Northeast
Battleground state under fire for scheduling voter registration site to go dark same day as Butler rally
Conservatives blasted Pennsylvania’s Department of State this month for scheduling a system maintenance update to its voter registration website the same day former President Trump returned to Butler, where he survived an assassination attempt in July.
The operation would have taken the site offline for several hours during the same time frame the Trump campaign expected to register voters. The department, however, moved the window of time for maintenance to later in the night amid an early outcry.
“The PA State Department voter registration website will be unavailable on Saturday, October 5th, the day that President Trump will be triumphantly returning to the site of the assassination attempt in Butler County, PA. W/ all eyes on PA, the site will be down. Coincidence?” GOP activist Scott Pressler posted to Instagram on Thursday.
Fox News Digital reviewed archived data from the Pennsylvania Voter Registration website and found that it issued a disclaimer to voters that the website would be unavailable on Oct. 5 beginning at 6 p.m.
“This website will undergo scheduled system maintenance and be unavailable Saturday, October 5 from 6 p.m. until 12 a.m. We thank you for your understanding.,” the Pennsylvania Voter Registration website stated on Oct. 1, an archived page reviewed by Fox News Digital shows.
TRUMP SUPPORTER ELON MUSK OFFERS MASSIVE HOURLY PAY TO THOSE WORKING TO INCREASE VOTER TURNOUT
Former President Trump is assisted by U.S. Secret Service personnel after gunfire rang out during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
Trump announced on Sept. 25 that he would make a historic return to Butler on Oct. 5, months after he was shot in the side of the head by a would-be assassin on July 13. The Pennsylvania Voter Registration website announced its scheduled maintenance sometime between Sept. 30 to Oct. 1, archived data for the site reviewed by Fox Digital shows.
Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump and Pressler sounded the alarm on the scheduled maintenance earlier this month, questioning the timing and slamming the move as election “interference.”
“Wow, they aren’t even trying to hide their blatant interference – appreciate you flagging, @scottpresler – @gop legal is on it and formally requesting the ‘system maintenance’ is moved to a different time,” Lara Trump posted to Facebook on Thursday, accompanied by a screenshot of an Instagram post from Pressler asking if the timing of the maintenance was just a “coincidence.”
TRUMP’S RETURN TO BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, SITE OF FIRST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, IS ‘GUTSY,’ SUPPORTERS SAY
Archived records of the website show that Pennsylvania officials updated the page on Oct. 3 – the same day Pressler and Lara Trump publicly posted about the timing of the maintenance – to reflect that the site would undergo maintenance at 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., instead of 6 p.m. until midnight.
Trump was scheduled to take the stage in Butler at 5 p.m. Saturday, meaning the site would have gone dark as he rallied his base and encouraged residents to register to vote.
Pressler joined Human Events’ Jack Posobiec about the matter last week, taking a victory lap that the time was changed to later in the night, following the rally, but added he’s still not “100 percent happy” with the timing of the schedule maintenance. Pressler noted that website updates are typically scheduled for the dead of night, when users are less likely to use the platform.
Former President Trump addresses the crowd at a rally on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he survived an assassination attempt on July 13. (Matthew McDermott for Fox News Digital)
“It was clear that the Pennsylvania Department of State was engaging in election interference, trying to stop all of this national attention from translating into new voter registrations,” Pressler said.
ARDENT TRUMP SUPPORTERS WEIGH IN ON SAFETY AT HISTORIC PENNSYLVANIA RALLY
Lara Trump also celebrated how the scheduled maintenance moved to later in the night, sharing on Facebook Thursday, “And just like that, we got PA to move it. Great example of what happens when citizens demand fairness.”
Eric and Lara Trump arrive on stage for former President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Matthew McDermott for Fox News Digital)
When asked for comment about the maintenance and recent backlash, the Pennsylvania Department of State told Fox News Digital that the maintenance was originally scheduled in September for the Oct. 5 date.
“The voter registration system maintenance on Oct. 5, 2024, was scheduled on Sept. 17, 2024. It was rescheduled to take place from 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5 until 4 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, to accommodate county election officials who are spending additional weekend time to ensure each of the 67 counties is ready for Nov. 5, 2024,” the Department of State said in comment.
The website is working as of Sunday morning, and no longer includes the disclaimer for a scheduled maintenance outage. Fox News Digital did not document the site shutting down for maintenance from Saturday evening into Sunday morning, though screenshots of the site posted to social media show the site’s reported error page for maintenance.
TRUMP ANNOUNCES OUTDOOR PENNSYLVANIA RALLY TO ‘FINISH OUR SPEECH’ AT SITE OF FIRST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
A review of the Department of State’s social media shows the website has previously shut down for scheduled maintenance at odd hours during the day, including on June 29 from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. the following day.
People wave signs at former President Trump’s rally in Butler on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Matthew McDermott for Fox News Digital)
The historic rally in Butler drew thousands as Trump made a return to the same grounds where he was nearly killed, as well as short remarks from tech billionaire Elon Musk who stressed the importance of registering to vote.
“I think it’s the most important election of our lifetime. This is no ordinary election. The other side wants to take away your freedom of speech. They want to take away your right to bear arms… They want to take away your right to vote effectively,” Musk told the crowd on Saturday.
Musk repeatedly encouraged the crowds to get everyone in their social circles and beyond to register and vote come Election Day.
A large crowd waits for the arrival of former President Trump in Butler on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Matthew McDermott for Fox News Digital)
“And honestly, you want to just be a pest. Just be a pest to everyone. You know, people on the street everywhere,” he said.
“Fight, fight, fight, vote, vote, vote,” Musk added, referring to how Trump shouted “fight, fight, fight” to the crowds after he was shot in the ear in July.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Read the full article from Here
The remote Washington County town of Topsfield voted Thursday to close its five-student school, opting to send a shrinking student population elsewhere.
