Election Law Commons^™

Corporate Governance Speech, Sarah C. Haan

Seattle University Law Review

The State has always regulated the intra-firm communications that make corporate governance possible, most commonly by mandating disclosures of information by a corporation to its shareholders. Some such laws are labeled “securities regulation,” but securities regulation is a broad category that extends to speech by actors who are outside the corporate enterprise as well. Also, the conventional securities regulation category does not capture all such laws; other examples, including informationforcing mandates, can be found in state corporate law. This Article uses the term “corporate governance speech” to describe the communications among shareholders, directors, and officers through which corporate governance is …

Dark Accounting Matter, Colleen Honigsberg

Seattle University Law Review

Physicists calculate that approximately 85% of the matter in the universe is composed of “dark matter” that “does not absorb, reflect, or emit electromagnetic radiation and is therefore difficult to detect.” The S&P 500 currently trades at a price-to-book value of 4.2, suggesting that book value accounts for less than 20% of the S&P 500’s market value. The remaining 80% appears nowhere in these firms’ balance sheets—it is invisible to contemporary accounting techniques and constitutes “dark accounting matter.”

Some “dark accounting matter” is composed of factors commonly described as components of “ESG.” Human capital, for example, is an intangible asset …

The Employees’ Dilemma: Balancing Internal Reporting, Whistleblowing, And Insider Trading Risks, Geeyoung Min

Seattle University Law Review

The Essay examines how recent developments in insider trading regulations and whistleblower reward programs can lead to unintended and counterproductive results of discouraging employees from using internal reporting channels within corporate compliance programs. While the presence of a robust and well-functioning corporate compliance program is a critical factor both in mitigating the level of public enforcement actions against companies and in protecting corporate managers from liability in private litigation, these programs often provide little incentive for employees to report potential misconduct internally.

Corporate compliance programs are designed to promote the upward information flow within the company, which is essential for …

How The Antidiscrimination Law Of Commercial Transactions Really Works, Helen Norton

Seattle University Law Review

A variety of businesses now cite 303 Creative when seeking First Amendment protection for their refusal to serve certain customers based on those customers’ protected class status. How this litigation will play out remains to be seen. But future courts need not, and should not, repeat the 303 Creative Court’s misunderstanding of how the antidiscrimination law of commercial transactions actually works.

Part I of this Essay explains the Court’s longstanding understanding of the antidiscrimination law of commercial transactions, and then describes the Court’s failure to engage with this precedent in 303 Creative. Part II then identifies the 303 Creative decision’s …

Regulating Artificial Elections, Courtney A. Barclay

Belmont Law Review

This Article examines the growing role of artificial intelligence in shaping modern election discourse and the resulting tensions with First Amendment doctrine. Focusing on generative AI, deepfakes, chatbots, and synthetic media, the Article evaluates whether existing campaign finance laws—particularly disclosure and disclaimer requirements—adequately address AI-driven distortions in the electoral marketplace of ideas. Surveying the Federal Election Commission’s 2024 interpretive rule on fraudulent misrepresentation, emerging state legislation regulating synthetic media, and proposed federal reforms, the Article argues that current legal frameworks are both constitutionally constrained and practically insufficient. Drawing on the AdChoices model from data privacy regulation, it proposes a hybrid …

Green Dividends: A Case Study In Green Dividends And The Conditions For Private Ordering Solutions, Anne M. Tucker

Seattle University Law Review

This Essay introduces a novel private ordering solution to facilitate corporate investments in pro-social and environmental initiatives: Green dividends. Green dividends are an optional increase in shareholder dividends that are returned to the company to be reinvested in environmental initiatives or kept by a shareholder.

Green dividends pose an alternative to the current gridlocked debate that corporations can’t, won’t, shouldn’t, and shouldn’t even try to act in pro-social or environmental ways. Turning the common refrains on their head converts each narrative into an element for a successful private ordering solution: authority, accountability, shareholder buy-in, and government- backed enforcement. With Green …

Does Climate Disclosure Work To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions? Emerging Evidence Suggests Cautious Optimism, Cynthia A. Williams

Seattle University Law Review

Significant regulatory resources have been spent developing global, voluntary climate and sustainability disclosure standards, such as the TCFD, TNRD, and ISSB’s Sustainability and Climate Disclosure standards, or domestically required disclosures, such as in the EU and in the U.S. Thus, it is important to evaluate whether this disclosure, particularly voluntary, qualitative disclosure, will have the power to shift the allocation of capital, will have a significant effect on the management of climate risk within firms, and ultimately will reduce climate change risk and biodiversity loss.

