Rep. Zooey Zephyr, transgender legislator censured in Montana, wins reelection

November 6, 2024

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(WASHINGTON) — Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr — the first openly trans lawmaker in the state — has won her bid for reelection to the Montana House of Representatives after she was censured and barred from the House floor for almost two years. Her win allows Zephyr to take to the House floor for debate once more.

Zephyr’s censure stemmed from her pleas on the House floor against a gender-affirming care ban for transgender youth.

“If you are denying gender-affirming care and forcing a trans child to go through puberty, that is tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed,” Zephyr said in the April 18, 2023 debate. “If you vote yes on this bill, I hope the next time you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands.”

She later elaborated on the comments in an April 2023 interview with ABC News, arguing that gender-affirming support and care improves the mental health of trans children, who face higher rates of discrimination and bullying.

“I have lost friends to suicide this year,” Zephyr said. “I’ve had families call me when there have been … suicide attempts by trans youth, including one trans teenager who attempted to take her life watching one of these hearings on legislation targeting the transgender community.”

Republican lawmakers responded to her comments on the House floor by refusing to allow her to speak or comment on the House floor, she said. Some legislators, including House Speaker Matt Regier, argued she had broken House rules of decorum.

Demonstrators in support of Zephyr interrupted House business several days later to protest her silencing, and she showed her support by holding up her mic.

“Let her speak,” protesters chanted.

House Republicans voted to censure her in response, representing just over the two-thirds needed to bar her from the House floor.

“All representatives are free to participate in House debate while following the House rules. The choice to not follow House rules is one that Representative Zephyr has made,” said Regier in a statement to reporters following the censure. “The only person silencing Representative Zephyr is Representative Zephyr.”

Several of her colleagues argued that Zephyr was inciting “violence” and showing “flagrant disregard for the safety and well-being” of those at the House, according to one statement from the Montana Freedom Caucus.

Zephyr argued the real violence is the negative impact gender-affirming care bans may have on transgender youth.

The day after her censure, Zephyr could be found seated in the public area of the state capitol building, voting and participating with her laptop as close to the House floor as she was allowed.

“The people sent me here to do the work, and much of that work is on the House floor,” she told ABC News at the time. “I need to be as close as possible, so I can have the conversations with legislators and make sure that I can, at least in some way, make sure the voice of my constituents can be discussed.”

Zephyr filed a lawsuit against the state, Regier and Sergeant at Arms for the Montana House of Representatives Bradley Murfitt in an attempt to reinstate her legislative privileges and duties. The lawsuit was dismissed.

“The recent actions violate my 1st amendment rights, as well as the rights of my 11,000 constituents to representation,” Zephyr said in a tweet Monday. “Montana’s State House is the people’s House, not Speaker Regier’s, and I’m determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard.”

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office, which represented the state against the lawsuit, denounced the effort as “political activism masquerading as a lawsuit.”

“The ACLU is trying to use the courts to interfere with the legislature as it carries out its constitutional duties on behalf of Montanans,” said Emily Flower, Knudsen’s press secretary. “Any relief granted by the court would be a gross violation of the separation of powers.”

Judge denies Meadows’ request to move Arizona ‘fake elector’ case to federal court

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(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Monday denied former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ request to have the Arizona “fake elector” case against him moved to federal court from Arizona state court.

Meadows, along with 17 others, was charged in Arizona with forgery and conspiracy over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state. He has pleaded not guilty.

In August, Meadows’ attorneys argued the case should be moved to federal court because the indictment “squarely relates to Mr. Meadows’s conduct as Chief of Staff to the President.” The argument is similar to the one Meadows has made for months in his Fulton County, Georgia, case, citing a law that calls for the removal of criminal proceedings when someone is charged for actions they allegedly took as a federal official.

U.S. District Court Judge John J. Tuchi said the state charges — nine felony counts for his role in the effort to overturn former President Donald Trump’s Arizona election loss — is “unrelated” to Meadows’ official duties.

