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Articles 91 - 116 of 116

Full-Text Articles in Election Law

Ratification Of Reapportionment Plans Drawn By Redistricting Commissions, Poonam Kumar May 2007

Ratification Of Reapportionment Plans Drawn By Redistricting Commissions, Poonam Kumar

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Partisan gerrymandering is a danger that threatens the foundations of the American democratic structure. This Note argues that partisan gerrymandering must be eliminated in order to foster political competition and ensure government accountability. Without a judicial solution, redistricting commissions present a viable option to help cure the ills of partisan gerrymandering. This Note argues that automatic and mandatory state supreme court judicial review must be the process by which the redistricting plans drawn by these commissions are ratified. Automatic judicial review permits redistricting to remain a legislative task while giving the judiciary a quintessential judicial task. In addition, this Note …


Deliberation Or Tabulation? The Self-Undermining Constitutional Architecture Of Election Campaigns, James A. Gardner Apr 2007

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 Strike At The Heart Of Democracy: Why Legal Challenges To Felon Disenfranchisement Laws Should Succeed, Alysia Robben Mar 2007

A Strike At The Heart Of Democracy: Why Legal Challenges To Felon Disenfranchisement Laws Should Succeed, Alysia Robben

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.


What Is "Fair" Partisan Representation, And How Can It Be Constitutionalized? The Case For A Return To Fixed Election Districts, James A. Gardner Jan 2007

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 …


A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing: Gaffney And The Improper Role Of Politics In The Districting Process, Robert A. Koch Oct 2005

A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing: Gaffney And The Improper Role Of Politics In The Districting Process, Robert A. Koch

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The Supreme Court unanimously agrees that excessive partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional. A plurality of the Court, however, would hold partisan gerrymandering claims to be nonjusticiable due to the lack of a judicially manageable standard. This Note synthesizes the opinions of a majority of the Court in Vieth v. Jubelirer on the precise harms of partisan gerrymandering and argues that excessive partisan gerrymandering unconstitutionally burdens the representational rights of individual voters. This Note proposes a judicially manageable standard to address that representational harm based on the Court's standard in Shaw v. Reno.


The Case For Federal Anti-Gerrymandering Legislation, Brian O'Neill Apr 2005

The Case For Federal Anti-Gerrymandering Legislation, Brian O'Neill

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Partisan gerrymandering is a political tradition the United States can no longer afford. Due in part to the effects of partisan gerrymandering, very few congressional elections are meaningfully competitive. This Note argues that partisan gerrymandering damages both the quality of American democracy and the federal system of the United States. This Note concludes that the important federal interests at stake warrant action by Congress to halt partisan gerrymandering. The Note further concludes that any action by Congress should incorporate the principles of federalism by resisting the temptation to micromanage and Congress should instead require state commissions to draft the boundaries …


Felon Disenfrachisement Laws: Partisan Politics In The Legislatures, Jason Belmont Conn Jan 2005

Felon Disenfrachisement Laws: Partisan Politics In The Legislatures, Jason Belmont Conn

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This examination of the institutional changes to state legislatures, synthesized with an analysis of the handling of felon disenfranchisement laws by state legislatures, presents a troubling realization about the law today: in the twenty-first century, partisan politics moderates decisions about even the most basic and fundamental principles of democracy. This Note suggests that because state legislators follow their party leadership and position, a state's traditional treatment of racial minorities, geographic location, and even ideology are not the strongest indicators of a state's disenfranchisement laws. Rather, partisan politics drives changes to the state laws governing felon voter eligibility.


How Much Does Money Matter In A Direct Democracy?, John M. De Figueiredo Jan 2005

How Much Does Money Matter In A Direct Democracy?, John M. De Figueiredo

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Campaign Finance Reform And The Social Inequality Paradox, Yoav Dotan May 2004

Campaign Finance Reform And The Social Inequality Paradox, Yoav Dotan

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The recent landmark decision by the Supreme Court in McConnell v. FEC opens the way for new and more decisive regulation of the vast amounts of private and corporate money poured into the political system. However, the theoretical grounds for campaign finance regulation - as reflected in the Court's opinion - remain highly perplexing. The purpose of the current article is to tie together the evolving constitutional principle of equality in election with modern process theory and to apply them to the field of campaign finance. The inherent tension between the stringent requirement for political equality on the one hand …


Cheap Talk Citizenship: The Democratic Implications Of Voting With Dollars, Bruce E. Cain May 2003

Cheap Talk Citizenship: The Democratic Implications Of Voting With Dollars, Bruce E. Cain

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Hybridizing Citizenship, Kathryn Abrams May 2003

Hybridizing Citizenship, Kathryn Abrams

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Vouchers And Buckley: The Need For "Regime Change", Richard L. Hasan May 2003

Vouchers And Buckley: The Need For "Regime Change", Richard L. Hasan

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Political Realities And Unintended Consequences: Why Campaign Finance Reform Is Too Important To Be Left To The Lawyers, Kenneth R. Mayer May 2003

Political Realities And Unintended Consequences: Why Campaign Finance Reform Is Too Important To Be Left To The Lawyers, Kenneth R. Mayer

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Response To Voting With Dollars: A New Paradigm For Campaign Finance, Fred Wertheimer, Alexandra T.V. Edsall May 2003

