters would have to provide identifications at the polls. Those who vote through mail-in ballots would have to give the last four digits of a government-issued ID such as a Social Security number. 'We do not want to make it harder to vote. In fact, our initiative makes it easier to vote because it streamlines the process to verify someone's identity,' Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, who's leading the effort, said at a Wednesday news conference. The Republican lawmakers said the measure would help restore trust in elections where they said people have complained about outdated voter rolls and an inadequate signature review process, with some also casting doubt on election results. While voting by noncitizens has occurred, research and reviews of state cases have shown it to be rare and typically a mistake rather than an intentional effort to sway an election. Voter fraud is also rare. California is among 14 states and the District of Columbia that do not require voters to show some form of identification at the polls or to register to voter. The California campaign came as congressional Republicans were working to advance their own legislation to overhaul the nation's voting procedures at the urging of President Donald Trump. Across the country, lawmakers in 17 states have introduced legislation this year to require proof of citizenship for voters, according to National Conference of State legislatures. Opponents argued that the requirements make it more difficult for people to vote, especially the elderly, those with disabilities, and those without drivers licenses. The NAACP and other civil rights groups have argued that it disproportionately harms Black and Latino voters. Democrats in the California Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, in April rejected a bill by DeMaio aiming to enact similar voting rule changes. The statewide proposal also came as the state continued to challenge a local measure passed by voters in the city of Huntington Beach to require voter identification at the polls. The state last year sued the city over the new rule, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law to prohibit local governments in California from establishing and enforcing laws that require residents provide identification to vote in elections. Sen. Tony Strickland, who helped pass the Huntington Beach measure as a city councilmember last year, said he expects a similar fight from state Democrats over the issue. 'The courts would be on our side because we carefully drafted this initiative. It's constitutional,' he said.
Associated Press
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
California Republican lawmakers launch campaign to require voter ID
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Two California Republican state lawmakers launched a campaign Wednesday to place a measure on the 2026 ballot that would require voter identification and proof of citizenship at the polls. The proposal would require the state to verify proof of citizenship when a person registers to vote, and voters would have to provide identifications at the polls. Those who vote through mail-in ballots would have to give the last four digits of a government-issued ID such as a Social Security number. 'We do not want to make it harder to vote. In fact, our initiative makes it easier to vote because it streamlines the process to verify someone's identity,' Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, who's leading the effort, said at a Wednesday news conference. The Republican lawmakers said the measure would help restore trust in elections where they said people have complained about outdated voter rolls and an inadequate signature review process, with some also casting doubt on election results. While voting by noncitizens has occurred, research and reviews of state cases have shown it to be rare and typically a mistake rather than an intentional effort to sway an election. Voter fraud is also rare. California is among 14 states and the District of Columbia that do not require voters to show some form of identification at the polls or to register to voter. The California campaign came as congressional Republicans were working to advance their own legislation to overhaul the nation's voting procedures at the urging of President Donald Trump. Across the country, lawmakers in 17 states have introduced legislation this year to require proof of citizenship for voters, according to National Conference of State legislatures. Opponents argued that the requirements make it more difficult for people to vote, especially the elderly, those with disabilities and those without driver's licenses. The NAACP and other civil rights groups have argued that it disproportionately harms Black and Latino voters. Democrats in the California Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, in April rejected a bill by DeMaio aiming to enact similar voting rule changes. The statewide proposal also came as the state continued to challenge a local measure passed by voters in the city of Huntington Beach to require voter identification at the polls. The state last year sued the city over the new rule, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law to prohibit local governments in California from establishing and enforcing laws that require residents provide identification to vote in elections. Sen. Tony Strickland, who helped pass the Huntington Beach measure as a city councilmember last year, said he expects a similar fight from state Democrats over the issue. 'The courts would be on our side because we carefully drafted this initiative. It's constitutional,' he said.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Reparations bill, amid headwinds, could skirt California's affirmative action ban