In this Article, several interrelated questions will be discussed. First, what does the empirical evidence …

Money Talks: The Disproportionate Influence Of Corporations On U.S. Governance Today, David C. Hayter

Lewis & Clark Law Review

Corruption: “Dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government officials . . . )”; and “inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means (such as bribery).”

What does the word “corruption” first bring to mind? For some, maybe a foreign country—where political regimes blatantly use the government as a tool to further personal agendas or gains without due consideration of the citizenry. For others, a fictional movie or TV show depicting politicians and police officers providing protections to mafia members in exchange for cash. No matter what comes to mind, many today think of corruption as manifested …

Restoring Public Trust In Elections: An Empirical Study Of How Campaign Finance Reform Can Restore Public Trust In Elections, Matthew Dale Kim

UF Law Faculty Publications

The American public has become deeply distrustful of elections. This distrust is partly due to Supreme Court decisions curtailing campaign finance restrictions, on First Amendment grounds, to spending that creates an appearance of quid pro quo corruption. The Court’s reasoning assumes that, although the government has an interest in protecting the public’s trust in elections, campaign spending does not pose a threat to the public’s trust absent the appearance of quid pro quo corruption. However, it is unclear if campaign spending undermines the public’s trust in elections through means other than the appearance of quid pro quo corruption. If it …

Electing The Supreme Court, Dmitry Bam

FIU Law Review

There is a curious irony in how we select United States Supreme Court justices. According to basic constitutional theory, as well as the arguments made by many leading Framers at the time of the Founding, one of the Court’s primary roles is to serve as a check on the executive and legislative branches when they exceed the constitutional limits imposed by the American people. Yet, we ask those very branches to jointly select the justices responsible for enforcing these limits, leaving the American people with only an indirect (if any) role in the process. Not surprisingly, the justices nominated by …

History, Tradition, And Voter Registration, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

History and tradition are dominating the Supreme Court, which has invoked history and tradition to curtail some rights, such as abortion, while using it to elevate other rights, such as the right to bear arms. Might history and tradition also cause the Court to strike down new restrictions on the right to vote, even if doing so would cut against the current Court’s narrow protection of voting rights? Disputes over voter registration restrictions will pose that very question. Many states have recently implemented onerous rules on voter registration, especially targeting third-party voter registration organizations. Congress is also debating the SAVE …

The Unconstitutionality Of Governor Youngkin's Felon Re-Enfranchisement Scheme (Or Lack Thereof): An Examination Of Hawkins V. Youngkin'S Challenge To Virginia's Current Felon Re-Enfranchisement Scheme, Olivia Rovin

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Note argues that Governor Youngkin’s felon re-enfranchisement “scheme” violates the Constitution. Ultimately, I will be evaluating the argument made in Hawkins v. Youngkin, formerly known as Nolef Turns v. Youngkin, noting its strengths and its weaknesses. Part I describes both American history and Virginia’s specific history of denying people convicted of felonies their right to vote. It also details the Supreme Court case, Richardson v. Ramirez, in which the Court held that denying people convicted of a felony the right to vote is constitutional under the Equal Protection Clause. Part I also gives a brief history …

What's The Harm In (Partisan) Gerrymandering? Collective Vs. Dyadic Accounts Of Representational Disparities, Sanford C. Gordon, Douglas M. Spencer, Sidak Yntiso

Publications

Traditional approaches for documenting the harm of gerrymandering emphasize collective representation by legislatures, minimizing the relationship between individual voters and their respective representatives. Federal courts have struggled to map collective accounts onto cognizable constitutional harms, reflecting a discomfort evaluating a system of representation inescapably rooted in geographic districts using diagnostics that treat districts and their boundaries as an inconvenience rather than an intrinsic feature. A normative account of representation and accountability rooted in the dyadic relationship between voters and their legislators addresses the exact harms that courts have articulated yet struggled to substantiate. We derive a formal model of dyadic …

Interesting Intersections Of Immigration And First Amendment Law, David Hudson, Maximiliano Gluzman

FIU Law Review

This essay identifies four areas of immigration law in which pressing First Amendment claims play a prominent and dominant role. The first area involves denial of admission or deportation based on pure or symbolic speech. At various times, Congress has enacted grounds of inadmissibility and deportability that squarely fall within the purview of the First Amendment. The second area involves so-called retaliatory deportations, when the government initiates or accelerates removal proceedings against a noncitizen who is in violation of immigration laws allegedly for the non-citizen’s activism, protest activity, or other First Amendment speech or expressive conduct. The third area involves …

Administering Presidential Elections And Counting Electoral Votes After Trump V. Anderson, Derek T. Muller

Journal Articles

In the landmark case Trump v. Anderson, the Supreme Court unanimously held that states lack the unilateral power to exclude presidential candidates from the ballot on the basis of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. But while the Court was united in its essential holding, the Justices fractured in their reasoning, leaving significant questions about Congress's role in enforcing Section 3 against presidential candidates.

