Law Commons^™

States May Statutorily Bind Presidential Electors, The Myth Of National Popular Vote, The Reality Of Elector Unit Rule Voting And Old Light On Three-Fifths Of Other Persons, William Josephson

University of Miami Law Review

This Article discusses the United States Supreme Court’s July 6, 2020 decision in Chiafalo v. Washington State as it impacts the most in-depth analysis yet published of the proposed National Popular Vote (“NPV”) Interstate Compact. NPV purports to provide for popular vote election of a President of the United States even if the winner of the popular vote did not win the Electoral College. It concludes that NPV cannot accomplish its purported purpose. The article also criticizes a recent article proposing dividing each state’s electors vote in accordance with the popular vote proportions in each such state instead of, as …

Let Us Not Be Intimidated: Past And Present Applications Of Section 11(B) Of The Voting Rights Act, Carly E. Zipper

Washington Law Review

As John Lewis said, “[the] vote is precious. Almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have to create a more perfect union.” The Voting Rights Act (VRA), likewise, is a powerful tool. This Comment seeks to empower voters and embolden their advocates to better use that tool with an improved understanding of its little-known protection against voter intimidation, section 11(b).

Although the term “voter intimidation” may connote armed confrontations at polling places, some forms of intimidation are much more subtle and insidious—dissuading voters from heading to the polls on election day rather than confronting them outright when …

One Vote, Two Votes, Three Votes, Four: How Ranked Choice Voting Burdens Voting Rights And More, Brandon Bryer

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

One Vote, Two Winners: Team-Ticket Gubernatorial Elections And The Need For Further Reform, T. Quinn Yeargain

University of Miami Law Review

Historically, governors and lieutenant governors were elected in separate elections. This frequently meant that governors and lieutenant governors of different parties were elected, undermining the democratic legitimacy of gubernatorial succession. But when New York adopted team tickets in 1953, it ignited a flurry of similar changes nationwide. Today, most states with lieutenant governors elect them on a team ticket with governors. And, since the initial adoption of team tickets, several other trends—specifically, trends away from separate primaries and toward post-primary selection—have emerged in how lieutenant governors are elected. Despite the significance of these changes, however, they remain largely unexplored by …

Ranked-Choice Voting As Reprieve From The Court-Ordered Map, Benjamin P. Lempert

Michigan Law Review

Thus far, legal debates about the rise of ranked-choice voting have centered on whether legislatures can lawfully adopt the practice. This Note turns attention to the courts and the question of remedies. It proposes that courts impose ranked-choice voting as a redistricting remedy. Ranked-choice voting allows courts to cure redistricting violations without also requiring that they draw copious numbers of districts, a process the Supreme Court has described as a “political thicket.” By keeping courts away from the fact-specific, often arbitrary judgments involved in redistricting, ranked-choice voting makes for the redistricting remedy that best protects the integrity of the judicial …

A New Old Solution: Why The United States Should Vote By Mail-In Ballot, Annie Barouh

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Hb 316 - Voting System, Beth K. Boatright, Andrew Smith

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act authorizes and requires a new voting system be used in all elections, provides for auditing procedures, provides for updates to the voter list maintenance laws, and specifies additional revisions to election processes.

Challenging Voting Rights And Political Participation In State Courts, Irving Joyner

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

An Instrument At The Forefront Of Social Change: The Legacy Of Joaquin G. Ávila, Steven W. Bender

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Partisan Gerrymandering And Georgia: Red, White, And Blue Or Just Red And Blue?, Michael C. Freeman Jr.

Georgia State University Law Review

This Note will discuss the viability of the EG and its ramifications as part of a standard for evaluating the unconstitutionality of current and potential districting plans, particularly regarding Georgia’s 2015 plan. Part I outlines the judicial history of partisan gerrymandering and also provides an overview of the EG’s mechanics and the development of Georgia’s reapportionment schemes. Part II then examines the EG’s strengths and weaknesses, applies it and other factors to Georgia’s current districting map, and analyzes the map’s constitutionality. Finally, Part III proposes changes to Georgia’s current plan that, through legislative conformity to specified standards, will ensure adherence …

On Margaret Montoya & Jerome Culp: An Appreciation, Angela P. Harris

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Gerrymandering And The Constitutional Norm Against Government Partisanship, Michael S. Kang

Michigan Law Review

This Article challenges the basic premise in the law of gerrymandering that partisanship is a constitutional government purpose at all. The central problem, Justice Scalia once explained in Vieth v. Jubilerer, is that partisan gerrymandering becomes unconstitutional only when it “has gone too far,” giving rise to the intractable inquiry into “how much is too much.” But the premise that partisanship is an ordinary and lawful purpose, articulated confidently as settled law and widely understood as such, is largely wrong as constitutional doctrine. The Article surveys constitutional law to demonstrate the vitality of an important, if implicit norm against …

Howell V. Mcauliffe, L. Michael Berman

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Alternative Dispute Resolution For Election Access Issues In A Post-Voting Rights Act Section 5 Landscape, Casey Millburg

Arbitration Law Review

No abstract provided.

