Election Law Commons^™

A “Checklist Manifesto” For Election Day: How To Prevent Mistakes At The Polls, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Mistakes happen—especially at the polls on Election Day. To fix this complex problem inherent in election administration, this Article proposes the use of simple checklists. Errors occur in every election, yet many of them are avoidable. Poll workers should have easy-to-use tools to help them on Election Day as they handle throngs of voters. Checklists can assist poll workers in pausing during a complex process to avoid errors. This is a simple idea with a big payoff: fewer lost votes, shorter lines at the polls, a reduction in post-election litigation, and smoother election administration. Further, unlike many other suggested election …

A Pivotal Moment For Election Law, Joshua A. Douglas

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Judicial "Enforcement" Of A Grand Election Bargain, Michael J. Pitts

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Judicial Review Of Direct Democracy: A Reappraisal, Michael E. Solimine

Kentucky Law Journal

In his dissent in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission in 2015, Justice Clarence Thomas argued that the Supreme Court had been inconsistent in the rigor it employs when considering constitutional challenges to the products of direct democracy, i.e., referenda and initiatives. Some cases seemed to use stricter scrutiny, and others lesser scrutiny, as compared to challenges to ordinary legislation. Justice Thomas argued that the review of direct democracy should be the same as for ordinary legislation, a proposition with which this Article agrees. This Article challenges the position advanced by Professor Julian Eule over twenty-five years …

To Protect The Right To Vote, Look To State Courts And State Constitutions, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Issue Brief details the scope of voting rights under state constitutions, an overlooked source of the right to vote. Part I considers both the lack of a federal constitutional right to vote and the explicit right mentioned in virtually all state constitutions. Part II describes recent state-level voter ID cases, providing a summary of how courts facing litigation over voter ID laws have employed their state constitutions. Part III contends that state courts, instead of simply following narrow federal jurisprudence in “lockstep,” should give broader, independent force to their explicit state constitutional provisions conferring the right to vote. Part …

Brief Of Amici Curiae Professors Joshua A. Douglas And Michael E. Solimine, Election Law Scholars, In Support Of Petitioners, Joshua A. Douglas, Michael E. Solimine

Law Faculty Advocacy

Professor Joshua A. Douglas and Professor Michael E. Solimine are election law experts who have a particular interest in the procedural aspects of election litigation. Professors Douglas and Solimine are filing this brief because they have a keen interest in ensuring that the federal courts employ the proper procedure in election law cases, as doing so helps to resolve these disputes in a manner that best comports with the unique aspects of the electoral system. This brief explains why district courts should not use the pleading standard from Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) and Ashcroft …

Who's Afraid Of The Hated Political Gerrymander?, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer

Kentucky Law Journal

The political gerrymander has few friends among scholars and commentators. Even a majority on the Supreme Court agreed that the practice violates constitutional and democratic norms. Andyet, this is one of the few issues that the US. Supreme Court refuses to regulate. The justices mask their refusal to regulate this area on a professedi nability to divinej uaicially-manageables tandards. In turn, scholars offer new standards for the justices to consider. This is not only a mistake but also misguided. The history of the political question doctrine makes clear that the discovery of manageable standards has never controlled the Court's prior …

(Mis)Trusting States To Run Election, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Article critically examines recent Supreme Court election law jurisprudence, with a particular eye toward cases involving state election administration—a hotbed of litigation at the Court in recent years. Election administration entails the rules of operating an election and encompasses laws such as voter identification requirements, regulation of primaries, and other "nuts-and-bolts" aspects of the voting process. The Article focuses primarily on the last decade, mainly because that is when states have increasingly enacted stricter election regulations, supposedly in the name of "election integrity," but more likely to gain partisan advantage for the ruling party. In addition, during the first …

Campaign Finance And The Ecology Of Democratic Speech, Michael Kent Curtis, Eugene D. Mazo

Kentucky Law Journal

Biologists have contributed to our understanding of the world's ecosystems, explaining how the natural world is populated by different species, which are able to thrive and blossom because of the existence of other species in the rightproportion. In similar fashion, the authors of this article believe that the political world has an ecosystem. It is an ecosystem where free speech may thrive or wither, and its fate rests on the delicate balance of political influence between citizens and corporations. This balance is disturbed when concentrations of wealth funnel into the democratic process through campaign spending. The Supreme Court, through its …

The Right To Vote Under State Constitutions, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Article provides the first comprehensive look at state constitutional provisions explicitly granting the right to vote. We hear that the right to vote is "fundamental," the "essence of a democratic society," and "preservative of all rights." But courts and scholars are still searching for a solution to the puzzle of how best to protect voting rights, especially because the U.S. Supreme Court has underenforced the right to vote. The answer, however, is right in front of us: state constitutions. Virtually every state constitution includes direct, explicit language granting the right to vote, as contrasted with the U.S. Constitution, which …

