Election Law Commons^™

Studi Komparatif Konstitusi Di Indonesia Dan Timor Leste : Analisis Aspek Inherent, Konstitusionalisme Dan Pemilihan Umum Presiden, Qothrunnada Uni Fauziyah

Jurnal Konstitusi & Demokrasi

A comparison of the constitutions between Indonesia and East Timor provides an interesting insight into how the two countries, which have different historical and cultural backgrounds, formulate their legal and political frameworks. Indonesia, as a country that has been independent since 1945, has a constitution that has undergone several amendments and changes along with political and social developments. On the other hand, East Timor, which gained independence in 2002 after decades of conflict and colonization, 24 years of integration with the Republic of Indonesia and has a newer Constitution and is still in the early stages of development. Another important …

If It Was Good Enough To Work Against The Nazis . . . : Revitalizing The Foreign Agents Registration Act To Regulate Modern Foreign Electioneering, Troy Mccurry

Catholic University Law Review

News headlines from the 2016 election to the present have described an ongoing political scandal that is unmatched in modern history: continued attempts of foreign interference in U.S. elections. It is fairly obvious that the United States lacks adequate restrictions to prevent foreign interference in U.S. elections. It therefore needs a law that—while passing constitutional scrutiny—prohibits more foreign political activity than what is currently covered, especially in relation to social media. This should be a simple and effective legislative fix, a return to the core aspects of the original Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) that focuses on potential electioneering of …

Power To The People: Finding Solutions To Partisan Gerrymandering In A Post-Rucho World Through Independent Redistricting Commissions, Paul T. Ansani

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Basis For Election Exceptionalism In Justiciability And Related Doctrines: Constitutional Compensation In Light Of Purcell, Vikram D. Amar, Evan H. Caminker

Articles

Pursuant to the so-called Purcell doctrine, lower federal courts (and perhaps the U.S. Supreme Court itself) are supposed to refrain from issuing remedies that would alter the rules for election administration in the run-up to Election Day. Whether or not the Purcell rule’s purported justifications are persuasive (e.g., concerns about voter confusion, candidate and campaign expectations, smooth operation of election logistics), one tremendously problematic entailment of Purcell is that elections are held (and candidates are elected and policies are determined) even when serious doubt exists about the legality of the contests under federal statutes and the Constitution. Because of these …

The Decline Of Representation Reinforcement In The Supreme Court: Increasing Deference To The Political Process, Jonathan L. Entin

Cleveland State Law Review

The Supreme Court has often interpreted the Constitution with an eye toward ameliorating failures of the political process. Over the past two decades, however, the Court has retreated from that concern with representation reinforcement. This article examines decisions upholding restrictive voter identification laws, making it more difficult to prove violations of the Voting Rights Act, and preventing federal courts from hearing claims of partisan gerrymandering. Some decisions that seem sympathetic to failures of the political process will not really promote representation reinforcement, and the Court’s most recent cases further reinforce the Court’s skepticism of claims of failures of the political …

Threading The Needle In Extreme Partisan Gerrymandering Cases, Michael Gentithes

Cleveland State Law Review

Recent Supreme Court jurisprudence paints a grim picture for future reform to address extreme partisan gerrymandering. The decisions in Rucho v. Common Cause and Moore v. Harper appear to foreclose progress at both the federal and state level. Reformers must neither create unmanageable legal standards for adjudication in federal litigation, nor ask state courts to transgress ordinary bounds of judicial review when interpreting state laws that might address gerrymandering.

But there remains a path forward that focuses on clear and detailed state constitutional mandates to curb gerrymandering practices. Beneath their rhetoric, these decisions support clear legal rules over broader democratic …

Litigation And The 2024 Election: Critical Questions, Jacob Burns Center For Ethics In The Practice Of Law, Cardozo Center For Rights And Justice

2024–2025 Flyers

No abstract provided.

Despair For Democracy, Bennett L. Gershman

Pace Law Review

In the convoluted terrain of American democracy, the proliferation of lies, misinformation, conspiracy theories, and paranoid thinking has emerged as a pervasive force, undermining the foundational principles upon which the nation was built. This article embarks on a penetrating exploration of the multifaceted challenges posed by these phenomena, exacerbated by the divisive rhetoric and provocative incitements to violence perpetuated by the Trump administration. As the fabric of truth unravels, the rule of law stands as a critical linchpin in preserving the integrity of democracy, serving as a bulwark against the encroachment of authoritarianism and the unchecked spread of disinformation.

Against …

Why Not More Seats? Increasing The House Of Representative's Size Using The Least Populous State Solution, Jennifer Kindred Mitchell

Pace Law Review

Representative democracy is for the people, by the people. But what happens when the connection between the people’s representative and their constituents erodes over time due to increased population and district size? The United States House of Representatives’ membership has been capped at 435 for almost 100 years leading to an increase in the average district size from 280,875 in 1930 to 761,169 in 2020. House membership and constituents represented by each member is out of balance, causing a decrease in representative democracy, large over and underrepresented district disparities, and feelings of disenfranchisement by citizens. Therefore, this paper premises that …

Adjudication Of Presidential Term Limits In Zambia: A Comment On Michelo Chizombe V. Edgar Chagwa Lungu And Others 2023/Ccz/0021, O'Brien Kaaba

SAIPAR Case Review

This piece examines the Zambian Constitutional Court's decision on former President Edgar Lungu's eligibility to contest future presidential elections. The Court ruled Lungu ineligible, based on the application of Article 35 of the Constitution of Zambia, which was in force during his first term. The authors highlight the national significance of this case, particularly its impact on the 2026 presidential elections and its potential to reshape opposition politics. The commentary further explores the power of an apex court to depart from its own precedents, affirming the Constitutional Court's inherent jurisdiction to do so under exceptional circumstances, aligning with practices in …

Rwu Law Alumni Newsletter November 2024, Roger Williams University School Of Law

RWU Law

No abstract provided.