Residents voted 42 to 18 to shutter the East Range II School after high costs began to drive students from out of town elsewhere, bringing the number of students down from 25 in 2023 to the small total it has today. Turnout was robust in a town with only about 175 residents and 130 registered voters.
School district officials projected that the school, which had once served pre-K through eighth grade but would have been left only with pre-K through early elementary school students, would teach no more than seven students at a time over the next five school years. They also expected it would cost nearly $500,000 per year to keep the school open.
“I had no idea how the vote was going to go,” Eastern Maine Area School System superintendent Amanda Belanger said Friday. “I’m glad that a decision has been made and that we can move forward.”
The school board will finalize the closure plan and weigh what to do about the staff at East Range, at a meeting on May 7. The school would have likely had only one full-time teacher working there next year. That teacher, Paula Johnson, said she wasn’t sure what she would do if the school closed. She has worked there for 11 years.
Students will now likely be bused from Topsfield to schools in Princeton or Baileyville, about 30 minutes south. East Range will close at the end of this school year. After that, the town will take over the property.
It’s not clear what will become of the building. At an April meeting to discuss the future of the school, some residents were already speculating about whether it could turn into a senior center or similar community facility.
The result of Thursday’s vote was not unexpected. Many residents at the April meeting said they could not afford the taxes required to keep the school open. They will still have to pay for maintenance of the building but that cost is expected to be much lower than the cost of maintaining the school.
Taxpayers will also have to continue to pay for students, but the cost of busing kids out of town is also expected to be much lower than maintaining the local school.
The NBC10 Boston Investigators have been uncovering so-called professional tenants for years now, and now we’re getting a behind-the-scenes look at the reporting process on perhaps the most shocking story yet.
Ryan Kath joins JC Monahan on this week’s Just Curious with JC to discuss a story that is drawing attention from thousands — the story of an elderly Boston resident trapped inside her own home with the “tenant from hell”.
An elderly homeowner reached out to the NBC10 Investigators about her ordeal with a tenant living on the first floor of her property in Dorchester. Despite not paying rent, it took more than a year and numerous housing court appearances to get an eviction.
Since airing in April, the story has struck a nerve with tens of thousands of people, highlighting the broad scope of the issue.
See the full interview to learn how the story came to be, and what the reception has been, in the player at the top of this story and on NBC10 Boston’s YouTube channel.
New Hampshire
Theatre Productions | End Of Life Options | Storytimes | Open Studio: The Londonderry NH Patch Weekender
LONDONDERRY, NH — Here is the latest roundup of events posted on Patch sites around New Hampshire.
Event listings are free on one Patch site. You can share your calendar listing on other community sites for a modest fee, starting at 25 cents per day. To get started, visit the Events link on the front page of all Patch sites. Statewide calendar roundups are published on most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Saturday
Opening Day! Concord Farmers’ Market (Capitol Street, Concord)
Find out what’s happening in Londonderryfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Craftworkers’ Guild Spring Shop Opens This Week! (Bedford)
The Power of Angels! (Treasures Antiques, Collectables & MORE!, Amherst)
Find out what’s happening in Londonderryfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
End of Life Options in the Live Free or Die State — a talk by Rebecca Brown (Wilmot Public Library)
Multi-Family Yard Sale (3 Chase St., Concord)
Storytime Stations at the Heights (Heights Branch Library, Concord)
Talking Dirty in Rollins Park (Concord)
Concord Writers Group (Concord Public Library)
May The 2nd Be With You (Concord Public Library)
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem (Saint Paul’s Church, Concord)
“To Kill a Mockingbird” (Concord City Auditorium)
Purple Sage Pottery Open Studio Sale (Merrimac, Massachusetts)
FREE Introduction to Digital Photography class (May 9: C1M Photography LLC, Amherst)
Great Bay Food Truck Festival (May 9: Stratham Hill Park)
It’s Alive Stuffy Puppets (May 15: Epping Elementary School)
Stuffed Animal Puppets- It’s Alive for Adults! (May 16: Epping Elementary School)
Bedford Garden Club Annual Plant Sale (May 16: Joppa Hill Educational Farm, Bedford)
GSBC’s FREE Annual Memorial Day Pig Roast (May 25: Granite State Baptist Church, Concord)
Graduation Parties — Open House (May 27: Lanam Club Inc, Andover, MA)
Introduction to AI — Free, in-person class (May 30: C1M Photography, LLC, Amherst)
Great Island Garden Club Plant Sale (May 30: New Castle Recreation Center, New Castle)
Diamonds in the Ruff Gala (May 31: Event Center, Nashua)
Do you have a news tip? Email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella’s YouTube or Rumble channels. Patch in New Hampshire is now in 217 communities — and expanding every day. Also, follow Patch on Google Discover.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
-
Hawaii2 minutes agoHawaii House and Senate approve budget agreement, sending bill to final votes
-
Idaho8 minutes agoShop geared towards neurodivergent community opens in Idaho Falls – East Idaho News
-
Illinois14 minutes agoIllinois in line for $148.8M opioid settlement payout from Purdue Pharma
-
Indiana20 minutes agoThreats of violence reported at 2 central Indiana schools, police investigating
-
Iowa26 minutes agoOne displaced after Iowa City house fire causes $50K in damage
-
Kansas32 minutes agoKansas Supreme Court affirms conviction in Wichita teen’s 2021 murder
-
Kentucky38 minutes agoKentucky Oaks 2026 betting guide: Picks for ‘Oaks Day’ at Churchill Downs
-
Louisiana44 minutes agoCivil rights groups react to court ruling on Louisiana congressional map