Preparing for the US 2026 general election

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:

A prayer for Minneapolis

Another week, another murder in Minneapolis by ICE agents after the murder of Renee Good. Today at Mass, one of our songs had a verse that was especially appropriate for the situation in Minneapolis and our country:

In the midst of persecution, Lord, stand by me

When my enemies surround me, Lord, stand by me

When the tyrant wields his terror and the armies wage their might

When the darkness overwhelms me, Lord, stand by me

Title: Stand By Me, words and music Copyright 2001 Tom Kendzia, published by Oregon Catholic Press (lyrics) (performance)

Remembrance of the 5th anniversary of the January 6th Insurrection

Here we are, five years later…some people would say that the insurrectionists won (Trump is back in office, Jan6 insurrectionists were pardoned). We still have a democracy, but it is heading towards authoritarianism. I hope the results will eventually head back towards democracy.

Previously on this weblog:

Other coverage: