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New York's universal mail-in voting law challenged in court

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New York's universal mail-in voting law challenged in court

The state of New York’s universal mail-in voting law is being challenged by a legal watchdog group that claims the alteration to election protocol is unconstitutional.

A court brief has been filed in the New York Court of Appeals seeking to overturn the law, passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, which allows every registered voter in the state to vote via mail-in ballot.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation is leading the effort on behalf of multiple Republican leaders — including GOP Reps. Elise Stefanik and Claudia Tenney.

MAIL-IN BALLOTS MUST HAVE DATES ON ENVELOPES, PENNSYLVANIA APPEALS COURT RULES

Officials sort mail-in-ballots at the San Francisco City Hall polling location in San Francisco. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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New York residents overwhelmingly voted against universal mail-in ballots through a 2021 referendum seeking a constitutional amendment. 

Democratic lawmakers bypassed the failure of this referendum by simply voting the mail-in ballot expansion through the state legislature. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed it into law late last year.

Public Interest Legal Foundation President J. Christian Adams accused the New York Legislature of having “unconstitutionally passed a law to allow every registered voter to cast a ballot in the mail” with this law.

NEW YORK REPUBLICANS SUE TO BLOCK DEMOCRAT GOV. KATHY HOCHUL’S NEW LAW EXPANDING EARLY MAIL-IN VOTING

This photo illustration shows an absentee mail-in ballot for the 2020 general election sent by the Board of Election in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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“The plain text of the New York Constitution prohibits the expansion of mail voting,” Adams added. “If New York lawmakers want to expand mail voting, they need to pass a constitutional amendment.”

Democrats claim that the expanded avenue for absentee voting makes the democratic process easier for voters. Their critics contend this change in protocol makes voter fraud much easier.

This is not the Public Interest Legal Foundation’s first time in court fighting the expansion of absentee ballot eligibility. 

 

Chester County election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots for the 2020 general election in the United States at West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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The foundation previously led the 2022 legal challenge against a similar law in Delaware. 

The campaign saw initial success when a state superior court sided against the proposed permanent absentee voting expansion.

However, the New York Supreme Court shot down that decision last month in a 5-0 ruling, finding that the Public Interest Legal Foundation did not have standing to sue.

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Maine

Mild temperatures and clouds on tap for Maine on Wednesday ahead of major cool down

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Mild temperatures and clouds on tap for Maine on Wednesday ahead of major cool down


PORTLAND (WGME) — Mild temperatures and lots of clouds will rule the sky on Wednesday before some light rain and snow showers overnight.

Enjoy the mild temperatures while they last as it is turning cold by week’s end.

Lots of clouds will rule the sky for the next few days in Maine. High temps will also sit in the low-to-mid 40s for the day.

Wednesday evening.{ }(WGME)

Wednesday evening.{ }(WGME)

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The next chance for some precipitation will move in Wednesday evening through the nighttime hours as mostly rain with some mountain snow.

Look for some fog and areas of drizzle overnight too.

Thursday morning.{ }(WGME)

Thursday morning.{ }(WGME)

Rain will head out early Thursday morning followed by lots of cold, Canadian air.

Highs will still run in the low 40s ahead of a cold front shifting through early Thursday evening.

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Friday morning.{ }(WGME)

Once that front exits, expect to not leave the mid 20s on Friday.

Wind chills will be in the negatives and single digits to start Friday morning.

Weekend forecast.{ }(WGME)

Weekend forecast.{ }(WGME)

The weekend looks calmer, with a round of snow and rain likely Saturday night through Sunday morning.

Temperatures will be back in the 30s after a cold end to the work and school week.

Incoming cold air.{ }(WGME)

Incoming cold air.{ }(WGME)

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Lots of cold air is set to enter the United States next week in waves.

Temperature outlook.{ }(WGME)

Temperature outlook.{ }(WGME)

The next 8 to 14 days showcase below-normal temperatures around New England.

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Do you have any weather questions? Email our Weather Authority team at weather@wgme.com. We’d love to hear from you!



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Massachusetts

At Massachusetts stores, the demise of the penny is adding up to one big headache – The Boston Globe

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At Massachusetts stores, the demise of the penny is adding up to one big headache – The Boston Globe


With little government guidance on how to lawfully undertake the transition, and loath to give up even a few cents by rounding transactions down to the nearest nickel, Maloney is instead trying to kick the coin jar down the road.

