Seminar - 2 hours. This seminar investigates the right to vote as a matter of constitutional and statutory law, with particular emphasis on the voting rights of racial and ethnic minorities, and the relationships among law, electoral structures, and the risk of authoritarianism. It covers the Warren Court cases that established the right to vote as a fundamental right under the Equal Protection clause; the emergence and transformation of the right of racial minorities to an “undiluted” vote under the Equal Protection clause and the federal Voting Rights Act; and the limits of the non-dilution principle, as reflected in partisan gerrymandering cases. Finally, we consider the law of disputed elections, and the incentives of candidates and co-partisan legislators to accept and legitimate their own losses.
Prerequisites: None. (This course may be taken before or after “Law 241B Election Law: Campaign Finance, Political Speech, & Rights of Political Association.”)
Graduation Requirements: May satisfy Advanced Writing Requirement with instructor's permission.
Final Assessment: Paper.