Law Commons^™

Where Are Your Papers? Photo Identification As A Prerequisite To Voting, Michael J. Kasper

Michael J. Kasper

ABSTRACT WHERE ARE YOUR PAPERS? Photo Identification as a Prerequisite to Voting Remember the old war movies? Richard Attenborough or William Holden is slowly walking down misty, Parisian streets, the collar of his trench turned up, the brim of the fedora pulled low. A black sedan screeches around the corner and screams to a stop in front of him, before he has time to react. Soldiers bound from the car, pistols draw, and bark “Vhere are your papers?” When did America become this movie? The U.S. Supreme Court will take up this question this term. This article explores five recent …

October 19, 2007: World Magazine Interview With Bruce Ledewitz, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

World Magazine interview with Bruce Ledewitz

New York's Judicial Selection Process Is Fine – It's The Party System That Needs Fixing, James A. Gardner

Other Scholarship

New York's system of electing lower court judges has long been notorious for providing the appearance of democracy without any of the substance. Although the people are given an opportunity to vote for judges, the really meaningful choices about who will run, where, and whether judicial elections will even be contested have for years been made by party insiders. Last year, in a case soon to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Second Circuit invalidated New York's method of electing judges on the ground that it violates the associational rights of party rank and file. In this brief …

Documentation Assessment Of The Diebold Voting System, S. Candice Hoke, Dave Kettyle

Law Faculty Reports and Comments

The California Secretary of State commissioned a comprehensive, independent evaluation of the electronic voting systems certified for use within the State. This team, working as part of the “Top to Bottom” Review (“TTBR”), evaluated the documentation supplied by Diebold Election System, Inc.

On American Voter Confidence, R. Michael Alvarez, Thad E. Hall, Morgan Llewellyn

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Collaborative Public Audit Of The November 2006 General Election, S. Candice Hoke, Collaborative Audit Committee

Law Faculty Reports and Comments

We hope that this Audit Report will assist the Ohio Secretary of State, all Ohio local Boards of Election, election reform organizations, and other election officials nationwide in seeing how an independent audit process can be created and function at the local level. Additionally, we hope the public will recognize that this Report contains the kind of information that all election administrative agencies need to better achieve the public charge for producing accurate election results and to facilitate sound improvements in election administrative practices.

Deliberation Or Tabulation? The Self-Undermining Constitutional Architecture Of Election Campaigns, James A. Gardner

Buffalo Law Review

Perhaps the one completely uncontested truth in the shared public ideology of American politics is that an election campaign ought to be a serious occasion in the life of a democratic polity, a time when citizens reflect maturely on the great public issues of the day. On this view, the ultimate purpose of election campaigns is to offer voters and candidates a meaningful opportunity for deliberation and persuasion. Of course, the typical modern American election campaign does not seem seriously reflective and deliberative so much as shallow and unengaging. Reasoned persuasion seems to play a minor role, if that. The …

A Vote For Clarity: Updating The Supreme Court's Severe Burden Test For State Election Regulations That Adversely Impact An Individual's Right To Vote, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The presidential election on November 2, 2004, was perhaps one of the most watched and contentious elections in recent memory. Both major parties knew that the race would come down to several battleground states, including Ohio. The real battle in Ohio, however, began a day or two before Election Day, when several federal judges clashed over whether to allow partisan challengers at the polls.

On October 31, 2004 and November 1, 2004, two separate district court judges ruled that an Ohio election statute allowing political parties and groups of five or more candidates to place challengers at election precincts to …

The Power Of Observation: The Role Of Federal Observers Under The Voting Rights Act, James Thomas Tucker

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) is one of the most successful civil rights laws ever enacted. Following its passage, the promise of the Fifteenth Amendment has become a reality for millions of Americans. Black voters in the South register to vote without being subjected to discriminatory tests or devices. Minority citizens can cast ballots free of intimidation and violence. Barriers posed by English-only elections have been removed for many language minority voters. Voters are permitted to receive assistance from the person of their choice. Federal observers play an indispensable role in serving as the eyes and ears of …

Peace Agreement Drafting Guide: Darfur, Paul Williams, Matthew Simpson, Christina Sheetz

