Election Law Program
A Joint Project of the College of William & Mary and the National Center for State Courts
The functioning of the U.S. electoral process often comes down to resolving election law disputes in court. These election law cases are extraordinarily important to the democratic process, often concerning fundamental issues such as ballot access, accurate vote counts, and voter challenges.
Created in 2005 as a joint venture of the National Center for State Courts and the College of William & Mary, the Election Law Program seeks to provide practical assistance to state court judges called upon to resolve difficult election law disputes. In 2008, the Program published a Manual for judges that discusses and analyzes election law issues and the judicial relief available for election law violations. The Program also produced a series of web-based lectures (see here) designed to educate judges and journalists about the fundamentals of election law.
Last spring, the Program hosted a symposium on "Campaigning in the Courts" featuring two leading election lawyers Bob Bauer and Ben Ginsberg, and others, on March 20, 2009. For information about the event, please see the ELP News & Activities page. That same day, the Program taped a fascinating conversation between Bauer and Ginsberg, moderated by Dean Davison Douglas, called A View from the Trenches: Advice for Judges Handling Election Related Lawsuits available here.
During the 2009-2010 academic year, the Program has launched several projects, including one to annotate judicial orders in election law cases. We will hold a symposium on March 18, 2010 bringing together experts to discuss upcoming redistricting challenges. Finally, we are working closely with William & Mary's student Election Law Society to plan events for students at William & Mary interested in election law.
