Elections

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento -- In a historic first, a citizens commission set new boundaries for California's congressional and legislative districts, reshaping the political landscape into more competitive terrain that could transform the state's usual dynamic of rancor and gridlock. The new maps, which are intended to govern elections for most of the next decade, would force several entrenched partisan legislators — those who have been deep blue or deep red — to face more moderate political districts.

CAIRO - Seizing a moment in history they never imagined, the two old men walked arm in arm into a polling station on a day that was thoroughly and wonderfully Egyptian: Opinion polls were unreliable, intrigue was high, and there was a sense of destiny to rekindle the grandeur of the nation's ancient past. But it was also unlike any other day in this troubled land that has veered from euphoria to disgust to resilience: The name Hosni Mubarak wasn't on the ballot, and the two men didn't already know the outcome when they walked into the polling booth in an election that was as thrilling as it was unpredictable.

Caroline Kennedy, who is seeking to fill Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate seat, has not voted in several elections, including at least one race for the job she's seeking. According to New York City records, she missed several Democratic primaries and two general elections, including in 1994 when Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan was running for reelection for the seat she hopes to take over if Clinton is confirmed as secretary of State in the Obama administration.

A federal appeals court in Washington has upheld a key part of the Voting Rights Act, one that requires states and localities with a history of discrimination against minorities to "pre-clear" changes in their election procedures with the Department of Justice or a federal court. The reasoning behind the 2-1 ruling is persuasive; Chief JusticeJohn G. Roberts Jr.and other members of the Supreme Court should exercise judicial restraint by refusing to reconsider it. In an earlier, 2009 decision, the chief justice recognized that Congress has the power to enforce the 15th Amendment's guarantee of a right to vote.

Officials began counting ballots in presidential and parliamentary elections in Ghana. In courtyards throughout the capital, election officials put tape around plywood tables and began sorting ballots. Onlookers whooped as the stack for their choice grew taller.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper plans to dissolve Parliament on Sunday and call early elections in hope of strengthening his minority government's position. Harper's Conservatives need to win an additional 28 seats to gain a majority, and though he has played down that possibility, recent polls indicate that the right-of-center party has a chance to do so. Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for the prime minister, made the announcement, saying that voting would be held Oct. 14. It will be Canada's third national ballot in four years.

Voters in four Southern California counties on Tuesday decided a number of candidate races and a range of tax measures for some cities and school districts. In Northern California, residents chose a replacement for former Bay Area Democratic Rep. Ellen Tauscher, who left the 10th Congressional District to join the Obama administration. For highlights, go to www.latimes.com. Complete local results can be found on each county's elections website: Los Angeles County -- www.lavote.

Safeway Inc.'s board of directors is recommending that shareholders vote against proposals that seek to separate the posts of chairman and chief executive held by Steven Burd, a government filing said Tuesday. The board of Pleasanton, Calif.

Stu Rasmussen promised a new administration if he was elected, and he's as good as his word: Silverton residents not only are getting a new mayor; they're also getting a new Stu. Rasmussen, longtime manager of the local cinema, was also elected mayor in 1988 and 1990, and served four years -- but that was when he was wearing slacks and sport shirts to council meetings.

On a recent evening, a dark sedan glided to the curb at a two-story Craftsman off Crenshaw Boulevard near the Santa Monica Freeway. It carried Gov. Jerry Brown and his top aide, fresh off a day of squiring the vice president of China around Los Angeles. The visit to the home of Joshua Pechthalt, a former social studies instructor who leads a little-known teachers union, was part of a quiet campaign to neutralize an unexpected threat to Brown's agenda: outside activists who are as eager as the governor to raise taxes.

Re "A party no one attended," Opinion, May 17 I disagree with Doyle McManus that Americans Elect failed for lack of a charismatic leader. The"tea party"didn't have a charismatic leader; its success in 2010 was based on a powerful message to its targeted audience and a grass-root movement. Americans Elect lacks both. I have advocated a third centrist party in Congress representing moderate Americans, folks with principles but realistic enough to know that governing is possible only through compromise.

