Election Law Commons^™

Joaquin Ávila: Voting Rights Gladiator, Barbara Y. Philips

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Shaw Claim: The Rise And Fall Of Colorblind Jurisprudence, Molly P. Matter

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Special Norms Thesis: Why Congress's Constitutional Decisionmaking Should Be Disciplined By More Than The Usual Norms Of Politics, Mark D. Rosen

Cardozo Law Review

Even if we accept that the most basic rules of fair play do not apply to our nation's political representatives when they battle one another in the ordinary lawmaking process, we should demand more when they engage in constitutional decision-making. This Article explains why our constitutional system demands different rules of engagement when constitutional questions are at issue, and exactly what we should expect of members of Congress in these situations.

Lieberman Et Al. V. Cassif Et Al., Esther Hayut, Neal Hendel, Uzi Vogelman, Isaac Amit, Noam Sohlberg, Menachem Mazuz, Anat Baron, George Karra, David Mintz

Translated Opinions

1.         On March 6, 2019, the Central Elections Committee for the 21^st Knesset approved a request for the disqualification of Dr. Ofer Cassif from running as a candidate for the Knesset on the Hadash-Ta’al list but rejected a request to disqualify the Hadash-Ta’al list. The Committee further accepted two requests to disqualify the Ra’am-Balad list and rejected three requests to disqualify Dr. Michael Ben Ari and Advocate Itamar Ben Gvir from standing for election. The decision to disqualify Cassif was submitted to the Supreme Court for approval, as required under sec. 7A(b) of Basic Law: The Knesset and sec. …

The Signature Of Gerrymandering In Rucho V. Common Cause, Andrew Chin, Gregory Herschlag, Jonathan Mattingly

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

When Soft Law Meets Hard Politics: Taming The Wild West Of Nonprofit Political Involvement, Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer

Journal of Legislation

Beginning in the 1990s and continuing today, many of the legal and psychological barriers to nonprofits becoming involved in electoral politics have fallen. At the same time, political divisions have sharpened, causing candidates, political parties, and their supporters to scramble more aggressively for any possible edge in winner-take-all political contests. In the face of these developments, many nonprofits have violated the remaining legal rules applicable to their political activity with little fear of negative consequences, especially given vague rules and a paucity of enforcement resources. Such violations include under reporting of political activity in government filings, fly-by-night organizations that exist …

Be Careful What You Wish For: Private Political Parties, Public Primaries, And State Constitutional Restrictions, Hugh D. Spitzer

Washington Law Review

Political parties always disliked the Progressive Era changes that pulled the entire electorate into nominating candidates. Why, after all, should non-party members participate in the affairs and choices of private organizations? Over the course of a century, Democrats, Republicans, and minor parties repeatedly mounted lawsuits to attack new primary laws, and they eventually prevailed on a key constitutional issue: the First Amendment right of association. But when political actors access the courts for strategic purposes, they can get caught in the vagaries of history and public attitudes, with outcomes they might not like. This Essay focuses on the history of …

Notice, Due Process, And Voter Registration Purges, Anthony J. Gaughan

Cleveland State Law Review

In the 2018 case of Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, a divided United States Supreme Court upheld the procedures that Ohio election authorities used to purge ineligible voters from the state’s registration lists. In a 5-4 ruling, the majority ruled that the Ohio law complied with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) as amended by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). This Article contends that the controlling federal law—the NVRA and HAVA—gave the Supreme Court little choice but to decide the case in favor of Ohio’s secretary of state. But this article also argues …

Vying To Be King Of The Jungle: Where Top-Two Primaries Fall Short, Taylor Larson, Joshua A. Duden

Concordia Law Review

Top-two primaries pose significant constitutional issues for political parties, but primary system selection is also a significant policy question for each state. Primary elections have served as a filter for candidates to enter the general election; however, primaries are predominantly party functions. Although the process varies from state-to-state and is regulated by individual state legislatures, primary elections allow voters of a particular party to nominate the candidate they think best represents them against other parties in the general election. To combat partisan politics, Washington and California have grappled with election reform by adopting a "top-two" primary system. This version of …

Raila Odinga And Others V Independent Electoral And Boundaries Commission And Others [2013] Klr-Sck Petition No.5 Of 2013 & No. 1 Of 2017, Teddy J.O. Musiga

SAIPAR Case Review

Since the establishment of the Supreme Court of Kenya in 2011, it has so far determined two disputes arising from presidential election petitions. From the outset, it is important to clarify that this commentary does not purport to review the decisions of the 2013 and 2017 presidential election petitions. It only seeks to review and critique one salient aspect that emerges from the Supreme Court of Kenya’s approach in the treatment of rejected votes in those presidential election disputes.

The case note criticises the Supreme Court of Kenya’s approach which seems to favour the exclusion of rejected votes in the …

Crafting A Corporate Analogue To Criminal Disenfranchisement, B. Graves Lee Jr.

