Around New England

Connecticut Catholic Bishops Call for Parental Notification for Abortions

Matthew McDonald

Connecticut is one of a small number of states in the country that don't require parents of minor girls seeking abortions to be notified, and the Catholic bishops in the state want to change that.

The Connecticut Catholic Conference, the political lobbying arm of the state's three bishops, released its annual "State of Abortion" report highlighting what the bishops see as inconsistencies in state law.

Around New England

Maine’s Republican Congressman Sues To Stop Ranked-Choice Vote Counting

Matthew McDonald

U.S. Representative Bruce Poliquin, New England's lone Republican member of Congress, is asking a federal court to stop the Maine Secretary of State from continuing a count of second and third choices of the third-place and fourth-place finishers in the race, saying ranked-choice voting violates the federal constitution.

Poliquin, a Republican, won a plurality of votes on election day last week, but fell short of a majority. Under Maine's ranked-choice system of voting approved in 2016, that means he'll probably lose the election, which according to state law is supposed to be decided by the second choice of voters for the fourth-place candidate and the second and possibly third choice of voters for the third-place candidate.

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