“We’re sort of hoarding,” said Maloney, who has run Julio’s since 2000, “so that we don’t have to deal with this problem.”

It’s a problem playing out in cash registers across Massachusetts and the country as the realities of a penniless future begin to present themselves.

Julio’s Liquors in Westborough is offering to convert customers’ pennies into paper cash.Lane Turner/Globe Staff

When Canada phased out its one-cent coin a little more than a decade ago, it offered retailers and consumers a clear path forward, suggesting that cash transactions be rounded up or down to the nearest nickel — $1.61 and $1.62 become $1.60, while $1.63 and $1.64 become $1.65 — with sales tax applied before rounding. In Massachusetts, retailers say they have been given little such direction from the federal or state government, bringing about a patchwork of solutions as stores try to navigate the changing tides of change on their own.

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“I didn’t really think it was going to cause much of an issue, but then it started causing an issue,” said Sara-Ann Turner, a cashier at Warren Hardware in the South End. The shop has begun rounding transactions to the nearest five-cent increment when customers don’t have exact change, which has left some shoppers feeling nickel-and-dimed when the sum comes down in the store’s favor.

The penny remains legal tender, with billions of the coin still in circulation — many likely sitting in jacket pockets, under couch cushions, and between sidewalk cracks. But the lack of fresh ones shipping out of the US Mint means that cash transactions will soon have to sidestep the one-cent coin. And even in an increasingly cashless economy, that’s no simple endeavor.

In a recent survey conducted by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, 65 percent of members said they planned to take Canada’s recommended approach and round cash transactions up or down to the nearest nickel. The other 35 percent said they would always round down in the customer’s favor, a policy Dunkin’ has recommended for its franchisees. (The survey did not give respondents the option to say they would always round up.)

As pennies grow fewer, Dunkin’ has advised its franchisees to round up its change to the nearest five-cent increment in cash transactions where the customer doesn’t have exact change.Dunkin’

But any rounding policy stores choose risks running afoul of a tangle of bureaucratic regulations, said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. Consider, for instance, a Massachusetts law that prohibits surcharges on customers who use credit cards over cash, or the federal statute that mandates food stamp customers be charged the same as those using cash.

“The sellers just need some guidance, number one, and number two, some protection,” Hurst said.

In a letter in early December, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and California Representative Maxine Waters sought answers from the heads of the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and the US Mint, writing that the absence of guidance could “risk worsening inconsistencies in customer transactions, uncertainty in pricing approaches, legal compliance, tax calculations, and more.”

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Late last month, the Treasury Department published a frequently-asked-questions webpage that pointed to the technique of rounding to the nearest nickel but ultimately passed the buck to states, which it said “will approach this issue differently based on unique considerations.”

Both chambers of Congress have introduced bipartisan federal legislation, called the Common Cents Act, that would codify for US businesses the same rounding practices as Canada recommended, but progress for the bills appears to have stalled.

A die for a penny press, at the US Mint in Philadelphia.Matt Slocum/Associated Press

And while states including Georgia and Utah have come out with basic guidelines for retailers — leaving rounding decisions up to individual merchants but clarifying that sales tax should be applied before rounding — Massachusetts has yet to do the same.

In a statement, a Massachusetts Department of Revenue spokesperson said the office is “considering what if any guidance is needed.”

The Massachusetts attorney general’s office said any legal changes to retailers’ practices would have to come from lawmakers.

“It’s more involved than any of us thought it would be on the first glance,” said state Representative Tackey Chan, who is looking into the penny issue.

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Merchants may soon get some temporary relief, thanks to the Federal Reserve, which distributes coins to banks. This week, all seven of the Federal Reserve bank distribution sites in the Boston district will once again accept deposits of pennies from banks, a move the Fed said it made “to better support the circulation of pennies for commercial activity.” This may eventually allow banks to order the coins again, which could then allow supply to trickle down to retailers.

Amid all the unknowns, Julio’s isn’t the only one trying to put off the inevitable. In November, the supermarkets Price Chopper and Market 32 held a promotion in which customers could bring in pennies and receive double their value in a gift card to the grocers. The event amassed roughly 20 million pennies, or $200,000, according to director of customer service Michele McKeever — about $11,900 of which came from the chains’ 14 Massachusetts stores.

In November, Price Chopper and Market 32 held a promotion offering customers a deal on their pennies.Ian Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist for The Boston Globe

“We were hoping that we could buy some time and get legislation passed to give us clear direction,” McKeever said.