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

The Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC represented a sea change in the world of corporate citizenship. Although the decision dealt with campaign finance law, it has sparked significant discussion of the concept of corporate personhood more broadly. Corporations have increasingly taken advantage of legal rights previously reserved for individuals. This Note argues that where corporations reap the benefits of constitutional entitlements intended for individuals, they should suffer consequences for malfeasance similar to those imposed on individuals who engage in criminal conduct. Specifically, this Note advocates for limitations on corporate electioneering as a collateral consequence of a …

The Locked Gates To Tension City: The Commission On Presidential Debates, The Fec, And The Two-Party System, Tommy La Voy

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Since John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon walked into a Chicago television studio for the first general election presidential debate in 1960, candidate debates have been a fundamental aspect of presidential campaigns and have had broader effects on society at large. The Commission on Presidential Debates (“CPD”) has been in charge of organizing the general election debates since it was created in 1987 by the Democratic and Republican parties. In its tenure, the CPD has restricted its massive platform almost every election to the Republican and Democratic candidates through the use of criteria that seemingly follow the law’s requirement of …

Daniel Pule And Others V Attorney General And Others 2017/Ccz/004 Selected Judgment No. 60 Of 2018, Elias C. Chipimo

SAIPAR Case Review

In a case brought to determine the eligibility of President Edgar Lungu to stand as a presidential candidate in 2021, having served less than three years in his first term, the Constitutional Court determined that: ‘…the presidential tenure of office that ran from January 25, 2015 to September 13, 2016 and straddled two constitutional regimes, cannot be considered as a full term.’

In doing so, the Constitutional Court effectively backdated the application of the ‘New Clauses’ to a time when there was already a law governing: (a) the eligibility of a person to stand again as a presidential candidate who …

Nelson Chamisa V Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa And Others Ccz 42/18 (August 2018), O'Brien Kaaba

SAIPAR Case Review

Zimbabwe held its first post-Mugabe general elections on 30th July 2018. On 3rd August 2018, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) declared Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa as the candidate who received the requisite ‘more than half the number of votes cast’ and declared duly elected President of Zimbabwe. Aggrieved by this development, Nelson Chamisa, the main opposition contender, challenged the validity of the election of Mnangagwa in the Constitutional Court. After hearing the case, the Constitutional Court unanimously: 1) Dismissed the application with costs; and 2) Declared Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa as duly elected President of Zimbabwe.

Hall V. Merrill: Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari, Leah Litman

Appellate Briefs

Question Presented:

This Court has long recognized an exception to the mootness doctrine for a controversy that is "capable of repetition, yet evading review." S. Pac. Terminal Co. v. ICC, 219 U.S. 498, 515 (1911). The courts of appeals are split over how this exception applies to cases involving elections. This case presents the following question:<\p>

Under what circumstances can a candidate continue to challenge a ballot-access rule after the election over which he originally sued has passed?<\p>

Petition for a Writ of Certiorari:

Petitioner James Hall respectfully petitions for a writ of certiorari to review the judgment of …

Comrades Or Foes: Did The Russians Break The Law Or New Ground For The First Amendment?, Artem M. Joukov, Samantha M. Caspar

Pace Law Review

This Article discusses the recent decision by the United States Federal Government to indict more than a dozen Russian nationals for conspiracy to defraud the United States of America. The Government accused the Russians of staging protests, distributing false propaganda, and spreading political messages and ideologies online in an effort to affect the outcome of the 2016 Presidential Election. We argue that while the Defendants violated several other laws, the majority of the acts the Government classifies as a conspiracy to defraud the United States should not be considered criminal. Rather, these acts are protected political speech under the First …

Trusting The Federalism Process Under Unique Circumstances: United States Election Administration And Cybersecurity, Eric S. Lynch

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Brief For 190 Bipartisan Elected Officials, Counties, And Cities From Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, And Wisconsin As Amici Curiae Supporting Respondents, Jeffrey M. Wice

Redistricting Resources

This amicus brief argues that the addition of a citizenship question to the census will have profound consequences. It will lead to an undercount of the populations in many communities nationwide, including those represented by amici. Such an undercount will cause hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to be improperly allocated away from these communities, thus reducing their access to critical federal programs and depriving them of vital public services.

The Democracy Ratchet, Derek T. Muller

Indiana Law Journal

This Article proceeds in five Parts. Part I identifies recent instances in which federal courts have invoked a version of the Democracy Ratchet. It identifies the salient traits of the Democracy Ratchet in these cases. Part II describes why the Democracy Ratchet has gained attention, primarily as a tactic of litigants and as a convenient benchmark in preliminary injunction cases. Part III examines the history of the major federal causes of action concerning election administration—Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the Burdick balancing test, and the Equal Protection Clause. In each, it traces the path of the doctrine to …

Election Hacking: A Trifecta Of Sovereignty, Intervention, And Use Of Force Violations In International Law, Arlen Printz

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.