With diversity programs under full assault by the Trump administration, California lawmakers are considering a measure that would allow state colleges to consider whether applicants are descendants of African Americans who were enslaved in the United States. The bill, which would probably face a legal challenge if passed, is part of a package of 15 reparations bills supported by the California Legislative Black Caucus being considered in the current legislative session. Assembly Bill 7, introduced by Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan (D-Los Angeles), if passed, could potentially skirt around the state's ban on affirmative action. California voters in 1996 approved a state ballot measure, Proposition 209, that bars colleges from considering race, sex, ethnicity, color or national origin in admissions under Proposition 209. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2023 also ruled those programs were unconstitutional. Bryan, however, says his has nothing to do with race and doesn't use the terms "Black" or "African American" in its text. "Descendants of people who are enslaved could identify in a variety of racial ways, and then phenotypically even present in different ways than they racially identify," he said in an interview with The Times. "But if your ancestors were enslaved in this country, then there's a direct lineage-based tie to harms that were inflicted during enslavement and in the after lives thereafter." The bill, and others in the reparations package, had seen widespread support within the Legislature's Democratic supermajority and are representative of California's values, Bryan said. "I think California is quite clear where it positions itself in this moment, and that is in the support of all people, recognizing the harms of the past and trying to build a future that includes everybody. And if that appears in conflict with the federal government, I think that has more to do with the way the government is posturing than who we are as Californians," he said. Last year, when only 10 of 14 bills in the reparations package passed through the Legislature, reform advocates felt the efforts were lackluster. Lawmakers believed it was a foundation they could build upon, Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City) said in September. AB 7's focus on lineage, said Taifha Alexander, a professor at UCLA and expert in critical race theory, could face legal trouble if a judge believed it used lineage as a proxy for race. It could be ruled unconstitutionally discriminatory under the 14th Amendment. A separate reparations bill, however, could help offer a legal definition to separate race from lineage. Senate Bill 518 would create a state bureau for descendants of American slavery. The state agency would verify a person's status as a descendant and help applicants access benefits. Comprehensive reparation legislation isn't a novel idea and has been enacted before, Alexander said. In the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, the federal government formally apologized to Japanese Americans for their illegal incarceration in detention camps during World War II, and included a one-time payment of $20,000 to survivors. Reparations — in the form of cash payments — fell flat with voters when last polled by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times in 2023. More than 4 in 10 California voters "strongly" opposed cash payments and 59% opposed the idea, with 28% in support. None of the bills currently before the Legislature includes cash reparations. Other forms of reparations, such as a change to the college admissions process and social programs, are still valid ways to address inequities, Alexander said. But a bill like AB 7, which looks to circumvent existing law, could face headwinds from the public who could see it as unfair, she said. With the outcome of the 2023 Supreme Court case which banned college admissions processes from using race, she said the policy was unlikely to be popular. Opponents argue the bill's distinction between race and ancestry is not enough to survive judicial review, and believe a court will find lineage to be a proxy for race to circumvent the ban. "Suppose, instead, that a state passed a law making university admission more difficult for descendants of American slavery. Would anyone argue that such a law should be upheld? Of course not," Edward Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions and the lawyer who argued and won the case to ban affirmative action, said in a statement to The Times. "It would be struck down immediately as unconstitutional racial discrimination. That hypothetical reveals the core defect of AB 7 — it makes a race-linked classification under the guise of ancestry and will not withstand judicial review. If enacted, this legislation will face a swift and vigorous legal challenge in federal court and be struck down. It takes Herculean stupidity to believe otherwise," Blum wrote. Other bills still working through the legislative process include measures that would set aside home purchase assistance funds for descendants of American slavery that are buying their first homes and direct state agencies to address mortgage lending discrimination. The reparations legislation that has failed to advance includes a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have banned prisons from requiring inmates to work, which some consider state-sanctioned slavery or indentured servitude. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Reparations bill, amid headwinds, could skirt California's affirmative action ban
