What if Virginia held an election and nobody came? The outlook for Tuesday isn’t quite that stark. But owing to the quirks of the state’s calendar — which produces a ballot every four years featuring no federal or statewide races to drive turnout — there is a good chance that fewer than one-third of Virginia’s voters will show up at the polls. Read full article > >

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Virginia election forecast: High stakes, low turnout

Nicaraguans are set to go to the polls to elect a president, with incumbent Daniel Ortega seen as a favourite to secure another term in office.

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Ortega eyes Nicaragua re-election

A controversial law sharply curtailing collective-bargaining rights for Ohio’s public employees is sinking in the polls, raising Democratic hopes that the measure’s defeat could boost their prospects in the crucial swing state in 2012. The law’s diminishing poll numbers have coincided with a decline in the approval ratings of Republican Gov. John R. Kasich, the measure’s most visible proponent. The drop is coming as the law’s union-led opponents have waged an energetic campaign against a measure that they say represents an overreach by the state’s Republican political leaders. Read full article > >

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Ohio ballot measure raises Democrats’ hopes for 2012

When Virginians go to the polls next month , candidates for state Senate and House of Delegates will have D’s and R’s by their names. But that county council candidate who got the nod from the local Democrats? The aspiring sheriff backed by the GOP? If voters can’t remember the candidates’ party affiliations, the ballot won’t clue them in. Read full article > >

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Virginia ballots skimp on party affiliation

Welcome to Rick Perry 2.0. The Republican Texas governor is retooling his presidential campaign, shuffling staff and touting a bold but controversial new tax plan , hoping to rebound from a recent plunge in the polls. The Perry campaign announced Monday that it has hired several veteran operatives with national campaign experience to augment a team that had been dominated by people who had long work histories with Perry in Texas. Read full article > >

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Rick Perry moves to recharge campaign with flat-tax plan and new hires

Not long before the Senate voted to block his $447 billion jobs package on Tuesday, President Obama described the impending roll call as a “moment of truth.” He meant for Republicans, whom he blames for quashing his attempts to improve the economy and who voted as a bloc against the plan . But he could also have been talking about those moderate Democrats who face reelection fights next year, and who will be deciding in the coming months how closely to ally themselves to a president who is sinking in the polls. Read full article > >

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Why some Democrats oppose Obama’s jobs bill

Looking to capitalize on their historic gains last year, Republican lawmakers in several states are rewriting their election laws in ways that could make it more difficult for Democrats to win. They have curbed early voting , rolled back voting rights for ex-felons and passed stricter voter ID laws. Taken together, the measures could have a significant and negative effect on President Obama’s reelection efforts if they keep young people and minorities away from the polls. Read full article > >

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Republicans rewriting state election laws in ways that could hurt Democrats

Voters went to the polls in a closely watched race to replace the former Representative Anthony D. Weiner.

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David Weprin and Bob Turner Make Final Push in House Election

Rising concerns about gangs and drug cartels seemed to weigh on voters’ minds as they went to the polls to elect local and national leaders on Sunday.

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In Guatemala, an Election Focused on Security Issues

MEXICO CITY — Guatemalans frustrated by soaring crime go the polls Sunday as the front-running candidates promise to aggressively confront the mafias that have turned the poor Central American state into a killing field. The No. 1 issue is violence, according to opinion polls. Armed gangs, bolstered by the incursion of Mexican drug cartels, have taken over towns; more than 90 percent of the cocaine entering the United States crosses the Guatemala border. Martial law has been declared in the provinces. Read full article > >

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Guatemalans head to polls

DES MOINES — The day after sparring heatedly in a televised debate, Republican candidates vying for the 2012 presidential nomination popped from breakfast gatherings to campaign rallies to the celebrated Iowa State Fair — a must-do for presidential hopefuls who share the spotlight with a cow sculpted from butter and deep-fried candy bars. The new urgency among the candidates had everything to do with Saturday’s Ames straw poll, an early test of organizational strength that could hasten departures for candidates who don’t perform well. In particular, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty was in overdrive to draw supporters to the event and turn around a campaign that has struggled to raise money and gain traction in the polls. Read full article > >

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Iowa straw poll now the focus of GOP presidential field

Portugal’s outgoing PM Jose Socrates quits as Socialist Party leader after being defeated at the polls by the centre-right Social Democrats.

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Portugal Socialists admit defeat

Spain is poised to got to the polls in regional elections overshadowed by mass protest rallies in cities across the country.

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Spain polls to open amid protests

South Africans go to the polls to vote in local elections after one of the most bitterly fought campaigns in years.

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South Africa holds crucial vote

Labour’s John Denham says the public has sent a message to the coalition to change direction after the Lib Dem drubbing at the polls.

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Coalition has no mandate – Labour