Prerequisite: None

Exam Type: No Exam

In this course will examine the constitutional and statutory rules that govern our democracy. Substantive topics will include the constitutional structure of republican government, the sources of state and federal power to regulate the electoral system, distribution of the franchise and the right to vote, apportionment and representation, the federal Voting Rights Act, the regulation of candidacy, the party system, election administration, and campaign finance. Throughout, we will try to discern the social and philosophical assumptions underlying contemporary election law doctrine and determine whether existing legal frameworks effectively institutionalize those assumptions.

Students may complete a research paper that would satisfy the Analytical Paper requirement.