Recent elections in the United States have been the subject of fraud and manipulation allegations that are usually associated with elections overseas. As a result, much needed attention is being placed on a range of potential reforms to the “systems” for electing government officials, to the legal framework for elections, to the use of technology for election administration, and to the conduct of election campaigns. At the same time, elections overseas continue to draw considerable attention as harbingers of populist discontent, illiberal democracy, provokers of conflict and instability, even as many elections occur in environments where the electorate lacks confidence in the legal framework and the election administrators.

This course will address these issues by focusing first on the evolution of election law in the United States from the birth of the Republic through the 2018 mid-terms. The course will then shift to the international setting, reviewing various international instruments, the role of international observers and examining several controversial elections that have occurred during the past three decades. The closing section of the course will focus on several contemporary challenges, including the role of technology and the rise of electoral populism. And throughout the course, we will follow the legal administrative issues that emerge in the context of the unfolding 2020 elections in the United States and what lessons the United States might learn from the conduct of elections in other countries.

Additional Information:
Credit Hours: 3
Grading Option: Letter Grade Only
Graduation Writing Requirement: No
Flexible/Upper-Level Writing Requirement: Yes
Skills Requirement: No
Simulation Course: No
Experiential Learning: No
Seminar: Yes
Special Withdrawal Course: No
Limited Enrollment Number: 16
Final Exam Given: No
Paper Or In-Class Presentation: Paper
Attendance Policy: Per Statement Of Student Policies
Teaching Method: In Person

* The law school has a policy that is used to calculate credit hours. Please see the Statement of Student Policies.