Posts Tagged ‘Election Law’

ELECT Blog Election Law Essays on Current Topics

Voting — A Civic Responsibility

The right to vote is a precious right granted to all Americans.  Unfortunately, some citizens take this fundamental right for granted and don’t exercise their right to vote.  Now is the time to vote. Your vote enhances our democracy.  We have the opportunity to vote for our elected officials who make policy decisions on our […]

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Tyson and Traywick teach Election Law at UofSC School of Law

In this most unusual and dramatic election year, Robinson Gray attorneys Rob Tyson and Lisle Traywick instructed future attorneys on the complexities of Election Law this summer. “We covered a wide range of topics,” said Tyson, “including candidate filing, candidate protests and challenges, absentee balloting, and redistricting. The students were very engaged, particularly given the […]

ELECT Blog Election Law Essays on Current Topics

US Supreme Court Holds 28 North Carolina state House and Senate districts are Racially Gerrymandered

By Rob Tyson In North Carolina v. Covington, the United State Supreme Court upheld the three-judge panel decision that 28 of North Carolina state House of Representative and Senate districts were drawn as racial gerrymanders in violation of the equal protection clause.[1]  However, the Supreme Court reversed the district court ruling ordering newly drawn districts […]

ELECT Blog Election Law Essays on Current Topics

Voter purge case to be heard by Supreme Court

by Rob Tyson The United States Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to Ohio’s policy of removing voters from the voter registration rolls.  In Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court ruling denying the Plaintiffs’ request for an injunction to reinstate the removed voters or […]

ELECT Blog Election Law Essays on Current Topics

Early Voting – Good or Bad

By Rob Tyson Bob Bissen, an outside consultant to APCO Worldwide, describes the status of early voting across the United States.  He discusses the pros and cons.  Specifically, allowing persons to vote prior to election day makes it more convenient for voters; however, some of the early voters might not be truly informed, given the […]

ELECT Blog Election Law Essays on Current Topics

The Election Process

Originally published in SC Lawyer (September 2016)  By Robert E. Tyson, Jr. Legal issues surrounding elections have grown immensely in the recent past.  With social media creating more attention on the process and the specific candidates, the process for elections must be solid.  In Anderson v. South Carolina Election Commission, the supreme court held, “Integrity […]

ELECT Blog Election Law Essays on Current Topics

Legislative Changes to Election Laws in 2016

By Rob Tyson Based on the Voting Laws Roundup 2016 by the Brennan Center for Justice, [1] two key trends have emerged in 2016: 1) automatic voter registration has taken off across the country and 2) States are passing fewer voter restrictions, but restrictions in 17 states will be on the books for the first […]

ELECT Blog Election Law Essays on Current Topics

Partisan Gerrymandering

By Rob Tyson In Wisconsin, a challenge to the State’s drawing of its legislative districts based on partisan gerrymandering is moving toward a trial beginning May 24.  The Plaintiffs, generally linked together as Democrats, have challenged the legislative districts drawn by “Republican legislators to maximize Republican wins and minimize Democratic influence over the political process…”  […]

ELECT Blog Election Law Essays on Current Topics

When Are Flawed Elections Voidable?

When are election irregularities so substantial as to void election results? That was the question before the Kentucky Court of Appeals in Adair County Board of Elections v. Arnold, No. 2015-CA-000661-MR, 2015 WL 5308132 (Ky. App. 2015). In Adair, Ben Arnold, an unsuccessful write-in candidate for mayor, and two voters, brought suit against the Adair […]

ELECT Blog Election Law Essays on Current Topics

The Ballot Selfie

Earlier this month, a federal court in New Hampshire struck down a 2014 enacted New Hampshire law that prohibited voters from taking and disclosing photographs of their completed ballots to let others know how they voted. The law was challenged on the grounds it infringed upon the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights.  The Judge agreed and […]