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Election Law Commons

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Articles 1 - 15 of 15

Full-Text Articles in Election Law

De Facto Class Actions? Plaintiff- And Defendant-Oriented Injunctions In Election Law, Voting Rights And Other Constitutional Cases, Michael T. Morley Apr 2016

De Facto Class Actions? Plaintiff- And Defendant-Oriented Injunctions In Election Law, Voting Rights And Other Constitutional Cases, Michael T. Morley

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.


The New Elections Clause, Michael T. Morley Feb 2016

The New Elections Clause, Michael T. Morley

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.


The Law Of Democracy At A Crossroads: Reflecting On Fifty Years Of Voting Rights And The Judicial Regulation Of The Political Thicket, Franita Tolson Jan 2016

The Law Of Democracy At A Crossroads: Reflecting On Fifty Years Of Voting Rights And The Judicial Regulation Of The Political Thicket, Franita Tolson

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Coordination Fallacy, Michael D. Gilbert Jan 2016

The Coordination Fallacy, Michael D. Gilbert

Florida State University Law Review

This symposium piece tackles an important issue in campaign finance: the relationship between coordinated expenditures and corruption. Only one form of corruption, the quid pro quo, is constitutionally significant, and it has three logical elements: (1) an actor, such as an individual or corporation, conveys value to a politician, (2) the politician conveys value to the actor, and (3) a bargain links the two. Campaign finance regulations aim to deter quid pro quos by impeding the first or third element. Limits on contributions, for example, fight corruption by capping the value an actor can convey to a politician. What about …


Reining In The Purcell Principle, Richard L. Hasen Jan 2016

Reining In The Purcell Principle, Richard L. Hasen

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Race, Shelby County, And The Voter Information Verification Act In North Carolina, Michael D. Herron, Daniel A. Smith Jan 2016

Race, Shelby County, And The Voter Information Verification Act In North Carolina, Michael D. Herron, Daniel A. Smith

Florida State University Law Review

Shortly after the Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder struck down section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), the State of North Carolina enacted an omnibus piece of election- reform legislation known as the Voter Information Verification Act (VIVA). Prior to Shelby, portions of North Carolina were covered jurisdictions per the VRA’s sections 4 and 5—meaning that they had to seek federal preclearance for changes to their election procedures— and this motivates our assessment of whether VIVA’s many alterations to North Carolina’s election procedures are race-neutral. We show that in presidential elections in North Carolina black early voters …


Legislative Delegations And The Elections Clause, Derek T. Muller Jan 2016

Legislative Delegations And The Elections Clause, Derek T. Muller

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Rescuing Retrogression, Michael J. Pitts Jan 2016

Rescuing Retrogression, Michael J. Pitts

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Voting Is Association, Daniel P. Tokaji Jan 2016

Voting Is Association, Daniel P. Tokaji

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Quick And Dirty: The New Misreading Of The Voting Rights Act, Justin Levitt Jan 2016

Quick And Dirty: The New Misreading Of The Voting Rights Act, Justin Levitt

Florida State University Law Review

The role of race in the apportionment of political power is one of the thorniest problems at the heart of American democracy, and reappears with dogged consistency on the docket of the Supreme Court. Most recently, the Court resolved a case from Alabama involving the Voting Rights Act and the appropriate use of race in redistricting. But though the Court correctly decided the narrow issue before it, the litigation posture of the case hid the fact that Alabama is part of a disturbing pattern. Jurisdictions like Alabama have been applying not the Voting Rights Act, but a ham-handed cartoon of …


A "Checklist Manifesto" For Election Day: How To Prevent Mistakes At The Polls, Joshua A. Douglas Jan 2016

A "Checklist Manifesto" For Election Day: How To Prevent Mistakes At The Polls, Joshua A. Douglas

Florida State University Law Review

Mistakes happen—especially at the polls on Election Day. To fix this complex problem inherent in election administration, this Article proposes the use of simple checklists. Errors occur in every election, yet many of them are avoidable. Poll workers should have easy-to-use tools to help them on Election Day as they handle throngs of voters. Checklists can assist poll workers in pausing during a complex process to avoid errors. This is a simple idea with a big payoff: fewer lost votes, shorter lines at the polls, a reduction in post-election litigation, and smoother election administration. Further, unlike many other suggested election …


The Nineteenth Amendment Enforcement Power (But First, Which One Is The Nineteenth Amendment, Again?), Steve Kolbert Jan 2016

The Nineteenth Amendment Enforcement Power (But First, Which One Is The Nineteenth Amendment, Again?), Steve Kolbert

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Contingent Constitutionality, Legislative Facts, And Campaign Finance Law, Michael T. Morley Jan 2016

Contingent Constitutionality, Legislative Facts, And Campaign Finance Law, Michael T. Morley

Florida State University Law Review

Many of the Supreme Court’s important holdings concerning campaign finance law are not pure matters of constitutional interpretation. Rather, they are “contingent” constitutional determinations: the Court’s conclusions rest in substantial part on legislative facts about the world that the Court finds, intuits, or assumes to be true. While earlier commentators have recognized the need to improve legislative factfinding by the Supreme Court, other aspects of its treatment of legislative facts—particularly in the realm of campaign finance—require reform as well.

Stare decisis purportedly insulates the Court’s purely legal holdings and interpretations from future challenge. Factually contingent constitutional rulings should, in contrast, …


Residency And Democracy: Durational Residency Requirements From The Framers To The Present, Eugene D. Mazo Jan 2016

Residency And Democracy: Durational Residency Requirements From The Framers To The Present, Eugene D. Mazo

Florida State University Law Review

After years of struggle, we no longer require property ownership, employ poll taxes, or force citizens to take literary tests to vote. The franchise is now also open to women, African Americans, and other groups that were previously disenfranchised. However, our states still prevent citizens from voting if they fail to meet a durational residency requirement. The states also impose lengthy durational residency requirements on candidates seeking public office. This Article examines the history of America’s durational residency requirements. It looks at the debates of the framers at the Constitutional Convention, at how state durational residency requirements were broadened in …


Contingent Constitutionality, Legislative Facts, And Campaign Finance Law, Michael T. Morley Jan 2016

Contingent Constitutionality, Legislative Facts, And Campaign Finance Law, Michael T. Morley

Scholarly Publications

Many of the Supreme Court's important holdings concerning campaign finance law are not pure matters of constitutional interpretation. Rather, they are "contingent" constitution- al determinations: the Court's conclusions rest in substantial part on legislative facts about the world that the Court finds, intuits, or assumes to be true. While earlier commentators have recognized the need to improve legislative factfinding by the Supreme Court, other aspects of its treatment of legislative facts-particularly in the realm of campaign finance- require reform as well. Stare decisis purportedly insulates the Court's purely legal holdings and interpretations from future challenge. Factually contingent constitutional rulings should, …