Books

The Public International Law & Policy Group's (PILPG) Peace Agreement Drafting Guide: Darfur is a comprehensive peace agreement drafting handbook tailored to the upcoming Darfur peace negotiations. The drafting guide presents core elements of relevant topics, outlines the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) provisions related to those topics, and provides sample language parties may wish to consider when drafting future provisions. The Darfur Peace Agreement is divided into six chapters: Power Sharing, Wealth Sharing, Ceasefire and Final Security Arrangements, Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation, General Provisions, and Implementation Modalities and Timelines. The Darfur Peace Agreement also includes six annextures detailing previous agreements …

Political Advocacy And Taxable Entities: Are They The Next "Loophole"?, Donald B. Tobin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Oversight Hearing On The Election Assistance Commission, David A. Super

Congressional Testimony

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Preclearance, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, Guy-Uriel E. Charles

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Essay examines recent charges of political motivation against the Department of Justice and its enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. These accusations appear well-deserved, on the strength of the Department's recent handling of the Texas redistricting submission and Georgia's voting identification requirement. This Essay reaches two conclusions. First, it is clear that Congress wished to secure its understanding of the Act into the future through its preclearance requirement. Many critics of the voting rights bill worried about the degree of discretion that the legislation accorded the Attorney General. Supporters worried as well, for this degree of discretion might lead …

The Most Dangerous Justice Rides Into The Sunset, Paul H. Edelman, Jim Chen

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In this essay, our third and last in a series, we employ our previously developed techniques to measure the power of the Justices in the Rehnquist Court over its full 11 year run. Once again, Justice Kennedy rises to the top of our rankings, as he had done earlier. Our methods identify Justices Souter, Breyer and Ginsburg as being notable either for their influence or lack thereof. In addition, we rejoin the debate on the connection between being the median justice and being the most powerful one. We question whether even the most sophisticated methods of finding the median justice …

What Is "Fair" Partisan Representation, And How Can It Be Constitutionalized? The Case For A Return To Fixed Election Districts, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

A recent outpouring of public and academic criticism of gerrymandering raises difficult questions about when and under what circumstances the representation of political parties and their supporters can be considered fair. The difficulty is not, as Justice Kennedy recently suggested, that we lack consensual standards for evaluating the fairness of partisan representation. Such standards exist, but they tend to be subverted by the use of territorial districts. This occurs routinely because party and territory are conflicting and for the most part incommensurable principles upon which to found a system of legislative representation. The real question raised by gerrymandering is therefore …

Election Day At The Bar, Allison R. Hayward

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Legislative Privilege To Judge The Qualifications, Elections, And Returns Of Members, Paul E. Salamanca, James E. Keller

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In Stephenson v. Woodward, the Supreme Court of Kentucky functionally affirmed a quo warranto against a sitting member of the senate. Although a respectable argument can be made that the person in question was in fact not qualified to serve, the senate itself had deliberated on the issue and had reached its own respectable conclusion that she was qualified. More importantly, the Constitution of Kentucky, like the Constitution of the United States and that of virtually every other state, authorizes each house of the legislature to be the "judge of" its members' qualifications, elections and returns. According to the …

Kentucky 2006 Judicial Elections, William H. Fortune, Al Cross

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Article is a short report on the impact of Republican Party of Minnesota v. White on the 2006 Kentucky judicial campaigns and elections. The series of events leading up to the 2006 elections can be traced to at least 1988.

While the Kentucky Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee (KJCCC) cannot claim a great impact on Kentucky's 2006 judicial elections, the authors of this Article believe that the committee played a positive role. For the most part, judicial candidates campaigned in a dignified and ethical manner, and refrained from running on issues that might strike a chord with the electorate. Judicial …

Peace Agreement Drafting Guide: Darfur, Paul R. Williams, Matthew T. Simpson, Christina J. Sheetz

Paul Williams

The Public International Law & Policy Group's (PILPG) Peace Agreement Drafting Guide: Darfur is a comprehensive peace agreement drafting handbook tailored to the upcoming Darfur peace negotiations. The drafting guide presents core elements of relevant topics, outlines the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) provisions related to those topics, and provides sample language parties may wish to consider when drafting future provisions. The Darfur Peace Agreement is divided into six chapters: Power Sharing, Wealth Sharing, Ceasefire and Final Security Arrangements, Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation, General Provisions, and Implementation Modalities and Timelines. The Darfur Peace Agreement also includes six annextures detailing previous agreements …