Getting on the Ballot Doesn’t Have to Be this Hard
By: Aidan Calvelli ’24 | November 30, 2021 Election law is having a moment. When Democrats took the House in 2018, their top priority was H.R. 1, a sweeping political reform bill. The 2020 election made the law of democracy scholars in–demand commentators. And this summer, the Supreme Court gave the Voting Rights Act its […]
We Must Defend the Integrity of Vote Counting, Not Just Vote Casting
By: Mark Haidar ’23 | September 13, 2021 As Benjamin Franklin was exiting the Constitutional Convention in 1787, someone asked him, “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” Franklin famously responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.” If you can keep it. That is the critical challenge facing our democratic republic […]
A Cry for Help: Civic Education in Today’s America
By Patrick O’Connor | April 18, 2021 There is a “deep flaw” in our nation’s education policies. “American democracy is in peril.” These are two statements made by U.S. District Court Judge William Smith in his decision to reluctantly dismiss a class action brought on behalf of Rhode Island students to establish public education […]
H.R. 1, Voter ID, and The Myth of Voter Fraud
By Catherine Walker-Jacks | April 11, 2021 H.R. 1—The For the People Act—is a bold piece of proposed legislation that would reform essential aspects of the American political system across campaign finance, voting rights, election security, ethics, and more. To strengthen voting rights, the bill aims to reduce many barriers to the ballot box, […]
Issue Explainer: The Filibuster
By Christina Coleburn | March 21, 2021 As legislative battles rage in Congress, discussions about the future of the Senate filibuster have taken center stage. With bills quickly advancing from the House to the Senate under unified Democratic control, political observers are debating whether to keep, weaken, or nix the Senate filibuster altogether. […]
H.R. 1: Congress’s Plan for a Stronger Democracy
By Zachary Sorenson | March 7, 2021 Late Wednesday night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the “For the People Act,” for the second time in as many years. The nearly 800-page bill includes a sweeping set of voting rights, campaign finance, and good government reforms. And between the Covid-19 pandemic, […]
A Primer on Brnovich v. DNC: The Supreme Court’s Latest Voting Rights Case
By Omeed Alerasool | March 7, 2021 Described as the Supreme Court’s “chance to diminish the Voting Rights Act,” Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee was argued in front of the high court’s Justices on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. WHAT IS THIS CASE ABOUT? Brnovich involves two electoral policies in Arizona, enacted by Republicans […]
Lessons from Election Litigation in the COVID-19 Era
By Irfan Mahmud | November 15, 2020 In this heavily litigious election year, courts throughout the country have been frequently ruling on election law challenges. As state legislatures and courts worked in tandem to make voting more accessible during the unique context of a pandemic, friction resulted over the role of the courts in […]
The Democratic Paradox of Ballot Measures: In Order to Form a More Perfect Uber?
By Caroline Hansen | November 1, 2020 When U.S. voters receive their ballots this year on November 3 (or before, by mail), most have likely only been thinking about the very top of the ticket. Even the most responsible voters often don’t know – or care – about everything on their ballots, especially the […]
Courts of Appeals Limit Drop Boxes in Battleground States
By Christina Coleburn | October 25, 2020 An unprecedented election season is in full swing, bringing with it record-shattering turnout and legal controversies as millions of voters cast their ballots in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. With the virus disrupting traditional voting methods, cases litigating integral matters of election law have proliferated across […]