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Full-Text Articles in Election Law
Ineffective By Design: A Critique Of Campaign Finance Law Enforcement In The United States, Australia, And The United Kingdom, Kelly Ann Skahan
Ineffective By Design: A Critique Of Campaign Finance Law Enforcement In The United States, Australia, And The United Kingdom, Kelly Ann Skahan
Washington International Law Journal
Though ostensibly tasked with enforcing their respective nations’ campaign finance laws, the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”), Australian Electoral Commission (“AEC”), and Electoral Commission (“EC”) are woefully unable to meaningfully address the evolving nature of campaigns or enforce existing regulations in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, respectively. Attempts at enforcement are cut off at the knees by political infighting, half-hearted grants of independent authority, and a lack of institutional support. Conversely, the New York City Campaign Finance Board (“CFB”) is recognized as an example of meaningful enforcement and relative political independence. By implementing changes that translate the CFB’s …
Electoral Choices, Ethnic Accommodations, And The Consolidation Of Coalitions: Critiquing The Runoff Clause Of The Afghan Constitution, Mohammad Bashir Mobasher
Electoral Choices, Ethnic Accommodations, And The Consolidation Of Coalitions: Critiquing The Runoff Clause Of The Afghan Constitution, Mohammad Bashir Mobasher
Washington International Law Journal
Article sixty-one of the Afghan Constitution requires a candidate to win an absolute majority of votes to become the president. This constitutional rule comprises a runoff clause, which prescribes a second round of elections between the two front-runners should no candidate win over 50% of the votes in the first round. While this article agrees with the majority view of Afghan scholars and politicians who see the runoff clause as instrumental to developing trans-ethnic coalitions and governments, it distinguishes between the formation of alliances and their consolidation. Ultimately, this article posits that the runoff clause actually impedes the long-term success …
Disproportionate Disenfranchisement Of Aboriginal Prisoners: A Conflict Of Law That Australia Should Address, Megan A. Winder
Disproportionate Disenfranchisement Of Aboriginal Prisoners: A Conflict Of Law That Australia Should Address, Megan A. Winder
Washington International Law Journal
In 2006, Australia’s Parliament banned all prisoners from voting. A year later, Vickie Lee Roach, a female prisoner of Aboriginal descent, challenged the blanket ban promulgated in the 2006 amendment to the Commonwealth Electoral Act of 1918 (“Electoral Act”). Vickie won, but in a limited way. The High Court found an implied right to vote in the Australian Constitution, but held that Parliament could limit such voting, as it did in the Electoral and Referendum Amendment of 2004 (“E & R Amendment”), disenfranchising any prisoner serving three or more years in jail. This Comment argues that the E & R …
Granting Permanent Resident Aliens The Right To Vote In Local Government: The New Komeitō Continues To Promote Alien Suffrage In Japan, Miles E. Hawks
Granting Permanent Resident Aliens The Right To Vote In Local Government: The New Komeitō Continues To Promote Alien Suffrage In Japan, Miles E. Hawks
Washington International Law Journal
Throughout the world, the dominant suffrage model has been voting rights based on citizenship. However, the trend of globalization, the increase of cross-border migration, and the advent of supranational institutions such as the European Union have prompted many countries to reconsider the relationship between nationality and voting rights. This has resulted in a growing trend, beginning in Europe and spreading most recently to South Korea, of adopting a notion of suffrage based on residency and community rather than citizenship. Japan is currently considering legislation, known as the “Local Suffrage Bill,” which would allow permanent resident aliens (“PRAs”) to vote in …
Reducing Malapportionment In Japan's Electoral Districts: The Supreme Court Must Act, William Somers Bailey
Reducing Malapportionment In Japan's Electoral Districts: The Supreme Court Must Act, William Somers Bailey
Washington International Law Journal
Japan's Constitution does not expressly mandate periodic census and reapportionment of electoral districts. The Election Law only suggests reapportionment. Consequently, rapid population shifts in postwar Japan created endemic voter imbalances. The Japanese Supreme Court has made some attempts to prod the national parliament to take ameliorative action, but the result has always been "too little, too late." Nevertheless, the evidence shows that the parliament does heed the Court's decisions. This Comment urges the Court to tighten the three to one ratio it has developed for allowable voter imbalances to two to one or better, and to abandon doctrines like the …