This Article examines the fault lines in Trump v. Anderson and analyzes how Congress's power to count electoral votes under the Twelfth Amendment intersects with its authority to enforce Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. …

Partisan Impact? Rejecting The Wisconsin Supreme Court’S New Remedial Redistricting Criterion, Anthony Sikorski

Marquette Law Review

In Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the districting maps for the Wisconsin Legislature that the court had adopted at the close of the Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission trilogy of cases. In so doing, while the Clarke majority based its decision on the maps containing noncontiguous districts, in violation of article IV, sections 4 and 5 of the Wisconsin Constitution, it not-so-subtly introduced a new criterion that would be used to judge remedial maps: “partisan impact.” This Comment critiques the partisan impact criterion through a textualist lens, concluding that the Wisconsin Constitution does …

Can The Law Of Democracy Save Democracy?, Helen L. Norton

Publications

No abstract provided.

As The Rainstorm Continues, Must We Throw Out The Raincoat Too? Private Enforcement Of Section 2 Of The Voting Rights Act, Derek A. Zeigler

Michigan Law Review

For almost six decades, the Voting Rights Act (VRA) has been a bulwark against the worst impulses of government actors who would rather manipulate the rules to stay in power than vigorously compete on the battleground of ideas. In the modern era, the U.S. Supreme Court has routinely weakened the Act’s protections, including its core remaining enforcement provision, Section 2, which protects voters from racially discriminatory policies. Today, Section 2’s continued vitality is at risk. In November 2023, the Eighth Circuit held that Section 2 lacks an implied private right of action—a decision at odds with three of its sister …

Problems Of Compliance In Election Law, Lisa Marshall Manheim

Articles

Elections do not operate in perfect compliance with the law. Instead, irregularities are routine and, to some extent, inevitable. The law of elections responds to this tension by recognizing that only some legal irregularities, under only some circumstances, have even the potential to invalidate an electoral process. One manifestation of this response involves variable standards of compliance. Doctrines implicated by these standards recognize that some election rules require only substantial compliance, rather than strict compliance, to be considered fulfilled. These compliance standards serve a vital role in election law regimes across the country. The basic operation of these standards is, …

Pengakuan Hak Masyarakat Adat Dalam Hukum Pengelolaan Sumber Daya Alam: Studi Perbandingan Indonesia–Australia, Farid Al Hadana, Sukarman Sukarman, Farhan Margono, Hamzah Hamzah

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Meskipun terdapat pengakuan konstitusional di Indonesia dan Australia, hak-hak masyarakat adat dalam tata kelola sumber daya alam masih lemah perlindungannya, terutama karena kerangka kerja Indonesia yang terfragmentasi dan tersentralisasi gagal mewujudkan keadilan lingkungan. Makalah ini membandingkan rezim hukum Indonesia dan Australia terkait tata kelola lahan dan sumber daya masyarakat adat untuk mengidentifikasi bagaimana pengakuan dapat diubah menjadi hak yang dapat ditegakkan dan untuk merumuskan model reformasi yang berorientasi pada keadilan bagi Indonesia. Dengan menggunakan analisis hukum komparatif kualitatif, makalah ini menggabungkan observasi doktrinal terhadap yurisprudensi konstitusional, peraturan-undangan, dan yurisprudensi dengan pemeriksaan dokumen kebijakan dan konflik ilustratif yang melibatkan wilayah masyarakat …

Ius Constituendum Pengaturan Ambang Batas Parlemen Berdasarkan Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Nomor 116/Puu-Xxi/2023, Arsyianti Mega Nanda, Erland Ferdinansyah

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Pemilu merupakan wujud pelaksanaan kedaulatan rakyat di Indonesia yang menganut sistem presidensial dan multipartai. Namun, banyaknya partai memicu instabilitas koalisi dan melemahkan dukungan terhadap presiden. Untuk mengatasi hal ini diterapkan ambang batas parlemen (Parliamentary Threshold). Putusan MK No. 116/PUU-XXI/2023 menyatakan ambang batas 4% konstitusional untuk Pemilu 2024, namun inkonstitusional untuk Pemilu selanjutnya. Putusan ini menegaskan perlunya ambang batas baru yang tidak hanya menyederhanakan sistem kepartaian, tetapi juga menjamin keadilan suara dan proporsionalitas sesuai prinsip kedaulatan rakyat. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode yuridis normatif dengan pendekatan kualitatif-deskriptif. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui studi kepustakaan. Kerangka teori yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini meliputi teori …

Menguak Status Dan Legalitas Rupiah Digital Sebagai Legal Tender (Perspektif Teori Keadilan Bermartabat), Sylvia Setjoatmadja, Jeferson Kameo

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Digital technology and modern telecommunications have been and will continue to be key factors in the emergence of various innovative products. One such innovative product is digital currency, specifically Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). In Indonesia, advancements in digital technology and telecommunications have encouraged the government to issue a CBDC, which will be named Digital Rupiah. The initiative to issue Digital Rupiah also responds to global trends and the public's need for secure, efficient, and sustainable payment instruments.

