Category Archives: theory

“Democratic Legitimacy under Conditions of Severely Depressed Voter Turnout”

May 29, 2020, 8:07 amtheoryRick Hasen

Jim Gardner has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, U Chicago L Rev Online). Here is the abstract: Due to the present pandemic, it seems increasingly likely that the 2020 general election in November will be held under conditions of… Continue reading

Election-related options still to come at AALS

January 3, 2020, 4:47 pmcensus litigation, election law and constitutional law, The Voting Wars, theory, votingJustin Levitt

Rick already mentioned a few of the exceptional election-related events at AALS so far. There are still several to come, including my stint tomorrow at 8:30 as least valuable player on a 2020 census panel with Dale Ho, Christina Mora,… Continue reading

“The Law of Electoral Democracy: Theory and Purpose”

November 7, 2019, 5:06 pmtheoryRick Hasen

Looking forward to reading this from Graeme Orr: This chapter explores the question of ‘theory’ within the law of electoral democracy, by considering what it would mean for such a theory to exist given the contested nature of democracy itself.It… Continue reading

University of Chicago Law Review’s Online Symposium on Posner and Weyl’s “Radical Markets” Now Available

May 19, 2019, 6:52 pmtheoryRick Hasen

Here: RadicalxChange: An Academic AgendaE. Glen Weyl87 U Chi L Rev Online 1 (2019). A History for the Future: Radical Markets and the Work of HistoryAnanya Chakravarti87 U Chi L Rev Online 12 (2019). A Decision Theoretic Approach to Understanding … Continue reading

Democratic Representatives in Colorado Use Quadratic Voting to Set Legislative Priorities

May 6, 2019, 7:54 pmtheoryRick Hasen

Peter Coy column.

“Is civic duty the solution to the paradox of voting?”

April 6, 2019, 10:12 amtheory, votingRick Hasen

Abel François and Olivier Gergaud in Public Choice: Although sense of civic duty is seen by many scholars as the most obvious solution to the paradox of voting, very few empirical studies provide clear evidence on that motive. We… Continue reading

Mark Rush Reviews Mulroy’s “Rethinking U.S. Election Law: Unskewing the System”

April 1, 2019, 7:22 amalternative voting systems, theoryRick Hasen

Here, at LPBR.

“Democracy, Federalism, and the Guarantee Clause”

March 20, 2019, 11:15 amtheoryRick Hasen

Carolyn Shapiro has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Arizona Law Review. Here is the abstract: The Guarantee Clause of the Constitution promises that “[t]he United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of… Continue reading

Today’s Must-Read: Jacob Levy at Niskanen on Republicans’ Fear of Democracy

March 20, 2019, 7:03 amtheoryRick Hasen

Jacob Levy: A favorite reply to the complaint about the Electoral College outcomes is to note that campaign strategies are endogenous to the electoral rules, and that it is impossible to infer what would have happened if both campaigns had… Continue reading

“Judicial Review in Troubled Times: Stabilizing Democracy in a Second Best World”

December 17, 2018, 5:41 pmtheoryRick Hasen

Sam Issacharoff has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Debates over the role of judicial review in a constitutional democracy gravitate to one of two poles. Either the debates are framed in terms of the power of… Continue reading

QV Or Not QV? That Is The Question: Some Skepticism About Radical Egalitarian Voting Markets

November 7, 2018, 8:48 amalternative voting systems, theory, votingRick Hasen

I have posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, University of Chicago Law Review, Online). Here is the abstract: This paper is part of a symposium on Eric A. Posner & E. Glen Weyl’s recent book, Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and… Continue reading

“Voter Discrimination and Deliberative Democracy in the Technological Era”

January 25, 2018, 7:06 amtheoryRick Hasen

Benjamin Wilson has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In structuring its constitution, the United States (“US”) put tremendous weight into the idea of giving future generations a government whose form and function can meet societal challenges.… Continue reading

“Precedent, Three-Judge District Courts, and the Law of Democracy”

January 10, 2018, 8:09 pmtheoryRick Hasen

Josh Douglas and Michael Solimine have posted this important draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: As recent partisan gerrymandering cases have shown, three-judge district courts play a unique and important role in how the federal judiciary considers significant… Continue reading

“Democracy’s Deficits”

October 2, 2017, 7:19 amtheoryRick Hasen

Sam Issacharoff has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, U Chicago L Review). Here is the abstract: Barely a quarter century after the collapse of the Soviet empire, it is democracy that has entered an intense period of public scrutiny.… Continue reading