Election Law Courses at William & Mary

LAW 748, Election Administration Law, Prof. James Alcorn (former Chair of the Virginia State Board of Elections) This is an exciting new course offered for the first time, we believe, at any U.S. law school. Students in this course will learn the intricacies of election administration that balance access and security and achieve the state’s interest in election integrity; the legal challenges associated with administering elections; and specific processes and laws that mitigate challenges and uphold integrity in election administration. This course will focus on election law from the perspective of advising election officials on their work—an “in house counsel” approach for departments of elections. This will benefit students either considering careers in election administration or election law where they will interact with and support election officials specifically and democratic functioning more generally. Students will survey laws governing Photo ID requirements, list maintenance (registration and voter roll maintenance), state bans on private funding for elections, precincting/polling place location law. Students will also consider the challenges associated with advising election officials in an age of mis- and dis-information.

LAW 680, Comparative Election Law, Prof. Larry Garber (formerly of USAID) 2024 has been called the year of elections as more than 60 percent of the world’s population participated in one or more electoral exercises. These elections occurred in the shadow of what has been characterized as an extended global democratic recession, which has now lasted more than 18 years. Across the globe, many electoral processes have obvious similarities, but their differences reflect a combination of historical development, political struggles, and logistical considerations. While several of the 2024 elections reflect adherence to sound democratic practice, others serve as harbingers of populist discontent, promote illiberal forms democracy, and cause continued conflict and instability. This mini-course will begin with an overview of different philosophical conceptions of the term “electoral democracy.” We will then address the electoral practices of several countries across five distinct subjects: choice of election systems; mechanics of election administration and uses of technology; voting rights and limitations on the franchise; campaign financing; and electoral dispute resolution. In considering these issues, we will examine decisions by courts operating under different legal regimes, standards established by various international treaties and declarations, and the role of external actors in shaping electoral processes. And as we review the electoral practices of various, we will consider their potential relevance to electoral reform in the United States.

LAW 301, Election Law Practicum: Lawyering a Campaign, Prof. Jason Torchinsky (partner at Holtzman Vogel) Many law school classes touch on election law subjects ranging from voting rights, to redistricting, to election law and campaign finance. This course will focus on the legal issues you will need to understand to advise a candidate. The goal of this course to help students understand the basic statutory framework that candidates must navigate. While there are state to state and jurisdiction to jurisdiction differences, the basic frameworks are well known by practitioners. Students will gain an understanding of the issues that have arisen at various stages of the candidate / election administration process and that have been presented to federal and state courts across the county.

Election Law, Prof. Rebecca Green

Fall 2024 (3 credits)

This course examines the laws that govern the political process in the United States. Topics will include the right to vote, political representation, election administration, political parties, ballot initiatives, and campaign finance. The goal of the course is to provide students with a solid foundation in the basic principles of election law in this country

Advocacy Regulation, Prof. Josh Rosenstein

Last taught Fall 2022 

This course will introduce students to the legal regulation of efforts to influence government action in our democracy, focusing on the interrelated legal regimes governing ethics of public officials, lobbying and contributions and spending of money in connection with political campaigns. A key goal of the course will be to enable students to gain some appreciation of the difficulty and complexity of the issues raised by the attempt, in fashioning these legal regimes, to balance the goal of curbing corruption and improper influence with the need to permit the legitimate advocacy and expression of views that is protected by the First Amendment, to some degree, and that is desirable in any event in a vibrant democracy. 

Introduction to Legislative Redistricting, Profs. Robert Rose & Rebecca Green 

Law 502

Fall 2022 

With the 2020 Census on the near horizon, significant attention will be placed on redistricting in the coming years. Inherent in any redistricting plan is a recognition of the spatial configuration of voting districts and the processes driving proposed voting district maps.  Federal and state constitutions and statutes impose legal requirements for voting districts that in practice are often manipulated to favor of drawing lines that protect partisan/incumbent interests.   

This one-credit course will combine an introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with a focus on the legal analysis of redistricting plans.  Students will learn basic GIS skills and tools designed to develop compliant maps.  This will include working with district boundary maps, census information and other socioeconomic layers in an integrated GIS platform to understand and quantify the impacts realized when voting districts are redrawn. The course will focus on the 2017 US Supreme Court case Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections decision as a frame to better understand the laws governing redistricting efforts.  After learning the legal parameters of the redistricting process, students will work in teams to develop and present a redistricting plan for the 11 state legislative districts struck as racial gerrymanders in a June 2018 federal district court opinion. In the process of coming up with ways to improve compliance with state and federal statutory and constitutional mandates, this course will uniquely prepare students to play a substantive part in the 2020 round. This course is open to law students and undergraduate students.

Voting Rights Litigation and Practice,  Prof. Jack Young                                                        Law 421
Spring 2023 

This course will be taught as a practicum on the fundamentals of election law litigation, with a focus on issues in voting rights. By the end of this course, students will understand key issues in voting rights, and how to bring forth an action in court on behalf of a voter client. The areas covered will include a study of a variety of issues that may impact individuals’ voting rights, including voter identification, early/absentee voting, and ballot counting; required course readings will maintain a focus on cases brought forth by voter plaintiffs and will include complaints filed in selected cases. The course will include a review of Virginia and federal laws with respect to jurisdiction, venue, standing, and timing as applied to causes of action under the election laws. The course will apply the Virginia Election Laws set forth in the Constitution of Virginia and Title 24.2 of the Code of Virginia of 1950, as amended, as well as the United States Constitution and the federal Civil and Voting Rights Acts. The course will require students to prepare complaints as though they were preparing to litigate a voting rights case in court while representing voters under the laws of Virginia. Students will have two (2) written assignments as a part of this course. First, students will have an individual assignment to draft a complaint based upon a prompt provided in the first class; this complaint will be due the Wednesday before the second class. In the third session, students will have the opportunity to conference with professors about their individually- drafted complaints. For their second written assignment, students will be provided a hypothetical fact pattern during the third class and will be required to draft complaints in small groups on behalf of voter clients. This is a one credit course, graded on a pass/fail basis. Students will be assessed on their (1) class attendance and participation; (2) individual preparation of a complaint due the Wednesday before the second class session; and (3) small group preparation of a complaint drafted during the third class session. The complaints should demonstrate the student’s ability to apply voting rights precedent while using state law to advocate for a client. 

Spring 2022

Spring 2020 

Campaign Finance, Prof. Neil Reiff

Law 393

Spring 2022 

The purpose of this course is to provide an overview and in depth understanding of the finance system at the federal and state levels. This will be accomplished through the analysis of the Federal Election Campaign Act or 1971 as amended (FECA) including extensive analysis of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). The course will provide a guide to the practice of campaign finance law from a practitioner's perspective. The course will be a thorough review of federal law as it applies to the entities that it affects, including candidates, party committees, PACs, 527's, corporations, non-profit organizations and individuals. The course will emphasize a practical preparation for the practice of law in this area through the review of case law, regulatory trends, as well as a review of the institutions that regulate campaign finance law. Students will be encouraged to follow current developments in campaign finance law during the course and should expect broad discussion about the practical, policy and political aspects of the practice of campaign finance law. Students must have completed Election Law Survey, or obtain permission from the instructor or Rebecca Green, or have significant experience in the field.

This course will be taught as a practicum on the fundamentals of state election law litigation, with a focus on issues in voting rights.  By the end of this course, students will understand key issues in voting rights, and how to bring forth an action in court on behalf of a voter client. The areas covered will include a study of a variety of issues that may impact individuals’ voting rights, including voter identification, early/absentee voting, and ballot counting; required course readings will maintain a focus on cases brought forth by voter plaintiffs and will include complaints filed in selected cases.       The course will include a review of Virginia and federal laws with respect to jurisdiction, venue, standing, and timing as applied to causes of action under the election laws.  The course will apply the Virginia Election Laws set forth in the Constitution of Virginia and Title 24.2 of the Code of Virginia of 1950, as amended, as well as the United States Constitution and the federal Civil and Voting Rights Acts

