Interest in voting by mail has increased in 2020 due to concerns about safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the practice actually dates back to the American Revolution. This Spotlight post takes a look at the history of absentee voting and voting by mail as well as modern efforts to increase access to vote-by-mail procedures.

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Today, October 5th is the last day to register in time for the November 3rd election, so don't forget to register to vote! Please see our previous Spotlight post on National Voter Registration Day for more information on voting in Texas.

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Today is the final day of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings in the United States Senate for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and much of the hearings have touched on Barrett's judicial opinions on the U.S. Court of the 7th Circuit as well as her academic writing in law journals. Read on to find out how to access many of these opinions and articles through the State Law Library.

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October 19th through the 25th is National Estate Planning Awareness Week! Do you have a plan in place to take care of your estate and your loved ones at the end of your life? If not, the library has a lot of resources that can help you create a will, learn how guardianship works, create powers of attorney, and research other aspects of estate planning. Today we will look at several resources for creating a simple will.

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Earlier this week, we discussed library resources for creating a simple will. In the second post for our series on National Estate Planning Awareness Week, we’ll look at resources that will help you understand and create a directive to physicians, which is commonly referred to as a “living will”. A living will is a legal document that outlines a person’s wishes for medical care.

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Our last Spotlight post for National Estate Planning Awareness Week will take a brief look at powers of attorney. In general, a power of attorney is a document that allows a person to make decisions or take actions on another person's behalf. Read on for more information and resources at the SLL on this topic.

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Happy Halloween! Legal research doesn't have to be scary — unless you're pulling up one of the Halloween-themed law review articles we've listed below! All of the articles listed can be accessed through HeinOnline, an incredibly thorough collection of legal periodicals that is part of the State Law Library's Digital Collection.

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