[Bumped to the top with deadline approaching.]
Via Josh Douglas:
Dear Election Law Colleagues,
The brand-new AALS Section on Election Law is issuing a Call for Papers to select two panelists for its inaugural program at the 2015 AALS Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The Section’s program will be on Sunday, January 4, 2015, from 2:00-3:45. The title of the program is “The Voting Rights Act at 50.” The two panelists selected from the Call for Papers will join an all-star cast including Pam Karlan, Chris Elmendorf, and Kareem Crayton, to discuss the topic.Selected papers will be published in the Election Law Journal. The deadline to submit is Friday, September 5. Finished papers or substantially completed drafts are preferred, although you may submit an abstract so long as you will be able to complete the paper in time for the AALS Annual Meeting in January.To submit, or if you have any questions, please email Josh Douglas at [email protected].Here is the full program description:
On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. During the signing ceremony, President Johnson referred to the Act as “one of the most monumental laws in the entire history of American freedom.” Over the past fifty years, the Supreme Court has issued numerous decisions on various aspects of the Voting Rights Act, Congress has amended it several times, and it remains an important component of public debate. This panel – the first programming for the new AALS Section on Election Law – will explore the many facets of that debate. The panel will analyze the current issues regarding voting rights, from the Supreme Court’s recent invalidation of the Section 4 coverage formula in its Shelby County decision – essentially rendering Section 5 inoperable – to Congress’s consideration of a Voting Rights Act Amendment, to the report of the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration. Part of this inquiry will include a discussion of whether we have reached the ideals President Johnson aspired to 50 years ago when he signed this Act, and where we should go from here in protecting and effectuating the right to vote. The papers from this program will appear in the Election Law Journal.