Congressional Elections

We are now less than a month away from Election Day in the United States. Whereas in Britain, we minimise the number of different elections on the same day - in the US, voters can face a barrage of different electoral contests. Obviously, there is no presidential election this year - but every voter has a chance to elect, at least, a member of the House of Representatives. About a third of states will also have an election for their Senator - and there may be various State and local elections to vote on too.

This blog will highlight the Congressional Elections. So in the next month, I'll be posting about some of the individual races.

If you'd like to see a sample ballot - click here. This is what voters in Fairfax County, Virginia - in the 10th Congressional District will see - or to be more accurate - what they can already see. Already voters can go to the polls with "In-Person Absentee Voting".

Party Conferences

I was in Birmingham this week - though not to attend the Conservative Party Conference. I was visiting my mother and giving a law tutorial - but couldn't miss the impact that the Conference was having in the city. My buses were diverted - and whilst sitting in Starbucks, I saw many delegates walking down New Street wearing their conference passes.

But I did attend the previous week's Labour Conference in Manchester - and if you look back at previous posts in earlier years - you'll see that I have described and explained what goes on inside a party conference.

In the USA Party Conventions are held before each Presidential Election. In Britain, party conferences are held annually (and sometimes more frequently). I had the privilege of reading the earliest Labour Party Conference reports whilst I was undertaking a political history research project. Today of course, the primary audience isn't the delegates - or the other people attending the conference in person - but the wider public. It is the venue for major policy statements - and particularly in the run up to a General Election (and Britain's is due on May 7th next year) - it is the opportunity to showcase the policies which each party will be pushing during the election.

How Law seeks to tackle human nature

Do send me your comments. Does the existing law do enough to tackle the weaknesses of human nature?

Lord Acton's Dictum

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

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