However, the plan to issue Digital Rupiah is not without challenges, particularly regarding the clarity of its legal status as a lawful …

Dekolonisasi Hukum Perdata Indonesia: Kritik Terhadap Warisan Kolonial Dan Implikasinya Terhadap Pembangunan Hukum Berkeadilan, R. Mustar Lofi

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Hukum perdata Indonesia hingga kini masih berada di bawah bayang-bayang warisan kolonial, terutama melalui keberlakuan Burgerlijk Wetboek (BW) 1848 yang diwarisi dari Belanda. Meskipun berbagai peraturan baru telah diundangkan, fondasi utama hukum perdata belum sepenuhnya lepas dari struktur, nilai, dan cara pandang kolonial. Artikel ini mengkaji secara kritis bagaimana dominasi hukum kolonial masih berpengaruh dalam pembentukan dan penegakan hukum perdata di Indonesia, serta mengapa dekolonisasi menjadi penting dalam pembangunan sistem hukum yang berkeadilan. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan yuridis-normatif dan analisis interdisipliner dari perspektif sosiologis hukum dan filsafat hukum, tulisan ini menelusuri bagaimana warisan hukum kolonial menciptakan ketimpangan, terutama dalam hal akses …

Desain Dan Konstitusionalitas Penerapan Pilkada Asimetris Di Indonesia, Lalu Aria Nata Kusuma

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

The idea of implementing asymmetric regional elections (Pilkada) in Indonesia is not a new concept. However, to date, there has been no effort to provide a design for the implementation of Pilkada in an asymmetric manner, considering the specific needs of each region and its alignment with the 1945 Constitution. This article aims to implement Pilkada in an asymmetric manner by first mapping the asymmetry models of each region based on their specific needs. This research uses a doctrinal and socio-legal approach. The results of this research indicate a need to implement Pilkada asymmetrically in Indonesia. This urgency arises due …

Digital Constitutionalism: Resistensi Kebebasan Berpendapat Di Indonesia Dalam Hegemoni Algoritma Ruang Digital, Yuniar Prehatini, Linda Noviana Mita Devi

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Era digital membawa transformasi dalam segala aspek kehidupan. Perkembangan teknologi menghadirkan perkembangan zaman pada sisi positif dan negatif dimana penggunaan ruang digital yang dapat diakses tanpa batasan wilayah. Kebebasan diartikan melalui teknologi dengan adanya akses ruang digital memberikan kemudahan akses kepada siapa pun. Melalui algoritma digital, segala hal baik dari aspek budaya, politik, maupun ekonomi dapat diketahui sehingga hal ini juga dapat menimbulkan keresahan apabila tidak diatur batasan akan keberadaannya. Penelitian ini menggunakan penelitian normatif yang fokus pada analisis terhadap norma, asas, doktrin, dan teori hukum yang berkaitan dengan perlindungan hak asasi manusia di ruang digital. Hasil penulisan ini menunjukkan …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Voting Matters: Materiality Considerations And The Shareholder Vote, Renee M. Jones

Seattle University Law Review

For the shareholder franchise to have meaning, shareholders must have access to relevant information to inform their voting decisions. The securities laws’ disclosure requirements play an essential role in informing the shareholder vote.

This Essay focuses on the question of the materiality of information in the context of shareholder voting. It addresses the question of whether ESG-related information is material, positioning the materiality inquiry within the context of shareholders’ voting decisions. It explores the definition of materiality with a focus on the “reasonable investor” concept embedded within the definition. The Essay argues that the implicit expectations of many commentators that …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Understanding The Big Three’S Wavering Support Of Environmental And Social Shareholder Proposals, Jeff Schwartz, Jefferson Jensen

Seattle University Law Review

Because of their substantial equity portfolios, BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street (the Big 3) are central players in corporate governance. It is, therefore, critical to understand how they vote. One puzzle is that their support for shareholder proposals on environmental and social matters appears to waiver. In 2020, for instance, BlackRock supported 11.1% of environmental proposals at S&P 500 firms. In 2021, it seemingly reversed course, supporting 55.2%. It then flipped again, supporting 32.1% in 2022. Such statistics suggest that the Big 3 are constantly changing their views on these topics. This Article seeks to better understand whether this is …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead