This course explores the law governing electoral processes in the United States. Topics will include the authority structure of elections regulation, the individual right to vote, reapportionment and gerrymandering, voting-related race discrimination and legislative efforts to prevent it, and regulation of political campaigns.
Throughout our examination of these topics, we will discuss the roles federal and state courts play in resolving election-related disputes and how those roles have changed over time. We will also consider how the manner in which election-related disputes are resolved can influence public perception of, and confidence in, our democracy. And we will ask how our electoral processes could be structured differently to better achieve the goals of our democratic system.