State of Elections

William & Mary Law School | Election Law Society

Election Law Society

Pennsylvania Ballot Access Cost to Third Parties

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By Adama Sirleaf

Pennsylvania’s ballot access process is one of the most hotly-contested in the country. On July 9, 2014, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Constitution, Green, and Libertarian Parties of Pennsylvania did have standing to bring a claim challenging Pennsylvania’s “method of checking ballot access petitions.” The plaintiffs challenged two provisions of Pennsylvania’s election code, Title 25 §§ 2911(b) and 2937 arguing that combined the two provisions are unconstitutional. The argument stems from the requirement of §2911(b) that minor parties and political organizations must obtain a certain number of signatures to get on the ballot. However, under §2937 if those signatures are successfully challenged the candidates may be held financially liable. Read together, these two provisions arguably act as a barrier for candidates of minor parties and political organizations. The appellate court merely ruled on standing and did not intend to prejudge the merits of the case. [Read more…] about Pennsylvania Ballot Access Cost to Third Parties

William & Mary Law Alumna Elizabeth Howard ‘09 Appointed as Deputy Commissioner for the Virginia Department of Elections

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WILLIAMSBURG, VA – The Law School is honored to report that Governor Terry McAuliffe has appointed 2009 William & Mary Law alumna Elizabeth Howard J.D. ‘09 as Deputy Commissioner for the Virginia Department of Elections in Richmond. Prior to this appointment, Howard worked as General Counsel at Rock the Vote, a non-profit organization dedicated to engaging young people in politics. Before Rock the Vote, Howard worked as a Senior Associate at Sandler Reiff in Washington, DC, where she specialized in election law working tirelessly, for example, on the recount team for Mark Herring for Attorney General and earlier on the recount team for Lynwood Lewis whose state Senate special election decided control of the Virginia State Senate.

As a student at William & Mary Law School, Howard co-founded the Election Law Society in 2006, a thriving student group that organizes numerous events at the law school on politics and election law, including its annual Election Law Symposium. As a professional, Howard remains involved with the Election Law Society and generous mentor to many William & Mary Election Law Society students and recent grads. In 2014, Howard received the Society’s Alumnus of the Year Award for her work in the field and dedication to forwarding the interests of the Election Law Society.

 

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Brian Cannon ’04, J.D. ’11 Named Executive Director of OneVirginia2021 By the Election Law Program

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William & Mary Law School and College of William & Mary graduate Brian Cannon recently was named executive director of OneVirginia2021: Virginians for Fair Redistricting<http://onevirginia2021.org>, a multi-partisan effort to amend the Virginia Constitution to establish an independent, impartial redistricting commission to draw political districts. Cannon, who graduated from the Law School in 2011, was the founding editor of the State of Elections Blog<http://stateofelections.com>, former student president of the Election Law Society<http://law.wm.edu/studentlife/studentorganizations/educate/wmels/index.php>, and served on William & Mary’s winning team for the Virginia Redistricting Competition<http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/links/virginia-redistricting-competition/>. He also worked as a student on behalf of clients of the Law School’s Lewis B. Puller, Jr. Veterans Benefits Clinic<http://law.wm.edu/academics/programs/jd/electives/clinics/veterans/index.php>, and now is a member of the clinic’s Advisory Board.

While an undergraduate at the College, Cannon co-founded the student voting advocacy group Virginia 21, the first political action committee run solely by students, and has since served on the group’s board. Prior to joining OneVirginia2021, he served as director of business development at The Fahrenheit Group.

In a press release announcing his appointment, Cannon expressed enthusiasm for OneVirginia2021’s mission. “Fixing our broken redistricting process is the most important thing we can do for the health of Virginia’s democracy,” he said. “The momentum for reform is building and the time is right to do it now. I am excited to have the opportunity to lead the broad-based movement that is OneVirginia2021 and help make this happen. My experiences in nonpartisan issue advocacy with the addition of my legal background and experience in election law give me confidence that we can do this.”

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Only One Minor Problem: How Young Is too Young for Poll Workers, and How do We Adapt to a Younger Generation?

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By: Geoff Tucker

It is no secret that the typical poll worker tends to be a senior citizen; indeed, the average age of those volunteering to work the polls is seventy-five. As new technologies are implemented for use in elections, however, there has been a growing push for younger volunteers who are presumably more tech-savvy. In efforts to recruit this younger demographic, California amended its election law statutes to allow high school students to serve as poll workers if certain conditions are met, including a minimum GPA and age requirement. [Read more…] about Only One Minor Problem: How Young Is too Young for Poll Workers, and How do We Adapt to a Younger Generation?