Law & Democracy

The Ohio State University
  • 0.0 (0)
  • POLÍTICA
  • CADA SEMANA

Law & Democracy Podcast is a public affairs conversation facilitated by the Election Law Program at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. The podcast hosts are Ned Foley, Steve Huefner, Terri Enns, Anne Ralph, and Tony Gaughan. They are joined on a regular basis by leading scholars and journalists for an intelligent, informative, and nonpartisan discussion of law and democracy issues. For more information and resources, visit Election Law at Ohio State (moritzlaw.osu.edu/election-law). And don’t forget to follow us on X @lawanddemocracypod, where you can ask questions and share your thoughts! Subscribe to stay informed and engaged in the world where law and democracy intersect.

  1. 10 FEB

    Unseen Power: The Chief Election Official | S2 E7

    What if a chief election official wrongfully denies the franchise to thousands of felons when the law very clearly entitles them to vote? Or even blatantly ignores new legislation expanding voting rights simply because they disagree with the law? In his NYU Law Review article, “Unilateral Election Administration,” Professor John Martin of Quinnipiac University School of Law explores the oversight measures to hold chief election officials accountable. Martin notes that these officials wield immense power, enjoying unilateral authority to render decisions affecting voter registration, voting equipment, ballot access, election certification, and official training. But what happens when that power is misused or abused? Law & Democracy co-hosts sit down with Martin to discuss this critical article during a time when the election law arena is increasingly volatile. The conversation paints a comprehensive picture, from explaining the role of a chief election official to assessing the different modes of accountability available to check their power. Recorded on Wednesday, February 4, 2026. #electionlaw #power #democracy

    45 min

  2. 17 ENE

    The False Conflict Between the Voting Rights Act and the Colorblind Constitution

    Does the Voting Rights Act have a constitutional expiration date? Columbia Law Professor Kerrel Murray joins the Law & Democracy team to challenge the growing legal theory that Section 2 is a temporary “disparate impact” measure that must eventually end. Join hosts Tony Gaughan, Steve Huefner, and Terri Enns as they discuss with Murray the distinctions between Section 2 and traditional disparate impact claims, the Supreme Court’s evolving jurisprudence on race, and what the future holds for voting rights litigation. Recorded on January 12, 2026.

    50 min

  3. 11/12/2025

    The True Overseer: Should Congress Regulate Elections Like the Supreme Court?

    Election law scholarship often operates under key assumptions: that the Supreme Court functions as an “almighty overseer” determining the scope of power for the other branches, and that the states possess “broad authority over elections” that Congress generally should not disturb. In fact, the historical record reveals that Congress possesses “much more power than many people have thought” when it comes to voting and elections. However, many of these powers have “lain dormant for100 plus years,” causing Congress to lose its “muscle memory” for action in this critical space. Leading election law scholar and Dean of the USC Gould School of Law, Franita Tolson, presents a comprehensive historical reappraisal in her forthcoming book, In Congress We Trust? Enforcing Voting Rights from the Founding to the Jim Crow Era. The book attempts to determine if the prevailing assumptions regarding congressional limitations are true. Dean Tolson reveals “a lot of gems that we just don’t talk about” by examining overlooked constitutional provisions, including the Guarantee Clause, Article I, Section 5, and Section 2 of the 14th Amendment. Dean Tolson joins Law & Democracy to discuss the imperative of recovering this history, asking whether “we should be talking about Congress the same way we talk about the Supreme Court when it comes to the regulations of voting and elections”. This episode explores how understanding Congress’s forgotten power and historical use of “muscle” is crucial for addressing contemporary challenges to American democracy, which Dean Tolson argues is far more fragile than many assume. Speakers: • Franita Tolson, Dean and Carl Mason Franklin Chair in Law at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.• Edward Foley, Charles W. Ebersold and Florence Whitcomb Ebersold Chair in Constitutional Law; Director, Election Law at Ohio State. • Anthony Gaughan, Senior Fellow, Election Law at Ohio State; Professor of Law and Current Family Chair in Law at Drake University Law School. • Terri Enns, James W. Shocknessy Professor of Law; Senior Fellow, Election Law at Ohio State If you enjoy this episode, please give us a boost by liking it, subscribing, and sharing it with your friends. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, please give it a five-star rating. Thoughts? Email us at electionlaw@osu.edu. Recorded on December 9, 2025.

    57 min

  4. 14/11/2025

    The Decisive Blow: Can Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act Survive?

    Widely regarded as the most transformative piece of legislation of the Civil Rights era, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) was a comprehensive measure enacted to dismantle Jim Crow policies and eliminate discriminatory voting practices nationwide. Since its passage, however, the VRA has faced continuous turbulence. For example, the 2021 Supreme Court ruling in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee significantly curtailed the use of Section 2, the provision that allows voters to challenge laws and procedures that deny equal political opportunity to elect their candidates of choice. Election law expert, Maureen Edobor, delivers an urgent assessment of the VRA’s current state in 2025 and explains the deep implications of the pivotal Supreme Court case, Louisiana v. Callais. This case directly challenges a new congressional map designed to remedy vote dilution for Black voters, forcing the Court to confront the fundamental constitutionality of VRA Section 2. Speakers: • Maureen Edobor, a Theodore DeLaney Center Fellow focusing on Southern race relations, politics, and culture, at the Washington and Lee University School of Law • Anthony Gaughan, Associate Dean; Kern Family Chair in Law and Professor of Law at Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa; Senior Fellow, Election Law at Ohio State • Terri Enns, James W. Shocknessy Professor of Law; Senior Fellow, Election Law at Ohio State • Anne Ralph, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Strategic Initiatives; Morgan E. Shipman Professor in Law; Senior Fellow, Election Law at Ohio State If you enjoy this episode, please give us a boost by liking it, subscribing, and sharing it with your friends. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, please give it a five-star rating. Thoughts? Email us at electionlaw@osu.edu. Watch our show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@OhioStateLaw Recorded on November 11, 2025.

    46 min

  5. 07/10/2025

    Can Political Parties Spend Freely? Brad Smith on the Case That Could Change Campaign Finance

    Brad Smith, former Chair of the Federal Election Commission and President of the Institute for Free Speech, joins the Election Law Program at The Ohio State University to discuss the pending Supreme Court case National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission. Smith outlines the arguments presented in the amicus brief he co-authored, which challenges the constitutionality of limits on coordinated party expenditures and questions the legal foundation of Buckley v. Valeo. The conversation covers: • The legal issues at stake in NRSC v. FEC • The role of political parties in campaign finance • The definition and evidence of corruption under current law • The impact of digital media on campaign practices • Constitutional limits on Congress’s authority to regulate campaigns

    52 min

  6. 21/09/2025

    A Conversation with Jacob Eisler on Constitutional Law, Political Fragmentation, and Judicial Power

    In this episode, we welcome Jacob Eisler, the James Edmund and Margaret Elizabeth Hennessey Corry Professor at the Florida State University College of Law, where the 2025 Election Law Conference (ELC) was hosted. Professor Eisler shares highlights from the conference, which brought together leading scholars from across the nation to discuss the practice and theory of election law, with a focus on the most urgent issues currently facing American democracy—representation, democracy and economic inequality, fair districting, and challenges to electoral integrity. The keynote address was delivered by Nicholas Stephanopoulos, the Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. The 2025 ELC at Florida State built upon the 2024 Election Law Conference at Washington University School of Law, continuing the tradition as a leading annual conference on constitutional law, democratic theory, and the electoral process in the American legal academy. Publications referenced in this episode: 1. The Stagnation, Retrogression, and Potential Pro-Voter Transformation of U.S. Election Law by Richard L. Hasen 2. The Ohio State Law Journal 2025 Symposium 3. The Two Faces of Representation by Ashraf Ahmed 4. The Law of Freedom: The Supreme Court and Democracy by Jacob Eisler About Professor Jacob Eisler Jacob Eisler joined Florida State University College of Law in 2023 as the James Edmund and Margaret Elizabeth Hennessey Corry Professor. Professor Eisler researches constitutional law, election law, criminal law (with a focus on anti-corruption law), legal theory, and law and technology. He applies moral and political theory to questions of judicial reasoning and institutional design, with particular emphasis on the relationship between legal doctrine, democratic self-rule, and the conditions necessary for political liberty. He is the author of The Law of Freedom: The Supreme Court and Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2023), and his scholarship has been published or is forthcoming in leading law reviews and peer-reviewed journals, including the Emory Law Journal, the UC Davis Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, and the Election Law Journal. He is regularly interviewed or quoted in national and international media on matters related to law and politics.