For stores that have already begun their own rounding policies, there can be growing pains as they explain the new system to clientele. Turner, the Warren Hardware cashier, said she dealt with one customer who grew particularly upset at being shortchanged.

“‘I work hard for these two pennies,’” Turner recalled the customer saying.

Andrea Pendergast, co-owner of the Cape Cod Package Store Fine Wine & Spirits in Centerville, is also worried about inadvertently driving away business.

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“We end all of our pricing with nine,” she said, a common consumer psychology trick known as charm pricing. Rounding up to the next dollar, she knows, would “look, psychologically, from a customer standpoint, like maybe the prices are going up.”

While some retailers are concerned about the effects of rounding policies on their profits, research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond last year estimated that rounding to the nearest nickel would end up costing shoppers, not retailers, about $6 million annually. This was because, the researchers found, prices tended to end on digits that would round up.

Nevertheless, Maloney, the Julio’s Liquors owner, worries about the potential hit to his bottom line once his penny-pinching days run out. Choosing to always round down could cost him the equivalent of a part-time employee’s pay.

“I know everybody’s going to say, ‘It’s just pennies,’” he said. “I go, ‘Yes, but pennies add up.’”

Rolls of pennies stacked inside the store safe at Julio’s Liquors in Westborough earlier this month.Lane Turner/Globe Staff

Dana Gerber can be reached at dana.gerber@globe.com. Follow her @danagerber6.





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New Hampshire

27 Places People Want at Seacoast Landing After the Mall at Fox Run Closes

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27 Places People Want at Seacoast Landing After the Mall at Fox Run Closes


The Mall at Fox Run’s time is coming to a close on January 31, 2026. That’s just a fact, no matter how unfortunate it may be.

This staple Newington, New Hampshire, spot has served up decades of memories for many, including family trips, hanging out with friends, and simply enjoying the latest shopping finds.

But while change can be sad and hard, the area is getting a reset with what will become Seacoast Landing, which, according to Seacoast Online, will be a “revamped commercial hub that would include a big box store, small businesses and restaurants.”

Mall at Fox Run to Make Way for Seacoast Landing in Newington, New Hampshire

The Mall at Fox Run is not just closing, but the whole area will be demolished. It really is the end of an era.

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But where there once was an enclosed building with multiple stores, Atlantic Retail highlights that Seacoast Landing will be an “81 acre premier regional retail destination.” Meaning it will be multiple buildings to access, rather than just walking through to each one inside.

Red Post Realty even noted what’s proposed for the site, including multiple large anchor buildings, retail and office space, a medical building, pad sites, a new internal road network, and an outdoor pedestrian boulevard connecting Chick-fil-A to Texas.

Seacoast Online said that this massive project will reportedly cost north of $500 million.

What Stores and Restaurants Are at Seacoast Landing in Newington, New Hampshire?

The official announcements as to what places are coming to Seacoast Landing have not been made, but that will be coming soon. So keep an ear out.

Red Post Realty posted a Facebook video sharing a quick update on the project while also asking people what places they want to see come to Seacoast Landing.

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The Facebook video garnered hundreds of comments, and we’ve compiled a list of some of the top ones.

Just note that none of these suggestions are confirmed for Seacoast Landing. Red Post Realty even noted that there are NDAs in place, so anything you hear about is likely a rumor until official confirmation.

Let’s take a look and dream of what the next phase of Newington could maybe include!

27 Places People Want at Seacoast Landing as the Mall at Fox Run Closes in NH

Here are suggestions of what locals would like to see at Seacoast Landing after the Mall at Fox Run is demolished. These are not at all confirmed, but rather they are ideas of what people are hoping for.

Gallery Credit: Sean McKenna

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READ MORE: 17 Nostalgic Memories of Fox Run Mall in New Hampshire That’ll Take You Back

Some of the favorites based on the comments were definitely places like The Cheesecake Factory, Costco, and IKEA.

Interestingly, some of the suggestions already have other locations in New Hampshire, but there were places mentioned that can’t be found anywhere in the Granite State.

Some of those spots include The Cheesecake Factory, The Disney Store, and The Rainforest Cafe.

What spots will actually wind up at the new Seacoast Landing remains to be seen, but it’s certainly fun to wish your favorite places make the cut. Oh, to dream.

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Remember When the Fox Run Mall in NH Had These 22 Stores?

Gallery Credit: Megan Murphy





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