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Foia-Flooded Elections, Rebecca Green Jan 2024

Foia-Flooded Elections, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

After the 2020 election, the United States has witnessed a crisis in confidence in election outcomes. The crisis has fueled massive public pressure on election offices to release election records via state 'freedom of information act" (FOIA) requests. This deluge of records requests places enormous strain on already overburdened and underfunded state and local election offices. Operating under strict statutory FOIA response deadlines, election officials spend hundreds of hours on records requests to the detriment of election preparedness potentially further exacerbating criticism of their offices. Making matters worse, election officials often lack guidance on which records may and may not …


Adversarial Election Administration, Rebecca Green May 2023

Adversarial Election Administration, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

As Americans, we are conditioned to believe that involving partisans in the administration of elections is inherently problematic. Understandably. The United States is a major outlier; virtually every other developed democracy mandates nonpartisan election administration. Whether on the left or right— especially since the 2020 election—we are barraged with headlines about actual or feared partisanship on the part of those who run our elections. What this narrative misses, however, is a crucial and underrecognized fact: by design, partisans have always played central roles at every level of U.S. election administration. What is more, partisans are baked into the U.S. election …


Election Surveillance, Rebecca Green Jan 2022

Election Surveillance, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

For most of this country's history, we have relied on human eyes and ears to oversee our system of elections. Modern surveillance tools, from cell phones to video streaming platforms, are now cheap and ubiquitous. Technology holds great promise to increase election transparency. But the 2020 election confirmed what has become quite clear: the use of technology to record election processes does not always serve the goal of reassuring the public of the integrity of elections; in fact, it can do the opposite. As legislatures around the country reexamine rules governing elections following the 2020 election, an underexplored question is …


Election Observation Post-2020, Rebecca Green Nov 2021

Election Observation Post-2020, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

The United States is in the midst of a crisis in confidence in elections, despite the many process protections baked into every stage of election administration. Part of the problem is that few Americans know just how rigorous the protections in place are, and most Americans have no concept of how modern elections are run. Election observation statutes are intended to provide a window for members of the public to learn about and oversee the process and to satisfy themselves that elections are fair and that outcomes are reliable. Yet in 2020, in part due to unforeseen pandemic conditions, election …


Redistricting Transparency & Litigation, Rebecca Green Jan 2021

Redistricting Transparency & Litigation, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

Legislative redistricting following the 2010 Census kicked up a deluge of litigation. It did not abate. In several states, redistricting litigation extended throughout the decade, costing taxpayers millions. Factors leading plaintiffs to challenge legislative lines are multifaceted; the reasons redistricting litigation flares (and persists) are complex. One underexamined question is the extent to which process fairness in redistricting impacted redistricting litigation after the 2010 Census. At least in theory, a transparent redistricting process should produce fairer maps less likely to be challenged in court. But fights over maps result from myriad sources--the raw quest for political power, the availability of …


The Importance Of Transparent Elections, Rebecca Green Nov 2020

The Importance Of Transparent Elections, Rebecca Green

Popular Media

No abstract provided.


Recounts And Ballot Challenges In The 2020 Presidential Election: Legal Expert Provides Insights, Bruce Brumberg, Rebecca Green Nov 2020

Recounts And Ballot Challenges In The 2020 Presidential Election: Legal Expert Provides Insights, Bruce Brumberg, Rebecca Green

Popular Media

No abstract provided.


Those Who Can Vote Are Duty-Bound To Do So, A. Benjamin Spencer Oct 2020

Those Who Can Vote Are Duty-Bound To Do So, A. Benjamin Spencer

Popular Media

No abstract provided.


Symposium: Liquidating Elector Discretion, Rebecca Green Apr 2020

Symposium: Liquidating Elector Discretion, Rebecca Green

Popular Media

No abstract provided.


Candidate Privacy, Rebecca Green Mar 2020

Candidate Privacy, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

In the United States, we have long accepted that candidates for public office who have voluntarily stepped into the public eye sacrifice claims to privacy. This refrain is rooted deep within the American enterprise, emanating from the Framers' concept of the informed citizen as a bedrock of democracy. Voters must have full information about candidates to make their choices at the ballot box. Even as privacy rights for ordinary citizens have expanded, privacy theorists and courts continue to exempt candidates from privacy protections. This Article suggests that two disruptions warrant revisiting the privacy interests of candidates. The first is a …


The Redistricting Amendment Will Strengthen Democracy In Virginia, Alex Keena, Michael D. Gilbert, Rebecca Green Jan 2020

The Redistricting Amendment Will Strengthen Democracy In Virginia, Alex Keena, Michael D. Gilbert, Rebecca Green

Popular Media

No abstract provided.


Redistricting Amendment Is Progress For Virginia, Rebecca Green Jan 2020

Redistricting Amendment Is Progress For Virginia, Rebecca Green

Popular Media

No abstract provided.


