Law Commons^™

Candidates Of Their Choice? Paradoxical Impact Of The Voting Rights Act In Virginia, Mark E. Rush

Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum

No abstract provided.

The Looming Threat Of The Independent State Legislature Theory And The Erosion Of The Voting Rights Act: It Is Time To Enshrine The Right To Vote, Javon Davis

Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum

Over the last decade, the emergence of an imperial United States Supreme Court—currently armed with the largest conservative majority since the 1930s—has radically reshaped federal voting rights protections. During the litigation surrounding the 2020 election, however, an obscure threat reemerged. The fringe independent state legislature (“ISL”) theory is a potentially revolutionary constitutional theory that could lead to widespread voter disenfranchisement. Proponents of the theory, including Supreme Court Justices, posit, in part, that the United States Constitution vests state legislatures with plenary power to construct rules for federal elections—unbound by state constitutions and free from state judicial review.

Once a refuge …

Asian American Voting Rights And Representation: A Perspective From The Northeast, Glenn D. Magpantay

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article presents a strategy for advancing Asian American voting rights and for ensuring that Asian Americans have a full and fair opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice, as guaranteed by the Voting Rights Act, through an exploration of legal issues in the census, redistricting, and alternative voting systems. First, it discusses the importance of an accurate count of Asian Americans in the decennial census. Second, it explores legal strategies to achieve meaningful representation of Asian Americans through the redrawing of federal, state, and local voting district boundaries. Third, it reviews the merits and limitations of alternative voting …

Of Boroughs, Boundaries And Bullwinkles: The Limitations Of Single-Member Districts In A Multiracial Context, Judith Reed

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This essay examines the 1991 New York Ciity Council districting, with particular focus on the problems inherent in districting a multiracial city and the limitations of single member districts as a method of minority empowerment. The essay examines specific New York City Council districts that contain more than one minority group and concludes that electing council members from at-large, borough-wide districts by cumulative voting is a more effective districting strategy to structure majoritarian collective decision-making bodies that ensure meaningful minority interest representation and participation. .