The Story:
In the United States, most important general elections both for federal and state offices take place in early November of an even numbered year. There are some states that buck this rule and provide “off-year” elections on odd numbered years. This is of course one of those years, 2021, and the voting underway today — though not at all as prevalent as it will be a year from now –is important.
A Plan for the Week:
We are running an election-themed Health item today, about the high prices for prescription drugs in the U.S., which for a long time now has been a potent campaign issue.
Tomorrow we will look at the results in two mayoral elections being held today, in two great and historic America cities, New York and Boston. We will also run an election-themed Science item: about whether polling is itself a science, or whether it collects data that scientists can employ.
Thursday we will run two ‘Things to Know’ items. We will discuss two gubernatorial elections: in Virginia and in New Jersey. Separately, we will look at trends emerging out of the off-year campaigns, and what they tell of our near future as a nation.
The Thing to Know:
The Governor’s races are especially important just now, because events of January of this year emphasized that at one level a presidential election is always a state-by-state affair. And a state’s Governor appoints the key elections officials.
