Jenny Zook
Created By
The Election Law Guide is created by Austin Hankins, UW iSchool Graduate, Spring, 2024
Introduction
This election law guide covers statutes, regulations, and case law pertaining to federal, state, and local elections across the United States. Election law can encompass, but is not limited to, voting rights, campaign finance, redistricting, and election administration. The Law Library has resources available in print and online to help you research election law in the United States at the federal and state level. Also included in this guide are outside resources that may be beneficial.
Getting Started
Note: These are just a few of the resources that are available at the Law Library, through UW-Madison, or available on the web. For more, please use the menu bar on the left to navigate to more specific resources.
Statutes
- United States CodeTitle 52 - Voting and Elections
Regulations
- Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)Title 11 - Federal Elections
Agencies/Organizations
Periodicals
- Election Law BlogA blog organized by Professor Richard L. Hasen, an election law expert from the University of California, Los Angeles. Also includes contributions from other election law scholars, including from Fred W. & Vi Miller Dean and Professor of Law Daniel P. Tokaji.
Casebooks, Nutshells, and Study Materials
- Election Law: Cases and Materials byCall Number: KF4886 .L69 2017
Election Law In A Nutshell by
Election law is a dynamic and rapidly expanding field that generates enormous public interest. It is also of great practical importance to lawyers and law students, with increasing litigation and many controversial Supreme Court decisions, including Bush v. Gore, Citizens United v. FEC, and Shelby County v. Holder. This Nutshell provides a succinct and thorough description of the law governing elections, the right to vote, and the political process in the United States. The topics addressed include "one person, one vote," gerrymandering, minority voting rights, ballot access, voter identification, recounts, direct democracy, and campaign finance. The Nutshell examines U.S. constitutional law in these areas, as well as the Voting Rights Act, Federal Election Campaign Act, and other essential statutes. It covers cases decided through the 2022-23 Supreme Court term, including Allen v. Milligan (on the Voting Rights Act) and Moore v. Harper (on the independent state legislature theory).
Call Number: KF4886 .T65 2024 (Reserve Collection behind Circulation Desk)ISBN: 1647082501Publication Date: 2024-03-26- Examples and Explanations for Legislation, Statutory Interpretation, and Election Law byCall Number: KF4930 .H37 2020 (Reserve Collection behind Circulation Desk)
New and Relevant Titles
The Appearance of Corruption: Testing the Supreme Court's Assumptions about Campaign Finance Reform by
A critical analysis of the connections that the United States Supreme Court has made between campaign finance regulations and voters' behavior. The sanctity of political speech is a key element of the United States Constitution and a cornerstone of the American republic. When the Supreme Court linked political speech to campaign finance in its landmark Buckley v. Valeo (1976) decision, the modern era of campaign finance regulation was born. The decision stated that in order to pass constitutional muster, any laws limiting money in politics must be narrowly tailored and serve a compelling state interest. The lone state interest the Court was willing to entertain was the mitigation of corruption. In order to reach this conclusion, the Court advanced a sophisticated behavioral model that made assumptions about how laws affect voters' opinions and behavior.
Call Number: KF4920 .S53 2021ISBN: 9780197548417Publication Date: 2021-02-16- Campaign Finance Law: A Legal Research Guide by A legal research guide on the important topic of campaign finance law (as distinguished from election law). It provides primary sources--including federal and state statutes as well as federal and state regulations--and secondary sources on the fundamentals regarding campaign finance requirements, violations, limitations and contributions, among other issues. The guide is easy to read and use, and provides an invaluable tool and resource for lawyers, campaign workers, election officials, and the general public interested in the topic.--Publisher.Call Number: KF4920.A1 F53 2020 (Reference Collection in HHR Reading Room, 5th Floor)ISBN: 0837741270Publication Date: 2020-01-01
Free to Judge: The Power of Campaign Money in Judicial Elections by
The idea that wealthy people use their money to influence things, including politics, law, and media will surprise very few people. However, as Michael S. Kang and Joanna Shepherd argue in this readable and rich study of the state judiciary, the effect of money on judicial outcomes should disturb and anger everyone. In the current system that elects state judges, the rich and powerful can spend money to elect and re-elect judges who decide cases the way they want. Free to Judge is about how and why money increasingly affects the dispensation of justice in our legal system, and what can be done to stop it.
