Election Law Commons^™

Let Locked-Up People Vote: Prisoners Are Still Citizens And Should Be Able To Exert Their Civic Rights, Rachel Landy

Online Publications

The Constitution does not guarantee all citizens the right to vote. Rather, the right to vote is implied through a patchwork of amendments that restrict how voting rights may be limited. For example, the 15th Amendment reads “[t]he right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged...on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Subsequent amendments added gender, failure to pay poll taxes, literacy, and age over 18 to the list of characteristics for which denying the right to vote may not be based.

The Downfall Of "Incumbent Protection": Case Study And Implications, Jeffrey R. Adams, Lucas I. Pangle

University of Richmond Law Review

On January 9, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down Virginia Code section 24.2-509— Virginia’s long-standing “Incumbent Protection Act” (or the “Act”). The Incumbent Protection Act was the only statute of its kind, and had endured criticism by grassroots commentators. Yet, the Incumbent Protection Act had long evaded scrutiny in the courtroom. Indeed, the Incumbent Protection Act’s courtroom history is labyrinthine, replete with interesting and significant commentaries on party rights, standing, and public policy preference for primaries. In fact, before its eventual demise, it had been implicated in several lawsuits bringing constitutional challenges to …

Freedom Of Association, Extreme Partisan Gerrymandering, Justiciability And The Unmistakable Political Question Controversy, L. Darnell Weeden

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Passive Voter Suppression: Campaign Mobilization And The Effective Disfranchisement Of The Poor, Bertrall L. Ross Ii, Douglas M. Spencer

Northwestern University Law Review

A recent spate of election laws tightened registration rules, reduced convenient voting opportunities, and required voters to show specific types of identification in order to vote. Because these laws make voting more difficult, critics have analogized them to Jim Crow Era voter suppression laws.

We challenge the analogy that current restrictive voting laws are a reincarnation of Jim Crow Era voter suppression. While there are some notable similarities, the analogy obscures a more apt comparison to a different form of voter suppression—one that operates to effectively disfranchise an entire class of people, just as the old form did for African …

Corporate Power And Campaign Finance, H. Kent Greenfield

Kent Greenfield

Chapter in a book about answers to the policy problems created by Citizens United, focusing on the possibility of using corporate governance to transform corporations into positive players in the public space.

An Untapped “Arsenal Of Power”: The Elections Clause, A Federal Election Administration Agency, And Federal Election Oversight, Zachary Newkirk

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

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

Rebecca Green

No abstract provided.

The Youth Vote Matters. But Just How Young Should Voters Be? [Part I], Vivian E. Hamilton

Vivian E. Hamilton

No abstract provided.

Just How Youthful Should Voters Be? Part Ii: Defining Electoral Decision-Making Competence, Vivian E. Hamilton

Vivian E. Hamilton

No abstract provided.

Just How Youthful Should Voters Be? Part Iii: Why We Need A Conception Of Electoral Competence, And Its Implications For Adults With Cognitive Impairments, Vivian E. Hamilton

Vivian E. Hamilton

No abstract provided.

Just How Young Should Voters Be? Part Iv: Assessing Adolescents’ Electoral Competence, Vivian E. Hamilton

Vivian E. Hamilton

No abstract provided.

Democratic Inclusion, Cognitive Development, And The Age Of Electoral Majority, Vivian E. Hamilton

Vivian E. Hamilton

No abstract provided.

How Young Should Voters Be?: 16-Year-Olds’ Entitlement To The Most Basic Civil Right [Part V], Vivian E. Hamilton

Vivian E. Hamilton

No abstract provided.

Introduction: How We Vote: Electronic Voting And Other Voting Practices In The United States, Davison M. Douglas

Davison M. Douglas

No abstract provided.

The 1965 Voting Rights Act: Some Wrongs Still Not Righted, Neal Devins

Neal E. Devins

No abstract provided.

Do Judicial Elections Facilitate Popular Constitutionalism; Can They?, Nicole Mansker, Neal Devins

Neal E. Devins

No abstract provided.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture - "Give Us The Ballot": Reflections On The Struggle For The Right To Vote In Honor Of The 90th Birthday Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Brenda Wright

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.

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

Allison Orr Larsen

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 …

Locked Up, Then Locked Out: The Case For Legislative - Rather Than Executive - Felon Disenfranchisement Reform, Amanda J. Wong

Cornell Law Review

A cohesive anti-felon disenfranchisement perspective has gained traction over the last two decades in America. Scholars have harshly criticized disenfranchisement provisions for their insulation and perpetuation of nonwhite marginalization d la Jim Crow. Other critics have also decried felon disenfranchisement for barring prior felons from full social integration. Still more critics point to how disenfranchisement provisions inequitably affect election outcomes. State leaders, recognizing the prevalent attitude against felon disenfranchisement, have taken significant measures to mitigate disenfranchisement laws-for example, some state governors have issued executive orders categorically re-enfranchising ex-felons. These types of actions are the focus on this Note. Certainly, unilateral …

Upending Minority Rule: The Case For Ranked-Choice Voting In West Virginia, Matthew R. Massie

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Dollars And Sense: A "New Paradigm" For Campaign Finance Reform?, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.

False Speech And The First Amendment, Erwin Chemerinsky

Erwin Chemerinsky

No abstract provided.

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 …

Remembrance, One Person, One Vote: The Enduring Legacy Of Joaquin Avila, Robert Chang

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Joaquin Ávila: Voting Rights Gladiator, Barbara Y. Philips

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Shaw Claim: The Rise And Fall Of Colorblind Jurisprudence, Molly P. Matter

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

“We Are Still Citizens, Despite Our Regrettable Past” Why A Conviction Should Not Impact Your Right To Vote, Jaime Hawk, Breanne Schuster

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Some Thoughts On Joaquin Ávila, Bill Tamayo

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Signature Of Gerrymandering In Rucho V. Common Cause, Andrew Chin, Gregory Herschlag, Jonathan Mattingly

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.