Living With Judicial Elections, Raymond J. Mckoski

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Protecting America's Elections From Foreign Tampering: Realizing The Benefits Of Classifying Election Infrastructure As "Critical Infrastructure" Under The United States Code, Allaire M. Monticollo

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Voting Rights Act And The "New And Improved" Intent Test: Old Wine In New Bottles, Randolph M. Scott-Mclaughlin

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

A New Proposal To Address Local Voting Discrimination, Cody Gray

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Balancing Disclosure And Privacy Interests In Campaign Finance, Sarah Harding

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

The law of campaign finance pits two important First Amendment interests against each other: disclosure and privacy. The Supreme Court has recognized the need to balance these two interests to allow for effective elections and to safeguard individual rights. However, through the years the Court has failed to balance these interests equally, resulting in vacillating decisions that unfairly sacrifice one for the other. From Burroughs v. United States in 1934 to Citizens United v. FEC in 2010, the Court has failed to provide a workable roadmap for legislatures in the creation of campaign finance disclosure laws and for lower courts …

"The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is Fear Itself": The Constitutional Infirmities With Felon Disenfranchisement And Citing Fear As The Rationale For Depriving Felons Of Their Right To Vote, Erika Stern

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Felon disenfranchisement, a mechanism by which felons and former felons are deprived of their right to vote, is a widespread practice that has been challenged on many grounds. However, felon disenfranchisement has not yet been properly challenged under the First Amendment. This Article argues that states implicate felons’ First Amendment rights through felon disenfranchisement without citing adequate or compelling rationales to justify this severe intrusion. In fact, at least one rationale, a rationale based on the fear of the way felons might vote, is itself inconsistent with First Amendment principles. Disenfranchising felons based on a fear of the way that …

A Half-Century Of Virginia Redistricting Battles: Shifting From Rural Malapportionment To Voting Rights To Public Participation, Micah Altman, Michael P. Mcdonald

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Discouraging Election Contests, Joshua A. Douglas

University of Richmond Law Review

This essay proceeds in three sections. Section I lays the founda- tion for why our system encourages-or at least does not dis-suade-the filing of post-election contests in close races. Section

II posits that election contests are often bad for our democracy, explaining why post-election litigation might harm the ideals of finality, certainty, and legitimacy in the election process. SectionIII sets out three structural reforms that might make losing candidates think twice before initiating an election contest. Ultimately, the goal of this essay is to promote a broader discussion of the propriety of post-election litigation and what we can do to …

The Original Sin Of Campaign Finance Law: Why Buckley V. Valeo Is Wrong, Jessica A. Levinson

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Right Choice For Elections: How Choice Voting Will End Gerrymandering And Expand Minority Voting Rights, From City Councils To Congress, Rob Richie, Andrew Spencer

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Minority Vote Dilution In The Age Of Obama, Dale Ho

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Photo Id, Provisional Balloting, And Indiana's 2012 Primary Election, Michael J. Pitts

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Urban Politics And The Assimilation Of Immigrant Voters, Rick Su

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Increasing Youth Participation: The Case For A National Voter Pre-Registration Law, Ceridwen Cherry

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Lagging youth participation rates threaten participatory democracy and undermine the representation of young people's interests in elected government. However, the percentage of registered youth who actually cast ballots is very high. The correlation between registration and actual voter participation suggests that when given assistance and greater opportunities to register, young citizens will vote. This Note proposes a national pre-registration law that would allow voter registration to begin at age sixteen. Such a law would be feasible, constitutional, and politically viable and may increase not only the voter participation of young people, but also the socioeconomic diversity of the electorate.

Equal Citizenship And The Individual Right To Vote, Jospeh Fishkin

Indiana Law Journal

An emerging consensus among election law scholars urges courts to break out of “the stagnant discourse of individual rights and competing state interests” and instead adopt a jurisprudence of “structural” democratic values that sidelines individual rights. This structuralist approach won out in the great “rightsstructure” debate in election law, and came to dominate the field, during a period in which the main controversies—vote dilution, gerrymandering, ballot access, campaign finance—were all ones in which the structuralist move was illuminating. However, structuralism is now causing both scholars and courts to evaluate the new wave of vote denial controversies, over such issues as …

What Do We Want In A Presidential Primary - An Election Law Perspective, Chad Flanders

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Although the 2008 presidential primaries were in many ways a resounding success in terms of turnout, attention, and sheer excitement, many noted the pressing need for reform. States were rushing to hold their primaries sooner than ever, giving rise to "Super-Duper Tuesday," where twenty-four states had their primaries on the same day. The Democratic nominee at one point looked like it might be decided by the votes of so-called "Superdelegates"-party regulars beholden to no one. As the Democratic nomination contest wore on, Rush Limbaugh, in "Operation Chaos," encouraged his "dittoheads" to raid the party primaries of the Democrats, tilting the …