election law research paper topics

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• Georgetown Law Library

Election Law Research Guide

In-depth resources and study aids.

• Introduction & Key Resources
• Election Statistics
• Primary Law Resources
• Government Resources/ Associations/Blogs

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• Preeminent Treatise

Note that there is no treatise on election law. The below titles are helpful resources to get started.

• How We Vote: Innovations in American Elections Kathleen Hale and Mitchell Brown explore how election officials are innovating to resolve the interconnected management, technological, and political challenges in the more than 8,000 election jurisdictions across the United States.
• Principles of the Law, Election Administration : Non-Precinct Voting and resolution of Ballot-counting disputes This is The American Law Institute's volume on the proper functioning of our democracy, focusing on non-precinct voting and the resolution of disputed elections. Available on HeinOnline.

• Legislation, Statutory Interpretation and Election Law: Examples and Explanations The book covers the fields of Legislation, Statutory Interpretation, and Election Law, including campaign finance, redistricting, and voting rights
• << Previous: Election Statistics
• Next: Primary Law Resources >>
• © Georgetown University Law Library. These guides may be used for educational purposes, as long as proper credit is given. These guides may not be sold. Any comments, suggestions, or requests to republish or adapt a guide should be submitted using the Research Guides Comments form . Proper credit includes the statement: Written by, or adapted from, Georgetown Law Library (current as of .....).
• Last Updated: May 21, 2024 10:42 AM
• URL: https://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/electionlaw

Election Law

Drowning out democracy, arkansas state conference naacp v. arkansas board of apportionment.

Eighth Circuit Holds Voting Rights Act Does Not Contain a Private Cause of Action to Enforce Section 2

Pico Neighborhood Ass’n v. City of Santa Monica

California Supreme Court Interprets State Act to Expand Reach of Vote Dilution Protection.

Pub. Act No. 23-204, §§ 410–418, 2023 Conn. Acts 819–48 (Reg. Sess.)

Connecticut Voting Rights Act Strengthens Vote Dilution Claims.

Compulsory Voting’s American History

Voting wrongs and remedial gaps, in re 2021 redistricting cases.

Alaska Supreme Court Holds that Partisan Gerrymander Violates State Equal Protection Clause Based on Discriminatory Intent.

Moore v. Harper

Allen v. milligan, government by the people: iowa’s book-ban law and direct democracy.

• Thomas E. Nielsen

University of Wisconsin Law Library Research Guides

Uw-madison libraries research guides.

• Course Guides
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• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Research Guides
• Election Law: Federal & State Election Law

Election Law: Federal & State Election Law : Home

• Constitution
• Federal Regulations
• Campaign Finance
• Wisconsin Election Law
• Election Law Resources for Other States

Casebooks, Nutshells, and Study Materials

• General Books on Election Law
• Voting Rights
• Election Administration
• Redistricting
• UW Resources
• Federal Agencies, Associations & Organizations
• Additional Research Guides

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.

• United States Code Title 52 - Voting and Elections
• Wisconsin State Statutes

Regulations

• Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 11 - Federal Elections
• Wisconsin Administrative Code

Agencies/Organizations

• Federal Election Commission Legal Resources
• Wisconsin Election Commission
• State Democracy Research Initiative

Periodicals

• Election Law Journal
• Election Law Blog A 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.
• Election Law: Cases and Materials by Daniel Hays Lowenstein; Richard Hasen; Daniel Tokaji; Nicholas Stephanopoulos Call Number: KF4886 .L69 2017

• Examples and Explanations for Legislation, Statutory Interpretation, and Election Law by Richard L. Hasen Call Number: KF4930 .H37 2020 (Reserve Collection behind Circulation Desk)

New and Relevant Titles

• Bloomberg Law Bloomberg 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.
• HeinOnline Contains 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 Congressional Full 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 Insight A useful database when compiling legislative histories. Contains a topic section entitled "Voting Rights" which provides a helpful timeline of relevant laws.
• SageData Provides access to multiple datasets, including to datasets related to voting.
• Westlaw Precision for Law Schools Available to authorized users affiliated with the Law School.

Ask A Librarian

Need help? 

• Chat with a Reference Librarian

Search for Books

Books and other materials on insurance law can be found in the UW-Madison library catalog .

Search the UW Madison Library Catalog

• Next: Federal Election Law >>
• Last Updated: May 6, 2024 11:43 AM
• URL: https://researchguides.library.wisc.edu/electionlaw

Election Law

Purpose & scope, developing a research strategy, additional research guides.

• Organizations & Government Entities
• Current Awareness
• Secondary Sources
• Primary Sources

Subject Guide

This research guide is designed for law students interested in researching and learning more about election law. Election law covers a wide array of topics, including political spending, voting rights, ballot propositions, redistricting, gerrymandering, and campaign finance.