How Many Votes Is Too Few?, Rebecca Green Jan 2020

How Many Votes Is Too Few?, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Liquidating Elector Discretion, Rebecca Green Jan 2020

Liquidating Elector Discretion, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

In Chiafalo et al. v. Washington, the US. Supreme Court determined that states may constitutionally remove or punish faithless electors. In support of its holding, the Court cited a 2014 case called National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning, which blessed a form of constitutional interpretation that looks to settled practice (or "liquidation," as James Madison called it) to resolve constitutional ambiguity. The Court agreed with petitioners that electors following the majority will of voters in their state is settled practice. This Article engages this assertion, suggesting that the question is more nuanced than the Court allowed. It …


Counterfeit Campaign Speech, Rebecca Green Aug 2019

Counterfeit Campaign Speech, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

We are entering an era in which computers can manufacture highly-sophisticated images, audio, and video of people doing and saying things they have, in fact, not done or said. In the context of political campaigns, the danger of “counterfeit campaign speech” is existential. Do current laws adequately regulate faked candidate speech? Can counter speech effectively neutralize it? Because it takes place in the vaulted realm of core political speech, would the First Amendment stymie any attempt to outlaw it? Many smart people who have looked at the general problem of deceit in campaigns have concluded that the state has no …


A Chance To End Gerrymandering In Virginia, A. E. Dick Howard, Rebecca Green Dec 2018

A Chance To End Gerrymandering In Virginia, A. E. Dick Howard, Rebecca Green

Popular Media

No abstract provided.


Counterfeit Campaign Speech, Rebecca Green Oct 2018

Counterfeit Campaign Speech, Rebecca Green

Popular Media

No abstract provided.


The Surveillance Gap: The Harms Of Extreme Privacy And Data Marginalization, Michele Gilman, Rebecca Green Apr 2018

The Surveillance Gap: The Harms Of Extreme Privacy And Data Marginalization, Michele Gilman, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

We live in an age of unprecedented surveillance, enhanced by modern technology, prompting some to suggest that privacy is dead. Previous scholarship suggests that no subset of the population feels this phenomenon more than marginalized communities. Those who rely on public benefits, for example, must turn over personal information and submit to government surveillance far more routinely than wealthier citizens who enjoy greater opportunity to protect their privacy and the ready funds to secure it. This article illuminates the other end of the spectrum, arguing that many individuals who may value government and nonprofit services and legal protections fail to …


Section 6: Election Law Panel, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School Sep 2017

Section 6: Election Law Panel, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School

Supreme Court Preview

No abstract provided.


Section 2: The Court And The 2016 Election, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School Sep 2016

Section 2: The Court And The 2016 Election, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School

Supreme Court Preview

No abstract provided.


Section 7: Immigration Law, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School Sep 2016

Section 7: Immigration Law, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School

Supreme Court Preview

No abstract provided.


Arbitrating Ballot Battles, Rebecca Green Jul 2016

Arbitrating Ballot Battles, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


The Voting Rights Act, Questions Of Deference & Legislative Facts In A Digital Age, Allison Orr Larsen Oct 2015

The Voting Rights Act, Questions Of Deference & Legislative Facts In A Digital Age, Allison Orr Larsen

Faculty Publications

AALS Constitutional Law Panel (January 5, 2015)


Do Laws Have A Constitutional Shelf Life?, Allison Orr Larsen Oct 2015

Do Laws Have A Constitutional Shelf Life?, Allison Orr Larsen

Faculty Publications

Times change. A statute passed today may seem obsolete tomorrow. Does the Constitution dictate when a law effectively expires? In Shelby County v. Holder, the 2013 decision that invalidated a provision of the Voting Rights Act, the Court seems to answer that question in the affirmative. Although rational and constitutional when written, the Court held that the coverage formula of the law grew to be irrational over time and was unconstitutional now because it bears “no logical relation to the present day.” This reason for invalidating a law is puzzling. The question answered in Shelby County was not about whether …


Section 3: Election Law, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School Sep 2015

Section 3: Election Law, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School

Supreme Court Preview

No abstract provided.


Transparency Rules In U.S. Elections Need Updating To Reflect 21st Century Realities, Rebecca Green Dec 2014

Transparency Rules In U.S. Elections Need Updating To Reflect 21st Century Realities, Rebecca Green

Popular Media

No abstract provided.


Rethinking Transparency In U.S. Elections, Rebecca Green Dec 2014

Rethinking Transparency In U.S. Elections, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

Bush v. Gore catapulted this country into a crisis of confidence in the management of our elections. Despite reforms since 2000, public confidence in election administration continues to wane. Are dead people on the rolls? Are noncitizens voting? Are provisional ballots wrongly rejected? State election transparency statutes meant to reassure the public that elections are producing legitimate results are often conflicting, vague, and even nonexistent. Exacerbating the problem, the last two decades have witnessed huge changes that offset the transparency balance. Dramatic changes in how Americans vote, how elections are administered, and who scrutinizes the election process call for a …


Stop This Insanity, Inc., Et Al., Petitioners, V. Federal Election Commission, Respondent: Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari, Patricia E. Roberts, Tillman J. Breckenridge, Dan Backer Sep 2014

Stop This Insanity, Inc., Et Al., Petitioners, V. Federal Election Commission, Respondent: Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari, Patricia E. Roberts, Tillman J. Breckenridge, Dan Backer

Appellate and Supreme Court Clinic

No abstract provided.


Stop This Insanity, Inc., Et Al., Appellants, V. Federal Election Commission, Appellee: Reply Brief Of Appellants, Dan Backer, Patricia E. Roberts, Tillman J. Breckenridge, Tara A. Brennan Jun 2013

Stop This Insanity, Inc., Et Al., Appellants, V. Federal Election Commission, Appellee: Reply Brief Of Appellants, Dan Backer, Patricia E. Roberts, Tillman J. Breckenridge, Tara A. Brennan

Appellate and Supreme Court Clinic

No abstract provided.


Election Delays In 2012, Rebecca Green, Emily Lippolis, Shanna Reulbach, Andrew Mccoy May 2013

Election Delays In 2012, Rebecca Green, Emily Lippolis, Shanna Reulbach, Andrew Mccoy

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.