The Election Law Society and the Election Law Program work with William & Mary School of Law to add to the cirriculum topical election law courses taught by distinguished instructors.  Here are some of the election law courses available to William & Mary law students:

 

Fall 2009

Presidential Public Financing

The Presidential Public Financing System: An Overview of the System and Options for Reform. The presidential public financing system is at an historic crossroads: With Barack Obama's recent decision to turn down public funds for the general election, and become the first presidential candidate since Watergate to privately finance his election, many election law scholars and practitioners believe that the presidential public financing system is broken and beyond repair. However, both Senator Obama and Senator McCain have supported past proposals to overhaul and modernize the presidential public funding system, and there are increasing signs that Congress will seriously consider various overhaul proposals in 2009, which could take effect for the 2012 presidential election. This course will analyze the presidential public financing system, the regulations and restrictions that apply to candidates who accept public funds, and major court decisions that have addressed the constitutionality of public financing regimes. We will also study various legislative proposals to overhaul the presidential public funding system and will debate whether there should be a presidential public financing system at all in the 21st century. We will also discuss several proposals to extend public financing to congressional elections. The course will emphasize the unique blend of legal, constitutional, political, and public policy issues that influence contemporary debates about the future of the the presidential public financing system.

Instructor: Michael E. Toner

 

Special Topics in Election Law

Special Topics in Election Law: Electoral Reform--Developing Election Standards This course will explore the development of standards for future elections. The United States Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), reversed and remanded the state supreme court decision's ordering a manual recount of ballots cast on the grounds that the recount procedures were inconsistent with the obligation to avoid arbitrary and disparate treatment of the electorate. This course will explore the development of procedures which overcome the Court's objects in Bush. The course will analyze the post-Bush decisions and legislatioin in an attempt to develop a methodology to electoral reform based on principled rules. The course will explore standards for election disputes, voting technology, regulation of political parties, campaign finance, and registration and voting. The class will require a paper addressing one of the reform efforts identified in the class.

Instructor: John H. Young

 

Spring 2010

Buckley and Beyond:  Campaign Finance

Instructor: Neil P. Reiff

 

Lobbying Ethics

Instructor:  Joseph E. Sandler

 

Redistricting

Instructor:  Christy McCormick 

 

Past Courses

Legislative Redistricting

Legislative Redestricting This course reviews the doctrinal history and present status of judicial review of legislative redistricting with an emphasis on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the requirements of nondilution, the governing Supreme Court decisions and judicial remedies.

Instructor: Earle D. Getchell

 

International Election Principles

International Election Principles 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.

Instructor: John H. Young

 

Election Administration & The Law

Election Admin & the Law This course will examine the basics of election administration with a particular focus on the system in place in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Topics include (1) a quick history of election reform 2000-2008, 2) an overview of the administration of elections, including a consideration of the distribution of power, responsibility and authority over elections between the federal, state and local governments; and (3) questions of eligibility to vote, such as voter registration, voter identification, and provisional voting. While the class will also touch on issues relating to voting technology and post-election procedures and litigation (including audits, recounts and contests), it will do so only generally and in relation to Virginia's place in the overall national system.

Instructor: Douglas M. Chapin

 

Campaign Finance

Campaign Finance 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.

Instructor: Neil P. Reiff

 

Law of Electoral Reform

Law of Electoral Reform This course will focus on four aspects of the electoral reform movement: voter registration and identification; means of voting; redistricting; and the Electoral College. This course will examine some of these recent changes, including the affects of Crawford v. Marion Co. Election Bd., on the way in which we vote in the United States, and will consider how to best protect both the integrity and the reliability of our voting process.

Instructor: John H. Young

 

Equal Protection & Voting Rights

Equal Protection, the Voting Rights Act, and Race-Conscious Districting Equal Protection This short course will explore the intersection of the Voting Rights Act and the Equal Protection clause of the fourteenth amendment -- focusing on remedial race-based redistricting. The central line of United States Supreme Court decisions it will explore includes Shaw v. Reno (1993), Miller v. Johnson (1995), Bush v. Vera (1996), Hunt v. Crowmarti (2001) and their progeny. The course will consider the challenging tension between the demands of Voting Rights Act enforcement and constitutional compliance. It will also compare the Shaw line of cases with the Court's treatment of affirmative action.

Instructor: Gene R. Nichol

 

Law of Presidential Elections

Law of Presidential Elections The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of election law issues pertaining to presidential elections. The course will examine the roles of both the Democratic and Republican National Committees and the Federal Election Commission in the presidential election process. The course will consider recent legal developments and will analyze the underlying policy issues at play within this area of election law. The course requirements will be fulfilled by writing a paper (which will not fulfill the major writing requirement) and participating in class discussions.

Instructor: Neil P. Reiff