Law Commons^™

Enclave Districting, Henry L. Chambers

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Congressional districting has historically fostered single-member, geographically compact districts consisting of contiguous territory and has resulted in common representation for those who live near each other. Underlying compact districting is the assumption that people living relatively close together share political interests that can be adequately served by common representation. When the United States was a sparsely populated agrarian nation and only the propertied were the enfranchised, providing common representation based on residential proximity was sensible. Over time, however, the connection between residence and political interests has diminished.

In the wake of the Supreme Court's suggestion that representation should focus on …

Trends. Will E-Commerce Lead To E-Politics? Electronic Voting In The 21st Century, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The article discusses the possibility of online (electronic) voting.

Constitutional Law—First Amendment Rights Of Direct Democracy Participants Versus The State's Interest In Regulating The Election Process. Buckley V. American Constitutional Law Foundation, Inc., 119 S. Ct. 636 (1999)., Jennifer Modersohn

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Section 9: The Court And The 2000 Election, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School

Supreme Court Preview

No abstract provided.

Stop Me Before I Quantify Again: The Role Of Political Science In The Study Of Election Law, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

The Hazards Of Legal Fine Tuning: Confronting The Free Will Problem In Election Law Scholarship, Michael A. Fitts

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Analyzing Voting Trends In East Baton Rouge Parish Gubernatorial Races In The 1990'S, Deshanna L. Bause

Electronic Dissertations and Theses

The primary purpose of this study is to determine the voting patterns in the minority communities during important elections. A secondary component ofthis study analyzes the voting practices of Blacks in East Baton Rouge parish. TIle population will be voters in the precinct located in East Baton Rouge. Participants in this study must be a registered voter residing in the precincts of the East Baton Rouge parish. The use of Microsoft Excel made it possible to determine the voting trends of the black population.

Tyranny Of The Judiciary: Judicial Dilution Of Consent Under Section 2 Of The Voting Rights Act, James Thomas Tucker

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

"Every man takes the arm of the law for his protections as more effectual than his own, and therefore every man has an equal right in the formation of the government and of the laws by which he is to be governed and judged "' When Thomas Paine wrote these words over two hundred years ago, he captured the essence of American democracy. Having a voice in government means more than merely casting a ballot. Instead, the basic right of all qualified citizens to grant or withhold their consent mandates 'fair and effective representation ": a right to elect representatives …

The Nature Of The American Constitution: Is There A Constitutional Right To Vote And Be Represented?, Jeffrey Rosen, James A. Gardner, Gary Peller, Edward Still, Brenda Wright

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Sense And Nonsense: Standing In The Racial Districting Cases As A Window On The Supreme Court's View Of The Right To Vote, Judith Reed

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Congressional redistricting draws the lines within which battles for political power will be fought. It is no surprise, therefore, that the redistricting process has long been the subject of social debate and legal dispute. The Supreme Court has not been able to resolve this dispute, in part, because the Justices have conflicting interpretations of the right to vote. While some Justices view voting as an individual right, others maintain that voting is correctly perceived as group right. This lack of consensus regarding the definition of the right to vote has led to a confusing articulation of the harm implicated by …

Public Funding And Democratic Elections, Richard Briffault

Faculty Scholarship

Our existing federal campaign finance system – the product of Watergate Era legislation and the Supreme Court's 1976 decision in Buckley v. Valeo – is in a state of disarray. The system is no longer capable of accomplishing the goals pursued by Congress and embraced by the Court a quarter-century ago: full disclosure of the sources of campaign money; limitations on large contributions by individuals; prohibitions on the use of corporate and union treasury funds; and voluntary, partial public funding, with spending limits, in the Presidential election. Indeed, the current law may actually have negative consequences, with unindexed contribution limits …

Political Speech—Restrictions On Ballot-Initiative Petitions, Buckley V. American Constitutional Law Foundation, Mark L. Rienzi

Scholarly Articles

The Supreme Court has repeatedly noted that ballot and election regulations raise difficult questions about the interplay between the First Amendment's heightened protection for political speech, and states' need to regulate ballots and elections to ensure fair and orderly democracy. When making the delicate judgments between protecting political speech and allowing states to regulate elections, the Court has traditionally stated precisely which test it was employing to evaluate individual restrictions. Last Term, in Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation, the Court invalidated several of Colorado's restrictions on the signature-gathering process for ballot initiative petitions. In so doing, the Court failed …

Enclave Districting, Henry L. Chambers, Jr.

Law Faculty Publications

Congressional districting has historically fostered single-member, geographically compact districts consisting of contiguous territory and has resulted in common representation for those who live near each other. Underlying compact districting is the assumption that people living relatively close together share political interests that can be adequately served by common representation. When the United States was a sparsely populated agrarian nation and only the propertied were the enfranchised, providing common representation based on residential proximity was sensible. Over time, however, the connection between residence and political interests has diminished. In the wake of the Supreme Court's suggestion that representation should focus on …

The Limits Of Social Choice Theory: A Defense Of The Voting Rights Act, Grant M. Hayden

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This Article presents a defense to the challenge that social choice theory presents to voting rights. Arrows theorem, the crown jewel of social choice theory, holds that no voting procedure that meets some minimal conditions of democratic fairness can ensure transitive, meaningful outcomes. The theorem provides a powerful argument against the ability of any court to devise objective vote dilution standards. Because such standards are now a necessary element of claims under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, Arrows theorem may be viewed as a fundamental threat to the viability of all such claims. The defense of voting rights …

Buckley V. Valeo: A Landmark Of Political Freedom, Joel Gora

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.