Legal challenge to UK postal voting system could delay May 5 elections News
Legal challenge to UK postal voting system could delay May 5 elections

[JURIST] A legal challenge to the UK postal voting system [Royal Mail guide] set for Thursday could delay the scheduled May 5 national elections [10 Downing Street release]. John Hemming, deputy leader of Birmingham city council, is filing the High Court challenge, alleging that the postal voting system fails to protect the right to a secret ballot guaranteed by the Human Rights Act 1998 [official text]. Postal voting became a focus of attention in Birmingham in 2004 after six Labour councillors were accused of abusing the postal ballot system; a judge investigating the matter last month derisively labelled postal voting "an open invitation to fraud" [BBC report]. The UK Royal Mail [official website] estimates that nearly 6.5 million individuals will vote via the postal ballot system, representing nearly 15% of expected voter turnout. If the High Court rules in Hemming's favor, it is unlikely that sufficient steps could be taken by May 5 to ensure the validity of all postal votes, requiring either a delay in the election or a decision to remove postal balloting as a method for voting. AFP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.