SACRAMENTO — With diversity programs under full assault by the Trump administration, California lawmakers are considering a measure that would allow state colleges to consider whether applicants are descendants of African Americans who were enslaved in the United States. The bill, which would probably face a legal challenge if passed, is part of a package of 15 reparations bills supported by the California Legislative Black Caucus being considered in the current legislative session. Assembly Bill 7, introduced by Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan (D-Los Angeles), if passed, could potentially skirt around the state's ban on affirmative action. California voters in 1996 approved a state ballot measure, Proposition 209, that bars colleges from considering race, sex, ethnicity, color or national origin in admissions under Proposition 209. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2023 also ruled those programs were unconstitutional. Bryan, however, says his has nothing to do with race and doesn't use the terms 'Black' or 'African American' in its text. 'Descendants of people who are enslaved could identify in a variety of racial ways, and then phenotypically even present in different ways than they racially identify,' he said in an interview with The Times. 'But if your ancestors were enslaved in this country, then there's a direct lineage-based tie to harms that were inflicted during enslavement and in the after lives thereafter.' The bill, and others in the reparations package, had seen widespread support within the Legislature's Democratic supermajority and are representative of California's values, Bryan said. 'I think California is quite clear where it positions itself in this moment, and that is in the support of all people, recognizing the harms of the past and trying to build a future that includes everybody. And if that appears in conflict with the federal government, I think that has more to do with the way the government is posturing than who we are as Californians,' he said. Last year, when only 10 of 14 bills in the reparations package passed through the Legislature, reform advocates felt the efforts were lackluster. Lawmakers believed it was a foundation they could build upon, Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City) said in September. AB 7's focus on lineage, said Taifha Alexander, a professor at UCLA and expert in critical race theory, could face legal trouble if a judge believed it used lineage as a proxy for race. It could be ruled unconstitutionally discriminatory under the 14th Amendment. A separate reparations bill, however, could help offer a legal definition to separate race from lineage. Senate Bill 518 would create a state bureau for descendants of American slavery. The state agency would verify a person's status as a descendant and help applicants access benefits. Comprehensive reparation legislation isn't a novel idea and has been enacted before, Alexander said. In the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, the federal government formally apologized to Japanese Americans for their illegal incarceration in detention camps during World War II, and included a one-time payment of $20,000 to survivors. Reparations — in the form of cash payments — fell flat with voters when last polled by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times in 2023. More than 4 in 10 California voters 'strongly' opposed cash payments and 59% opposed the idea, with 28% in support. None of the bills currently before the Legislature includes cash reparations. Other forms of reparations, such as a change to the college admissions process and social programs, are still valid ways to address inequities, Alexander said. But a bill like AB 7, which looks to circumvent existing law, could face headwinds from the public who could see it as unfair, she said. With the outcome of the 2023 Supreme Court case which banned college admissions processes from using race, she said the policy was unlikely to be popular. Opponents argue the bill's distinction between race and ancestry is not enough to survive judicial review, and believe a court will find lineage to be a proxy for race to circumvent the ban. 'Suppose, instead, that a state passed a law making university admission more difficult for descendants of American slavery. Would anyone argue that such a law should be upheld? Of course not,' Edward Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions and the lawyer who argued and won the case to ban affirmative action, said in a statement to The Times. 'It would be struck down immediately as unconstitutional racial discrimination. That hypothetical reveals the core defect of AB 7 — it makes a race-linked classification under the guise of ancestry and will not withstand judicial review. If enacted, this legislation will face a swift and vigorous legal challenge in federal court and be struck down. It takes Herculean stupidity to believe otherwise,' Blum wrote. Other bills still working through the legislative process include measures that would set aside home purchase assistance funds for descendants of American slavery that are buying their first homes and direct state agencies to address mortgage lending discrimination. The reparations legislation that has failed to advance includes a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have banned prisons from requiring inmates to work, which some consider state-sanctioned slavery or indentured servitude.