CAIRO - The race for Egypt's president is tightening as a surge by a former prime minister has raised fresh conspiracy theories that remnants of deposed leader Hosni Mubarak's regime are angling for power. The first round of voting begins Wednesday, but many Egyptians are still undecided in what is largely a contest between Islamists and two men connected to the old regime. The drama has been intensified by a last-minute swell in popularity for Ahmed Shafik, a retired air force general appointed prime minister in the weeks before Mubarak's government fell last year.

Re "Alternative presidential bid falters," May 16 It always seemed quixotic to launch a grass-roots movement from the top. In the unlikely scenario that a candidate was elected president, what sort of clout would she or he have in a Congress that lacked even a single supporter? By contrast, consider the "tea party. " Whether or not you agree with its agenda, it is undeniable that the dozens of representatives it helped elect have made their presence felt. Americans Elect should endorse candidates already running for Congress - whether Democratic or Republican - who meet its criteria, and put up candidates of its own in districts where none do. H.A. Drake Santa Barbara ALSO: Letters: Eugenics in America's past Letters: The media and Mitt Romney Letters: California courts feel the cuts

Supporters of a proposed ballot measure seeking tighter regulation of health insurance rates in California turned in 800,000 petition signatures, confident that they will qualify for the Nov. 6 election. In the coming weeks, county election offices and the California secretary of state will determine whether the measure meets the requirement for 504,760 valid signatures of registered voters. The deadline to qualify is June 28. The initiative is expected to spark an expensive campaign battle over rising health insurance rates, which have angered thousands of California consumers in recent years.

SACRAMENTO - For years, running for office as a Republican in California boiled down to one core pledge, bound by a candidate's signature and enforced with a vengeance: no new taxes. Not anymore. The state's new political landscape, scrambled by freshly drawn voting districts and new election rules, has given rise to a handful of GOP hopefuls proudly bucking the anti-tax orthodoxy. Their candidacies have the potential to end years of partisan gridlock here. It would have been unimaginable in the last election, just two years ago: At least five viable Republican contenders for the Assembly are refusing to sign the no-tax pledge that helped ensure protracted budget negotiations and gimmick-laden spending plans as California limped from one fiscal crisis to another.

WASHINGTON -- The presidential candidates have just placed their opening bets, and three states stand out as keys to the 2012 election: Ohio, Virginia and, perhaps surprisingly, Iowa. Romney's first TV ad of the general election campaign, which debuts Friday, will air in four states, including Ohio, Virginia and Iowa. (Notably, it repeats his pledge to “end Obamacare,” the law based on his Massachusetts model).  The Romney campaign wouldn't confirm the scope of the buy but didn't wave off an attempt to confirm James Hohmann's report in Politico, which listed that trio of states, plus North Carolina.  President Obama included Ohio, Virginia and Iowa in his most recent buy as well.

We bought their elections: Nicaragua, Panama, et al. Now they are buying our elections: Indonesia, Britain, et al. Ah, the efficiency of globalization. JON OROS Los Angeles

What happens if you start a political party and nobody comes? Six months ago, a newfangled third party burst onto the scene, full of hope and promise. It was called Americans Elect, and it sought to give voters a choice many said they were looking for: "centrist" candidates who could break the partisan gridlock paralyzing Washington. In its founders' heads danced visions of middle-of-the-road candidates who could transform American politics: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Colin Powell, Michael Bloomberg, Jon Huntsman Jr. Wealthy donors invested millions in a fancy website for an Internet primary, signed up 420,000 would-be "delegates" and got on the ballot in 29 states.

WASHINGTON -- A group behind a costly endeavor to field an independent presidential ticket this fall acknowledged Thursday that its efforts to nominate a candidate had failed. Americans Elect succeeded in getting on the ballot in 29 states, but none of its prospective candidates received the minimum support needed to participate in a Web-based series of primaries that were to be held this month. After its board met Wednesday to discuss its options, the group released a statement Thursday indicating that it would not change its rules, effectively disqualifying all the candidates from participating in an online nominating convention that was scheduled next month.