Response To Voting With Dollars: A New Paradigm For Campaign Finance, Fred Wertheimer, Alexandra T.V. Edsall

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Dollars And Sense: A "New Paradigm" For Campaign Finance Reform?, Daniel A. Farber May 2003

Dollars And Sense: A "New Paradigm" For Campaign Finance Reform?, Daniel A. Farber

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Voting With Cues, Elizabeth Garrett May 2003

Voting With Cues, Elizabeth Garrett

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Why A New Paradigm?, Bruce Ackerman, Ian Ayres May 2003

Why A New Paradigm?, Bruce Ackerman, Ian Ayres

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Redefining American Democracy: Do Alternative Voting Systems Capture The True Meaning Of "Representation"?, James Thomas Tucker Jan 2002

Redefining American Democracy: Do Alternative Voting Systems Capture The True Meaning Of "Representation"?, James Thomas Tucker

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Article explores whether alternative voting systems are compatible with the meaning of representation in the United States. Part II begins by examining the role of geographical representation and the effect it has on the ability of individuals and groups of voters to give or withhold their consent. Part III follows this inquiry by assessing the relationship between representatives and constituents under majoritarian and proportional systems to determine the consequences of moving away from geographical representation towards models designed to enhance opportunities for all voters to choose winning candidates. A description of what a "majority" is and when and how …


A Spotlight On Structure, Allison H. Eid Jan 2001

A Spotlight On Structure, Allison H. Eid

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.


Trends. Throwing Out The Baby With The Bathwater: Form And Substance Of Peruvian Democracy, Ibpp Editor Jun 2000

Trends. Throwing Out The Baby With The Bathwater: Form And Substance Of Peruvian Democracy, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses corruption and democracy in Peru during the time of President Alberto Fujimori.


Neither Free Nor Fair: The 1996 Bosnian Elections And The Failure Of The U.N. Election-Monitoring Mission, Christopher A. Riley Jan 1997

Neither Free Nor Fair: The 1996 Bosnian Elections And The Failure Of The U.N. Election-Monitoring Mission, Christopher A. Riley

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The international community faced a difficult challenge after the Dayton Peace Accords ended the civil war in Bosnia. Free and fair elections became an essential component to establishing a democratic government in the war-torn country. The United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe responded by carrying out Annex 3 of the Peace Accords, which called for such elections. The resultant election-monitoring mission in Bosnia, however, was unsuccessful The elections were held under improper conditions. Therefore, the Bosnian people lack confidence in the democratic process, which is necessary for long-term democracy.


Vote Dilution And The Census Undercount: A State-By-State Remedy, Christopher M. Taylor Feb 1996

Vote Dilution And The Census Undercount: A State-By-State Remedy, Christopher M. Taylor

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that groups seeking to correct underrepresentation caused by the differential undercount do not have standing to sue the Secretary of Commerce but that they can sue their state governments in an effort to force them to use the best population data available in the construction of congressional districts. Part I details the deeply rooted character of the differential undercount, describes statistical means that could have been employed to adjust the 1990 census, and demonstrates that the adjusted count surpasses the official census as an accurate representation of the true population. Part II examines recent litigation that has …


The Empitness Of Majority Rule, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer Jan 1996

The Empitness Of Majority Rule, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

In this Note, the author steers away from the current substantive debates surrounding the Voting Rights Act, its various amendments, and the "correct" way of interpreting its intended benefits and constitutionally accepted mandates. Instead, indirectly joins the many "radical" voices advocating for a departure from the majoritarian stranglehold-the decision-making process where fifty percent plus one of the voting population carry the election. The author does so not by suggesting yet another mechanism by which representatives may be elected, but by critiquing the perceived underpinnings of our democratic system of government. The author does not profess to delineate a definitive interpretation …


Democracy And Dis-Appointment, Lani Guinier May 1995

Democracy And Dis-Appointment, Lani Guinier

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Tyranny of the Majority: Fundamental Fairness in Representative Democracy


Local Elections In Canada, A Wr Carrothers Oct 1990

Local Elections In Canada, A Wr Carrothers

Dalhousie Law Journal

This book is the fifth in a series by the same author, and the same publisher, on Canadian Election Law. The previous books (with their sub-titles) are as follows: Political Rights (The Legal Framework of Elections in Canada); Lawmaking by the People (Referendums and Plebiscites in Canada); Money and Message (The Law Governing Election Financing, Advertising, Broadcasting and Campaigning in Canada); and, Election Law in Canada (The Law and Procedure of Federal, Provincial and Territorial Elections (two volumes)). The present book is sub-titled "The Law Governing Elections of Municipal Councils, School Boards and Other Local Authorities". The sub-title is a …


Expression Of Democracy: Local Elections In Petorca, Chile, Peter S. Cleaves, Eugene V. Matta Jan 1967

Expression Of Democracy: Local Elections In Petorca, Chile, Peter S. Cleaves, Eugene V. Matta

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The municipal elections of Chile were held on April 2,1967. On April 3, in Santiago, spokesmen from the national committees of the five major parties --the Christian Democrats, the Radicals, the Communists, the Nationalists, and the Socialists--all proclaimed that the results showed that their political aggregation had been victorious on the previous day. The debate concerning who had won the election raged for several weeks in the press, in Congress and in spirited social conversation. The Christian Democrats argued that although their percentage of the national vote dropped from forty-two per cent to thirty-five per cent, they had increased their …