Law Commons^™

One Person, One Vote, And The Possibility Of Political Community, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Voting Rights And The Legacy Of Baker V. Carr, José F. Anderson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Neutralizing The Incompetent Voter: A Comment On Cook V. Gralike, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Congressional Power Over Presidential Elections: Lessons From The Past And Reforms For The Future, Dan T. Coenen, Edward J. Larson

Scholarly Works

Presidential election controversies are nothing new. They have plagued our republic since 1801, when the fourth election for the office ended in a muddle that nearly deprived the rightful winner of the presidency. Each controversy has led to calls for reform. In every instance, the cryptic and troublesome constitutional text has hampered congressional efforts to correct the problems. Simply stated, the Constitution offers little explicit guidance on when and how Congress can regulate the selection of the President. In this Article, we explore the implications of this textual deficiency, looking both at what Congress has done in the past and …

Structural Principles And Presidential Succession, Howard M. Wasserman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bush V. Gore And A Proper Separation Of Powers, George Anastaplo

Faculty Publications & Other Works

No abstract provided.

Article Ii And The Florida Election Case: A Public Choice Perspective, Michael L. Wells, Jeffry M. Netter

Scholarly Works

This Article puts aside the equal protection rationale on which the majority relied in Bush v. Gore. We share Richard Epstein's view that "[a]ny equal protection challenge to the Florida recount procedure quickly runs into insurmountable difficulties." In our view there is a more compelling argument to support the ruling. It begins with Chief Justice Rehnquist's concurring opinion, which focused on Article II, Section 1, Clause 2, of the United States Constitution. Clause 2 provides that "[e]ach State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct" electors for President and Vice President. The critical issue in Bush …

A Vote Cast; A Vote Counted: Quantifying Voting Rights Through Proportional Representation In Congressional Elections, Michael Mccann

Law Faculty Scholarship

The current winner-take-all or first-past-the-post system of voting promotes an inefficient market where votes are often wasted. In this system, representatives are selected from a single district in which the candidate with the plurality of votes gains victory. Candidates who appear non-generic can rarely, if ever, expect to receive the most votes in this system. This phenomenon is especially apparent when African-Americans and other minority groups seek elected office. In part because white voters constitute at least a plurality of voters in every state except Hawaii, minorities in the forty-nine other states have had historically little success in gaining election …

Pick A Number, Any Number: State Representation In Congress After The 2000 Census, Paul H. Edelman, Suzanna Sherry

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In this essay, Professors Edelman and Sherry explain the mathematics behind the allocation of congressional seats to each state, and survey the different methods of allocation that Congress has used over the years. Using 2000 census figures, they calculate each state's allocation under five different methods, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods.

What Bush V. Gore Means For Elections In The 21st Century, Helen Norton

Publications

No abstract provided.

Florida On Trial: Federalism In The 2000 Presidential Election, Jon L. Mills

UF Law Faculty Publications

This article analyzes how Florida's state election laws operated during the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election. The intersection of law and politics in this controversy was critical. Political considerations affected decisions in both the Bush and Gore camps. The aftermath of the 2000 election found the federal government, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the State of Florida (among others) commissioning task forces and committees to investigate and suggest election reforms.

Ultimately, the State of Florida passed significant election reform legislation. On May 10, 2001, Florida enacted sweeping election reform legislation entitled the Florida Election Reform Act of …

The Future Of Reform: Campaign Finance After The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act Of 2002, Richard Briffault

Faculty Scholarship

On March 27, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 ("BCRA" or "the Act") into law. The culmination of a protracted six-year legislative and political struggle, BCRA is the most significant change in federal campaign finance law since the early 1970s, when the Federal Election Campaign Act ("FECA") of 1971 and FECA Amendments of 1974 were adopted. The Act addresses a broad range of campaign finance issues, including fundraising on federal property, contributions by foreign nationals, donations to the presidential inauguration committee, electronic filing and Internet access to campaign disclosure reports, and penalties for …

The Contested Right To Vote, Richard Briffault

Faculty Scholarship

For those who believe the United States is a representative democracy with a government elected by the people, the events of late 2000must have been more than a little disconcerting. In the election for our most important public office – our only truly national office – the candidate who received the most popular votes was declared the loser while his second place opponent, who had received some 540,000 fewer votes, was the winner. This result turned on the outcome in Florida, where approximately 150,000 ballots cast were found not to contain valid votes. Further, due to flaws in ballot design, …