There are a number of important elections happening around the world. In Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated Flávio Bolsonaro in their presidential election this past weekend. This past Tuesday, Israel held national parliamentary elections, which will determine if Benjamin Netanyahu will continue as prime minister. In the United States, early voting and mail voting is underway for local, state, and federal elections, culminating on November 3rd (Election Day in the US).
The most important step that voters can take is to vote early if possible, and be prepared to vote in person on Election Day if that is the voter’s choice (i.e., show up early with identification). What is at stake? The issue being covered in the mainstream media is control of the US Congress (currently the House and Senate have Republican majorities). Election polls are indicating that the Democrats could take control of at least the House, and perhaps the Senate as well.
The other issue that is getting a lot of attention is the possibility that Republicans could block Democrats from taking control of the House or Senate when the new Congress meets on January 3, 2027. Again, mainstream media are publishing a lot of negative “what-if” scenarios on how this could occur. I recommend following the Election Law Blog headed by Rick Hasen at UCLA Law School. This is an excellent resource on following any election-related litigation. In addition, there have been multiple posts evaluating these “what-if” scenarios at Election Law Blog and other sites on how the likelihood of success is low to none:
- Fearmongering about stealing Congress on January 3, 2027 (August 27, 2026)
- Can the Midterms Be ‘Stolen’ On Jan. 3? It’s Complicated. (August 2026)
- Can Congress Be Stolen from the Voters? (September 2026)
- How Trump Can—and Cannot—Still Mess With the Midterms (October 2026) (PDF copy)
- Taking the bait (October 2026)
- OK, Doomer – Trump can’t steal the midterms. ICE can’t be at the polls. A rogue clerk won’t tip the House. Our elections run smoothly – and this November’s will too (PDF copy)
Thanks for the resources!