    49 min

  7. 30/07/2025

    How are elections being conducted in America today? 2024 SPAE report and mid-decade redistricting

    In this episode, our panel of Election Law experts: Steve, Terri, Tony, and Matt, break down the latest findings from the MIT Election Data + Science Lab’s 2024 Survey of the Performance of American Elections (SPAE).Part One dives into key takeaways from the SPAE report, including: • The evolving role of vote-by-mail post-pandemic • Record-breaking voter turnout in 2020 and 2024 • Improvements in wait times for both early and Election Day voting • The ongoing partisan divide in mail voting behavior Part Two explores the topic of mid-decade redistricting. With President Trump urging Texas governor and legislature to redistrict in advance of the 2026 midterms, states across the political spectrum are discussing the possibility of adopting the very unusual practice of redistricting in the middle of a decade. Our experts unpack the legal, political, and democratic implications and what it could mean for future elections. Stay tuned for future episodes as we continue to track this developing story. Key Data Points from the 2024 SPAE Report: • Voting by mail: The use of mail ballots in 2024 decreased from pandemic-era levels but stayed above historical norms. The percentage of voters casting ballots by mail decreased to 29%, down from 43% in 2020 but up from 21% in 2016. • The 2020 and 2024 presidential contests were among the highest-turnout elections in the past century. The 66% turnout rate in 2020 was the highest since 1908, and 2024’s rate of 64% was the second highest, tied with 1960. The last two midterm elections also featured unusually high turnout levels, with rates not seen since the 1960s. • Average wait times for both Election Day and early voters decreased. Eleven percent of voters on Election Day waited over 30 minutes to cast their ballots, compared to 14% in 2020. Fifteen percent of early voters experienced wait times exceeding 30 minutes, a decrease from 21% in 2020. • The partisan divide in mail voting continued, with more Democrats than Republicans utilizing this method, although the gap narrowed because of declining usage among Democrats. Resources & References: • MIT Election Lab Report: How We Voted in 2024: https://electionlab.mit.edu/research/… • Pew Research: Voter Turnout 2020–2024: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/…

    37 min

  8. 10/07/2025

    Democracy’s Paper Trail: Election Records, Safety, and Reform

    Professor Rebecca Green, Director of the Election Law Program at William & Mary Law School, joins us to explore the evolving landscape of election administration and transparency. She discusses the implications of public records requests on election officials, the importance of archiving in democratic systems, and how state-level policies can foster (or hinder) trust in the electoral process. Resources Mentioned: • Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) • National Association of Election Officials (Election Center) Like, Share, and Subscribe to support independent conversations on law & democracy. Connect with Us: X: @lawdemocracypodEmail: lawanddemocracypodcast@gmail.comAbout Rebecca Green Rebecca Green is a Professor of Law at William & Mary Law School where she teaches courses in Election Law, Redistricting & GIS, Privacy Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Contract Law. Professor Green directs the Election Law Program, a joint project of the Law School and the National Center for State Courts. ELP provides resources for judges deciding election disputes. In 2013, Professor Green co-founded Revive My Vote to assist Virginians with prior felony convictions regain the right to vote. In 2018, Professor Green joined the National Task Force on Election Crises, a cross-partisan group convened to prevent and mitigate a range of election crises. In 2020, Green helped students co-found the Alliance of Students at the Polls (ASAP), a group mobilizing a national network of law students to support U.S. election

    47 min
Ver todo (32)

Acerca de

Law & Democracy Podcast is a public affairs conversation facilitated by the Election Law Program at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. The podcast hosts are Ned Foley, Steve Huefner, Terri Enns, Anne Ralph, and Tony Gaughan. They are joined on a regular basis by leading scholars and journalists for an intelligent, informative, and nonpartisan discussion of law and democracy issues. For more information and resources, visit Election Law at Ohio State (moritzlaw.osu.edu/election-law). And don’t forget to follow us on X @lawanddemocracypod, where you can ask questions and share your thoughts! Subscribe to stay informed and engaged in the world where law and democracy intersect.

Información

  • Canal
    The Ohio State University
  • Creador
    Election Law at The Ohio State University
  • Años de actividad
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodios
    32
  • Clasificación
    Apto
  • Copyright
    © The Ohio State University
  • Mostrar sitio web
    Law & Democracy

Más de The Ohio State University