“Although the Court credits Mr. Meadows’s theory that the Chief of Staff is responsible for acting as the President’s gatekeeper, that conclusion does not create a causal nexus between Mr. Meadows’s official authority and the charged conduct,” Tuchi said.

“The Court finds that Mr. Meadows fails to present good cause for his untimely filing of his Notice of Removal, and that in any event, an evaluation on the merits yields that he fails to demonstrate that the conduct charged in the state’s prosecution relates to his former color of office as Chief of Staff to the President,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement in response to the ruling. “The Court therefore will remand this matter to the state court.”

Earlier this summer, charges were dropped against former Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis in exchange for cooperation in the case.

Election Day: Residents in 3 swing states gearing up for historic election

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(WASHINGTON) — While tens of millions of early votes have already been cast, there are still millions of Americans who will be heading to the polls on Election Day. Experts predict the 2024 election will be one of the closest in history, with several key states still in contention that could determine the next president.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have been actively campaigning over the past few months in several swing states. This year, seven swing states are in intense competition: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

To win the White House, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes, different combinations from the collective total of 93 electoral votes from these swing states will ultimately determine the winner.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, with polling hours varying by state law. Here’s an update on three of the seven swing states in the final hours leading up to the election.

In Pennsylvania, young voters ready to make an impact

Pennsylvania, with 19 electoral college votes, is considered the key to the election and many believe the winner of Pennsylvania will become the next president.

In this battleground state, ABC News spoke with young voters who believe their vote could significantly impact this election. These voters have observed Harris and Trump competing often in their state.

Both candidates held many stops and rallies on Monday.

Two first-time voters, 18-year-old Isaac Gourley and Caleb Root, will be at one of Pennsylvania’s thousands of polling places. They attend Redbank Valley High School in Western Pennsylvania.

They have been listening to both presidential candidates and will decide their vote based on their priorities.

“What stuck out to me was just their — kind of like international — policy,” Gourley said. “You know, how we talk to other people.”

According to a Tufts University study, about 50% of registered voters 18-29-year-olds voted in the 2020 election — an all-time high. In Pennsylvania, they turned out at a rate even higher than the national average: 54%.

“I pay attention a lot to the economy,” Root said.

The rules for counting ballots in Pennsylvania indicate that it may take days to determine the winner. Mailed-in votes cannot be counted until polls open at 7 a.m. on Election Day.

Helene won’t stop voters in North Carolina

Despite initial concerns, voter turnout rates in the 25 North Carolina counties hardest hit by Hurricane Helene surpassed statewide early voting averages leading up to Election Day, with more than 760,000 total ballots cast.

North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes are especially crucial in the razor-thin contest between Harris and Trump. According to the latest NYT/Siena College polling, Harris has a narrow lead over Trump in a race that remains too close to call.

In this historic election that hinges on voter turnout, both campaigns are targeting women, the country’s largest voting bloc.

An ABC News/Ipsos poll shows a clear gender gap between voters. Trump is up 5 points with male voters, while Harris is up by 11 points with women.

During early voting, young women on the North Carolina State University campus marched to the polls with a pro-choice message, inviting men to join them.

“I’m really scared that I feel like I don’t know the rights I have as a woman,” Lizzie Pascal, a student there, said.

Harris leads suburban women voters nationally by 15 points overall; however, Trump has a four-point advantage among white women, according to the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll. That demographic is widely believed to have contributed to his victory in 2016.

Sandy Joiner, president of the Western Wake County Republican Club, has worked to canvass with Republican women competing for state and local seats.

“We have knocked on around 12,000 doors in our area,” Joiner said. “And we have, we have knocked all the doors, so we don’t have any doors left. So what we’re doing now is we’re knocking doors in areas that may not have been reached.”

The same goals drive these women, whether they are encouraging voters to turn out in storm zones, suburbs or on college campuses. Women are likely to hold the key to determining who ascends to the White House when all the votes are counted on and after election night.

How Michigan is a must-win for both Trump and Harris

Experts say Michigan is a must-win for both sides, which is why both candidates campaigned extensively across the Great Lakes.

Once part of the Democrats’ so-called “blue wall,” polling shows that Michigan — and its 15 electoral votes — is a tossup.

