Regulation of the Political Process

Democracy in theory may be the province of philosophers, but democracy in action belongs to lawyers. A web of constitutional, statutory, and administrative laws structure every aspect of the American political process. This course surveys these laws and the theories that animate them. Major topics include the right to vote and restrictions thereon, such as literacy, residency, and voter ID requirements; representation, which involves the number of people in legislative districts and the factors, including race and partisanship, that determine district boundaries; election administration, which encompasses voting technology and vote counting (think Bush v. Gore); and campaign finance, which involves the raising and spending of money in elections.