“The liberal failure of political reform”
Matt Grossman and David Hopkins for Vox.
Category Archives: theory
“Abdication and Federalism”
Justin Weinstein-Tull has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Columbia Law Review). Here is the abstract:
States abdicate many of their federal responsibilities to local governments. They do not monitor local compliance with those laws; they disclaim responsibility for the… Continue reading
“The Boundary Problem and the Changing Case Against Deference in Election Law Cases: Lessons from Local Government Law”
David Schleicher has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
This essay for the 2016 AALS Section on Election Law Program, “Election Law at the Local Level,” applies lessons from local government law to election law problems. Both… Continue reading
“Federalism and State Democracy”
David Schleicher has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Texas Law Review). Here is the abstract:
When scholars, judges and politicians talk about federalism, they frequently praise the qualities of state and local democracy. State and local governments, it is… Continue reading
“The Value of the Right to Vote”
Stephan Tontrup and Rebecca Morton have posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
We conducted a mixed lab and field experiment during a naturally occurring election. We offered subjects the opportunity to relinquish their voting rights for money.… Continue reading
“Democracy for GrownUps”
I have written this review of Bruce Cain’s Democracy More or Less for the New Rambler Review. It begins:
Modern American democracy is often messy, increasingly polarized, sometimes stupefying, and surprisingly decentralized. Our Congress functions (or doesn’t) mainly along party… Continue reading
Today’s Must Read: Mann and Dionne, “The Futility of Nostalgia and the Romanticism of the New Political Realists”
Tom Mann and EJ Dionne take on Rauch, Pildes, Cain, LaRaja and Persily.
This is a very important contribution to a key debate about the reform project. It is the best explanation of the ironic romanticism in the anti-reform camp. … Continue reading
“Ritual and Rhythm in Electoral Systems: A Comparative Legal Account”
The great Graeme Orr has written this new book. Here is the description:
‘Why do we vote in schools?’ ‘What is the social meaning of secret balloting?’ ‘What is lost if we vote by mail or computers rather than… Continue reading
“Political Powerlessness”
Nick Stephanopoulos has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming NYU Law Review). Here is the abstract:
There is a hole at the heart of equal protection law. According to long-established doctrine, one of the factors that determines whether a group… Continue reading
The Political Safeguards of Horizontal Federalism
Over at Balkinization, I’ve been blogging (here, here, here, and here) about the benefits associated with spillovers, which occur when one state’s policies affect citizens of another state. Most of those arguments have to do… Continue reading
“The RightsCast, Episode 7: Josh Douglas, “How Should Courts Police Election Laws?””
The latest in Nancy Leong’s YouTube series.
“Naiveté and Modesty in Political Reform Thinking”
“Democratic Romanticism and Its Critics; Everything you thought you knew about fixing American politics might be wrong.”
Mark Schmitt writes for Democracy.
“The Realities of Electoral Reform”
Nick Stephanopoulos, Eric McGhee and Steven Rogers have posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Vanderbilt Law Review). Here is the abstract:
What good are theories if they cannot be tested? Election law has wrestled with this question over the last… Continue reading