Category Archives: election law and constitutional law

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

“Top DFLers, state party defend law that permits Trump-only GOP primary ballots”

January 3, 2020, 4:34 pmelection law and constitutional law, political parties, The Voting WarsJustin Levitt

The real story isn’t that state party officials are defending state party associational rights under the First Amendmetn (even if they also benefit opposing parties). The real story is the practical recognition that litigation now begins to creep up on… Continue reading

“The Constitution in 2020″ in 2020”

January 1, 2020, 3:16 pmelection law and constitutional law, political partiesJustin Levitt

Josh Blackman, at the Volokh Conspiracy, offers a timely reminder of the 2009 ACS essay compilation — “The Constitution in 2020” – with a progressive vision of future constitutional law. The compilation included, among others, a piece by Pam … Continue reading

“John Paul Stevens Was Right: Citizens United Opened the Door to Foreign Money in U.S. Elections”

July 19, 2019, 10:42 amcampaign finance, election law and constitutional lawJustin Levitt

The Intercept traces funding from foreign nationals through American corporations to super PACs.

“America’s Historic Fight Over Who Deserves Representation”

July 19, 2019, 10:39 amcensus litigation, election law and constitutional law, redistrictingJustin Levitt

Michael Li, in Slate, on the census, citizenship, and representation. Related: the Council on Foreign Relations gets in on the discussion too.

The long arm of Gill

July 19, 2019, 10:38 amelection law and constitutional law, political equality, redistrictingJustin Levitt

Mississippi cites Gill v. Whitford in contesting challengers’ standing to contest the requirement that statewide candidates win both a majority of the state and a majority of state house districts. And the Court’s refusal to recognize that redistricting problems are … Continue reading

“Does the Fourteenth Amendment Require Collecting Citizenship Data?”

July 18, 2019, 6:26 pmcensus litigation, election law and constitutional lawJustin Levitt

Thomas Berry makes the case that it does, in Yale’s Notice & Comment administrative law blog. He’s promised more on enforcing that reading tomorrow, with a hint of a note of caution. One note: whether the basic argument is… Continue reading

“A ‘Train Wreck’ Was Averted at the Supreme Court, but for How Long?”

July 18, 2019, 11:22 amcensus litigation, election law and constitutional lawJustin Levitt

Linda Greenhouse on the rule of law’s near-miss in the census case, and its aftermath.

Charles and Fuentes-Rohwer on Rucho

July 18, 2019, 11:16 amelection law and constitutional law, political parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

And they’re (correctly) not happy.

“Mississippi: Election lawsuit is not about voting rights”

July 17, 2019, 5:16 pmelection law and constitutional law, Voting Rights ActJustin Levitt

The AP has a story about a lawsuit challenging the requirement for winning statewide office that candidates win both a majority of the popular vote and a plurality of the vote in the majority of Mississippi state house districts.

Trial begins in party ballot position case

July 16, 2019, 10:49 amballot access, election administration, election law and constitutional law, The Voting WarsJustin Levitt

Trial has started up in Florida over the law automatically placing candidates of the governor’s party in the first position of the ballot. I’ve been watching this case pretty closely; it’s a really interesting test of the prevailing constitutional doctrine… Continue reading

“Judicial Intervention as Judicial Restraint”

September 10, 2018, 1:52 pmelection law and constitutional law, political parties, redistricting, Supreme Court, The Voting WarsJustin Levitt

Guy-Uriel Charles and Luis Fuentes-Rohwer have a new piece forthcoming in the Harvard Law Review, on partisan gerrymandering and justiciability: This paper examines the Court’s decision in Gil v. Whitford. It advances two claims. First, it provides a comprehensive account… Continue reading

Derek Muller’s “The Democracy Ratchet”

July 9, 2018, 4:41 pmelection law and constitutional law, voting, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

Available on SSRN. From the abstract: Litigants seeking to lift burdens on the right to vote and judges adjudicating these claims have an unremarkable problem—what is the benchmark for measuring the nature of these burdens? Legal theories abound for… Continue reading

5th Circuit ID ruling … and the Texas redistricting case.

April 27, 2018, 5:02 pmelection administration, election law and constitutional law, redistricting, voter id, Voting Rights ActJustin Levitt

Earlier today, Rick noted the 5th Circuit’s opinion on Texas’s voter ID law. I agree with much of his critique of the court’s resolution of the section 3(c) preclearance issue. In my post on the Texas redistricting cases earlier… Continue reading