Election Law Practicum, Challenges of the General Counsel, Prof. Josh Rosenstein

Taught by former General Counsel to one of the country’s leading lobbying firms, this unique course will explore the fundamental and overlapping roles played by lawyers who work in-house at companies, political parties, and other entities (campaigns, etc.), including the roles of legal technician, wise counselor and lawyer as leader. The course will address the conflicting concerns faced by these in-house practitioners by examining a series of cases. The "cases" in this course involve questions beyond issues of the legal requirements and delve into larger issues of policy and politics, by using specific illustrations drawn from the political and business world --e.g. the 1990s Chinese donors scandal faced by the Democratic Party; sexual harassment allegations levied against major political candidates; bribery and corruption scandals faced by Greenberg Traurig in the wake of allegations against Jack Abramoff; etc. These cases involve a broad range of considerations: risk management, public policy, politics, and reputation.  For each case the students will be given the factual scenario, reports from the media, and other background materials.  The students will be directed to issue spot and research the implicated laws.  The students will come prepared to discuss not only the scenario itself and thelaws implicated, but also appropriate responses by General Counsels to each scenario. Former and current in-house counsel will guest lecture to provide insight and guidance to students. The class is pass/fail and is capped at nine students.

(1 credit) 

The purpose of this course is to examine international election standards based on the rule of law. The ultimate goal is to establish knowledgeable, predictable, rule-based decision-making that limits the power entrusted to government officials, while concurrently encouraging the widest development of democratic systems. The course will cover each step in the electoral process: (1) recognition of political parties and which candidates will be qualified to stand for election; (2) voter registration including registration, maintenance of lists, grounds for suspension and reinstatement; (3) absentee ballots, if they are to be used, as well as the procedures for their issuance and as to their counting;(4) early voting and remote voting if it is accepted as a means of increasing participation; (5) ballots, ballots design, machinery, pre-vote verification, the observation of that process so that it is transparent, ballot collection, computerized and other mechanical voting systems, ballot audits, physical security, and the availability of election day remedies; (6) verification of who is, and is not, a voter; (7) the conduct of the election itself, including how officials are trained and qualified; (8) the process for recounts; (9) the process for challenges and contests; and, (10) administration and supervision applying objective standards. Each of these steps will involve the class in a discussion of the development of concrete standards for the international community to apply in the election process.

The class will be one credit, pass/fail, and requires participation and attendance and a short paper.

Advanced Election Law, Prof. Marc Elias

This course, taught by Marc Elias, currently candidate Hilary Clinton's general counsel and one of the country’s most respected election attorneys,  examined advanced topics in election law with the aim of teaching students how election attorneys approach litigating and representing clients in day-to-day practice. Students in this course are required to read a series of full, un-edited cases for each subject covered. Specific topics will include state versus federal powers in elections; individual rights versus state rights in elections; equal protection/due process claims since Bush v. Gore; photo ID controversies; regulation of money in elections; and disclosure/privacy in elections. Election Law Survey is a prerequisite for this course (or with permission from the instructor). Grades will be determined on the basis of class participation (10%) and a 20-25 page paper (90%).

Presidential Public Financing, Prof. Michael Toner

Taught by leading election attorney Michael Toner of Wiley Rein, this course will examine the presidential public financing system which finds itself at an historic crossroads: With President Obama’s decision to turn down public funds for the 2008 general election, and become the first presidential candidate since Watergate to privately finance his entire campaign, many election law scholars and practitioners believe that the presidential public financing system is broken. However, President Obama, along with Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold, have supported past proposals to overhaul and modernize the system. This course will analyze the presidential public financing system, the regulations and restrictions that apply to candidates who accept public funds, and court decisions that have addressed the constitutionality of the presidential public funding system. We will also study various legislative proposals to overhaul the presidential public financingsystem and will debate whether there should be a presidential public financing system at all in the 21st century. The course will emphasize the unique blend of legal, constitutional, political, and public policy issues that influence contemporary debates about the future of the presidential public financing system.