Call Number: KF8776 .K36 2023 (currently on New Book Shelf on 5th Floor)ISBN: 9781503627611Publication Date: 2023-08-22
The Law of Presidential Impeachment by
A clear and comprehensive overview of presidential impeachment from a leading expert in the field As a result of Donald Trump's presidency, impeachment was once again thrust into the spotlight of American political discussion. However, its history goes back to the very founding of the nation, when American colonists, remembering their grievances against their former king, entrenched the process in their new Constitution. The Law of Presidential Impeachment breaks down both the law and politics of this process, providing a comprehensive, nonpartisan, and up-to-date explanation of the Constitution's various mechanisms for holding presidents accountable for their misdeeds. Based on a lifetime of scholarly research, as well as unique experience as a witness and consultant in the impeachment trials of Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, Michael J. Gerhardt's new book takes the reader back to the basics of presidential impeachments. Rather than provide reasons for or against impeaching particular presidents, he explains the law and procedures that govern impeachment, examining a number of significant, yet under-explored, issues and themes. Gerhardt offers new perspectives on the subject, arguing that it cannot be properly understood in a vacuum, but must instead be viewed in the context of its coordination with such other mechanisms as criminal prosecutions, censure, elections, congressional oversight, and the Fourteenth and Twenty-Fifth Amendments. The Law of Presidential Impeachment will be an invaluable, accessible guide for future generations, giving them a succinct yet remarkably nuanced understanding of this core aspect of our executive branch and overarching governmental system.
Call Number: KF5075 .G473 2024 (New Book Shelf, 5th Floor)ISBN: 9781479824694Publication Date: 2024-01-09
Much Sound and Fury, or the New Jim Crow? by
Since 2003, several US states have passed new laws that complicate the process of voter registration and voting. Framed as controls on voter fraud, the laws have spawned controversy in both the courts and public opinion, the latter falling along a sharp partisan divide. Much Sound and Fury, or the New Jim Crow? offers a scholarly analysis, not of the intent but rather the impact of these laws. Beginning with a historical overview of the expanding and contracting right to vote, particularly regarding its impact on African Americans, subsequent chapters use quantitative analysis to analyze the impact of identification requirement laws, proof-of-citizenship requirements, felony disenfranchisement, and gerrymandering. Before 2020, the impact of the laws leaned slightly negative but was mixed. More recent developments, however, point to a far more alarming implication--widespread belief in factually-baseless allegations of fraud, which undermines Americans' trust and faith in our constitutional democracy; these allegations reached a crescendo in 2021 as a violent mob seized the US Capitol. The book concludes with an afterword on the 2020 elections and their aftermath.
Call Number: F4893 .M83 2022ISBN: 9781438486833Publication Date: 2022-01-01
Databases
- Bloomberg LawBloomberg Law contains a "Chart Builder" feature which can compare the 50 states and District of Columbia's laws on employee rights regarding voting and elections.
- HeinOnlineContains database section on Voting Rights and Election Law: "A collection of historical and current content devoted to the electoral process: how elections are conducted, the strategy and controversies of political campaigns, how votes are counted, and who is allowed to vote."
- ProQuest CongressionalFull text publications of the U.S. Congress since 1789. Contains a topic section dedicated to the Voting Rights Act, which provides helpful background and links to the statute and relevant reports.
- ProQuest Legislative InsightA useful database when compiling legislative histories. Contains a topic section entitled "Voting Rights" which provides a helpful timeline of relevant laws.
- SageDataProvides access to multiple datasets, including to datasets related to voting.
- Westlaw Precision for Law SchoolsAvailable to authorized users affiliated with the Law School.
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