The Internal Law Of Democracy, Kevin M. Stack

Vanderbilt Law Review

The conventional focus of election law is the constitutional, statutory, and judicial constraints on election officials. But the operation of elections also depends on the law that election officials themselves create. This “internal law of democracy”—produced by state and local election officials and addressed to election personnel and workers—provides on-the-ground guidance on registration, voting, and vote counting; specifies internal processes and protocols; and interprets and translates the meaning of constitutional and statutory law for use within the election bureaucracy.

This Article initiates examination of the internal law of democracy. The Article begins by introducing the idea of internal law—developed in …

Reconstructing Citizenship, Jenny E. Carroll, James Jeter

Faculty Scholarship

In our republican democracy, voting is a central right of citizenship. Yet millions of voters are routinely disenfranchised as a result of convictions or because their carceral status creates barriers to voting. In the past decade, academic scholarship has focused on the impact of disenfranchisement based on conviction. This work has mapped the legal and social implications of policies that deny voting rights to over five million otherwise eligible voters nationwide. Yet this work has some gaps. First, by focusing solely on conviction-based disenfranchisement, the existing scholarship has largely ignored fatal barriers to voting created (and at times perpetuated) by …

Changemaker: Maureen Wagner Vinson: Juris Doctor: Bringing Election Law To Students 10-31-2024, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Impending Peril: Rethinking The Future Of Democracy, Karen J. Greenberg

Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum

In their new books, Anne Applebaum and Timothy Snyder explore the vulnerabilities that plague democracies globally and in the United States. Documenting the elements that threaten democracy, they share a vision of the future that demands a deepened understanding of the forces that oppose democracy—among them, corruption, disinformation and isolation. Offering visions of a more enlightened public space, and a heightened sense of empathy, they each attempt to provide a roadmap to a more equitable, just, and life-affirming future.

The Burden To Reach The Ballots: Tackling Eleventh Circuit Line-Warming Bans And Their Intersectional Harm Under An Ada Framework, Alyssa Clune

Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum

Line-warming bans present an additional hurdle for voters across America, especially in an era of historically few polling locations and historically long lines to reach the ballot. Particularly in Eleventh Circuit states like Georgia and Florida, line-warming bans, in conjunction with long wait times, have had a disparate impact on Black communities and their ability to cast ballots in key swing districts. Nevertheless, attempts to bring racial discrimination claims against these bans have not been successful in the Eleventh Circuit. This Essay proposes a new strategy to tackle line-warming bans under an ADA framework. It analyzes the harm that these …

Reforms For Filling Vacancies In The U.S. Senate And House Of Representatives, Nora Donnelly, Alexa Green, Lea Vallone

Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum

Many states’ laws for filling vacancies in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives weaken democratic legitimacy. Vacancies in the House are increasingly prolonged, leaving constituents without representation for extended periods. Senate vacancies are filled more quickly, but gubernatorial appointees often gain a significant incumbency advantage when they later seek election. In this report, the Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic recommends holding open, nonpartisan elections, without primaries or runoffs, within three months of most Senate and House vacancies, with earlier initiation when vacancies are anticipated. The report further proposes limiting interim Senate appointments to “caretakers” who serve only …

Election Law And Democratic Theory, James A. Gardner

Contributions to Books

Election law is the body of law by which a society implements its commitment to democracy. Any meaningful evaluation of the suitability or effectiveness of a society’s election law therefore requires some inquiry into the nature of the society’s democratic commitments—the theory or conception of democracy to which it subscribes. Virtually all such theories are rooted in philosophical liberalism but nevertheless come in many varieties. Reconstructing a society’s democratic commitments can be complicated by its failure to articulate or even to reflect upon them. In the United States, that difficulty is compounded by a long history of evolution in American …

Federal Election Commission And Indiana Secretary Of State Campaign Finance Information Resoures, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This presentation covers campaign finance information resources produced by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and Indiana Secretary of State. It describes how these agencies began, details how they oversee and regulate U.S. federal and Indiana state elections, and documents contributions made by individuals, organizations, political parties, and political action committees to individual candidates and organizations. Reporting documentation on these election races is also included.

Section 1983 And Voting Rights: A Case Study On The Materiality Provision And The Future Of Private Enforcement, Paul Feingold

Fordham Law Review

A recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit stating that § 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is not enforceable by private litigants under an implied private right of action has many voting rights advocates rightfully concerned about the future of federal voting rights protections. Indeed, that ruling appears partly motivated by signals from the U.S. Supreme Court. However, not all hope is lost. In Health and Hospital Corp. of Marion County v. Talevski, the Supreme Court recently reaffirmed its Gonzaga University v. Doe test for enforcing a statute under § 1983. …