While early votes show an increase in women and young voters in college towns, one of the groups that was once solidly Democratic is no longer true blue: union members.

ABC News spoke with Douglas King, an autoworker and UAW member for nearly 30 years. He says the economy, like for so many other Americans, is his top issue.

“I was raised to believe that the Democrats are the party of the working people,” King said. “And maybe at one time they were. I don’t feel that way now.”

Many union leadership endorsed Harris.

In this tightly contested race, the more than 500,000 union workers are crucial for Harris; however, some of them appear to be moving away from voting for the Democratic Party. King, who voted for Barack Obama twice, has decided to support Trump for president for the third time.

“People are afraid to say they’re voting for Trump because Trump supporters are put in a box, that they’re these hateful, racist people that are homophobic, and it’s just not true,” King said. “Trump has a lot of support on the plant floor.”

There are cracks in the old coalition that has consistently voted for Democrats for the past 30 years. However, Trump broke through the blue wall in 2016 by narrowly defeating Hillary Clinton by roughly 10,000 votes in Michigan.

Walz says Harris’ message ‘absolutely clear’ after Biden’s ‘garbage’ remarks

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(NEW YORK) — Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told “Good Morning America” Wednesday that presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver what “Americans are hungry for — a unifying president, one that wants to find solutions.”

Walz also sought on Wednesday to downplay comments made by President Joe Biden, who a day earlier had seemingly referred to supporters of the Republican ticket as “garbage” in response to former President Donald Trump‘s controversial Madison Square Garden rally.

When asked about Biden’s comments on Wednesday, Walz said, “The president’s clarified his remarks.”

“Let’s be very clear,” Walz added. “The vice president and I have made it absolutely clear that we want everyone part of this.”

Speaking during a Voto Latino campaign call, Biden had referenced a joke by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at Trump’s Sunday event at MSG.

“Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage,'” Biden said, according to a video clip on CNN.

“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” the president had added. Biden later said the comment was only referring to the comedian in question, not Trump’s supporters more broadly.

But Republicans seized upon the comments to energize supporters. Trump’s running mate JD Vance, for example, described Biden’s remarks as “disgusting,” adding, “Kamala Harris and her boss Joe Biden are attacking half of the country. There’s no excuse for this. I hope Americans reject it.”

With less than a week of campaigning left, Walz said Harris’ Tuesday night address at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. featured “the rhetoric that a president of the United States gives.”

The Democratic ticket, he added, is “one that understands we’re all in this together, one that welcomes robust debate about the issues.”

Walz said “dissenting voices” would “have a seat at the table because that’s how we find real solutions.”

The Minnesota governor contrasted Harris’ remarks to former President Donald Trump’s “divisive rhetoric,” which he said “needs to end.”

Harris’ closing argument at the Ellipse swiped at Trump while calling for unity.

“Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy,” Harris said. “He wants to put them in jail; I’ll give them a seat at the table,” she added, in reference to her campaign platform to include a Republican in her cabinet if elected.

“I pledge to you to approach my work with the joy and optimism that comes from making a difference in peoples’ lives,” Harris said.

“And I pledge to be a president for all Americans — and to always put country above party and self,” Harris added.

Walz told “Good Morning America” the campaign is confident.

“We’re winning this thing,” he said. “There’s energy out there. I have done this long enough to know these things are won at the end. We’re not taking anything for granted.”

“We know it’s going to be close,” Walz added. “We’ve got the better ground game. We’ve got the momentum on our side.”

“There will be a clear result,” Walz replied when asked about his concerns for the final week of the campaign.

“My biggest concern is Donald Trump has brought pessimism to folks. People believe their votes don’t matter. Your vote does matter. Get out there. Participate in this democracy.”

“I think you’re going to see Donald Trump continue to spiral downward in this really difficult and hateful rhetoric,” he added.

“We saw our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico have to endure this. We’ve seen it in Ohio with folks. That’s what’s going to end.”

Trump meanwhile, defended the MSG event as a “love fest” and said it was an “honor to be involved.”