Election Law Pleading, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Article explores how the Supreme Court’s recent pleading decisions in Twombly and Iqbal have impacted election litigation. It explains how Twombly and Iqbal’s “factual plausibility” standard usually does not help in an election case, because there is often little factual dispute regarding the operation of the election practice. Instead, the real question in a motion to dismiss is whether the plaintiff has stated a viable cause of action against the government defendant who is administering the election. But Twombly and Iqbal’s rule does not assist in answering this question. That is, Twombly and Iqbal are incongruent with …

The Foundational Importance Of Voting: A Response To Professor Flanders, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Voting is the foundational concept for our entire democratic structure. We think of voting as a fundamental-the most fundamental-right in our democracy. When a group of citizens collectively elects its representatives, it affirms the notion that we govern ourselves by free choice. An individual's right to vote ties that person to our social order, even if that person chooses not to exercise that right. Voting represents the beginning; everything else in our democracy follows the right to vote. Participation is more than just a value. It is a foundational virtue of our democracy.

Professor Chad Flanders, in a thought-provoking contribution …

Discouraging Election Contests, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This essay offers a few proposals for discouraging losing candidates from contesting the certified result of an election. The ultimate goal in any election, of course, is to ensure that a state declares as the winner the person who actually received the most votes. But when an election is close, a candidate on the losing side might see an incentive to continue the fight in the courts on the off-chance that it would change the outcome. The candidate could challenge, for example, certain provisional or absentee ballot—even if the likelihood that the candidate will win is slim (but still theoretically …

Procedural Fairness In Election Contests, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Article uncovers the different mechanisms states use to resolve election contests. One universal rule regarding post-election disputes is that "[t]here is no common law basis for election challenges." As the Iowa Supreme Court explained, "[t]he right to contest an election is only conferred by statute, and contestants must strictly comply with the provisions of the statute in order to confer jurisdiction. Thus, contestants are limited to the scheme provided by the legislature." An inquiry into election contests therefore entails a survey of state election statutes and constitutions. Although it is possible that parties may file in federal court and …

To Hava, And Beyond!, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Book review of Martha Kropf and David C. Kimball, Helping America Vote: The Limits of Election Reform. New York, NY: Routledge, 2012, 154 pp., $41.95 (paperback).

Voter Ignorance And Judicial Elections, Dmitry Bam

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Enlivening Election Law, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Election law cases are often lengthy and include complex discussion of constitutional doctrines. Moreover, there is rarely a clear-cut answer to a tricky election law question. The field is full of balancing tests, competing interests to weigh, and ever-shifting standards. A challenge for Election Law teachers, then, is to ensure that the long judicial opinions and difficult constitutional doctrines undergirding the field of election law do not bury the vibrancy of the topic. One way to keep an Election Law course student-friendly is to make frequent use of electronic media. Election law is well-suited to the adoption of images, videos, …

Election Law And Civil Discourse: The Promise Of Adr, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Article was the result of a Symposium that explored the potential promises of alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) for resolving election law disputes. Both election law and ADR scholars opined on how ADR can help to achieve various goals for deciding contentious election law cases. My focus in this essay is narrower: I suggest that employing some features of ADR to resolve election disputes can help to improve the civil discourse of our elections and our political culture. That is, certain aspects of ADR can assist in reducing caustic language in election law judicial decisions, in the media’s reporting of …

English Only?--The "Power" Of Kentucky's Official Language Statute, Mark A. Flores

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

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 …

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

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Look Homeward Candidate: Evaluating And Reforming Kentucky's Residency Definition And Bona Fides Challenges In Order To Avoid A Potential Crisis In Gubernatorial Elections, S. Chad Meredith

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Tax Exemption Of American Churches And Other Nonprofits: One Election Cycle After Branch Ministries V. Rossotti, Jerome Park Prather

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Contestable Judicial Elections: Maintaining Respectability In The Post-White Era, Joseph E. Lambert

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

"Don't Show Them Where To Click And Vote:" An Assessment Of Electioneering Law In The United States As A Consideration In Implementing Internet Voting Regimes, Michael Odell Walker

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Campaign Finance Reform In Kentucky: The Race For Governor, Jennifer A. Moore

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Regulating Our Mischievous Factions: Presidential Nominations And The Law, Andrew Pierce

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Pacs In Kentucky: Regulating The Permanent Committees, John R. Hays

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Corporate Political Speech: The Effect Of First National Bank Of Boston V. Bellotti Upon Statutory Limitations On Corporate Referendum Spending, Francis H. Fox

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Courts And Reapportionment: The Exemption Of Judicial Elections, Philip L. Martin

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.