Bauer and Ginsberg to Chair Presidential Commission on Election Administration
Both Serve on the William & Mary Election Law Program's Advisory Board
President Obama took the first step on February 13 to address election deficiencies by appointing two top election attorneys on opposite sides of the aisle to chair a Presidential Commission on Election Administration: Robert F. Bauer and Benjamin L. Ginsberg. Bauer served as White House counsel during the first Obama administration, and general counsel to Obama's reelection campaign. Ginsberg, a prominent Bush attorney during the 2000 election, ran Romney's legal team in 2012.
Bauer and Ginsberg are no strangers to William & Mary Law School. Both serve on the William & Mary Election Law Program's Advisory Board. In 2009 the pair traveled to Williamsburg for William & Mary's Third Annual Election Law Symposium, "Campaigning in the Courts: The Rise of Election Litigation." The symposium examined the rising tide of litigation as a central campaign strategy. In conjunction with the symposium, Bauer and Ginsberg also filmed a web lecture entitled "A View from the Trenches: Advice for Judges Handling Election Related Lawsuits" for the Election Law Program website. Moderated by William & Mary Law School Dean Davison Douglas, the discussion focused on trends in election litigation since Bush v. Gore. Bauer will travel again to Williamsburg to participate in the Seventh Annual Election Law Symposium on February 21 , which will focus on bipartisan solutions to Election Day voting delays.
Editor's Note: Jacob Derr '14 is co-editor of the State of Elections blog.