This guide is divided into five parts: Introduction, Organizations & Government Entities, Current Awareness, Secondary Sources, and Primary Sources.

The  Introduction  page is an excellent place to begin if you are unfamiliar with the area of law. The study aids and CALI lessons will help you gain a better understanding of this area of law and provide you with the knowledge needed to thoroughly research your legal issue.

The Organizations & Government Entities page will provide you with links to organizations, associations, and government entities. These resources may be useful when beginning your research. 

The Current Awareness page will provide you with links to blogs, news, and other sources of current awareness for this topic. Current awareness sources are useful when you are developing a research topic, or when you need to stay up-to-date with recent developments in this area of law. 

The Secondary Sources page will includes links to treatises, law reviews and journals, and other materials that will provide you with an overview of the area of law, along with expert commentary and analysis. 

The Primary Sources page will provides access to cases, statutes, regulations, and other primary sources you should consult when researching this area of law. 

Before diving into a research project, it's essential to have a strategy for how you will conduct your research. 

At the Law Library, we've developed a research worksheet that you can use to help organize the information you've been given and develop a plan for your research. Feel free to make copies and use it as you're given research assignments.

• GSU Law Library Legal Research Worksheet

The following are additional research guides created by other schools that may be of assistance.

• Election Law -- University of California Irvine School of Law
• Election Law -- Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law
• Election Law -- Georgetown University
• Election Law -- Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
• Elections -- University of Michigan
• Elections & Voting -- Princeton University
• U.S. Elections and Voting -- University of Maryland

Be aware that links provided on the above  guides are created  specifically for that institution's patrons. If you see a source referred to on another guide that looks useful for your research,  you can check to see if we have access to that source by checking the following:

• GIL-Find The library catalog for the GSU University Library and GSU Law Library. Use this to locate books, journals, movies, and databases available through the GSU libraries.
• GSU Law Library Databases Databases available to students through the GSU Law Library.
• GSU University Library Databases A list of non-legal databases provided by the University Library, organized by topic.
• Next: Organizations & Government Entities >>
• Last Updated: Feb 29, 2024 11:02 AM
• URL: https://libguides.law.gsu.edu/c.php?g=1353537

Election Law: Overview

• Federal Including Campaign Finance
• Secondary Sources
• Current Awareness
• Voting Rights & Resources
• Redistricting / Reapportionment
• Electoral College
• Purpose of this Guide and Research Strategies
• Other Research Guides

This guide provides an overview of the resources that can be used to research election law in the United States.  The guide covers both federal and state resources, with a focus on New York State resources. The commercial databases included in this guide are available to current students at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. For assistance accessing any of these materials, please contact the Reference Desk at [email protected]. 

Here are some general research strategies to keep in mind:

• Researching election law is like researching for many other legal issues. Identify your issues first and then identify the relevant constitutions, statutes, regulations, case law, and secondary sources. 
• Looking to write a paper on this topic? Check current awareness materials such as newspapers and blogs which may feature stories about current election law issues.
• Although there are law reviews that focus on specific areas of law, do not limit your searches to just those subject specific publications. Remember that any law review can publish a an article on election law, so always include some searches in a database containing all law reviews, without narrowing by publication or jurisdiction.
• Search in the Pace Law Library Catalog & Discovery Service  to find books and articles that will support your research on this topic.
• Law of the Electoral College From the Library of Congress this research guide provides an overview of the law pertaining to the Electoral College and resources for further research.
• U.S. Election Statistics: A Resource Guide From the Library of Congress, this research guide includes online and print resources that contain U.S. election statistics for both federal and state elections.
• Research Guide: Election Law This research guide is from the Moritz Law Library at Ohio State University. The Moritz College of Law also has a nonpartisan research, education, and outreach program conducted by faculty and staff.
• Election Law Research Guide This guide is from the Georgetown Law Library.
• Brennan Center for Justice The Brennan Center For Justice at NYU is an independent, nonpartisan law and policy organization that addresses a range of justice issues, including election issues.
• Election Law at Ohio State A nonpartisan research, education, and outreach program conducted by faculty and staff of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
• Next: Federal Including Campaign Finance >>
• Last Updated: Jun 21, 2024 10:18 AM
• URL: https://libraryguides.law.pace.edu/elections

All Areas of Interest

Area of Interest Election Law and Democracy

Democracy is the cornerstone of the American experience and the hallmark of free societies around the world. Through Harvard Law School’s Election Law Clinic, the first in-house law school clinic designed around the practice of election law; The Democracy and Rule of Law Clinic; and a range of courses, students can gain a strong theoretical grounding and direct hands-on experience in the law of democracy.

From Harvard Law Today

Hls professors, guy-uriel charles.

Charles Ogletree, Jr. Professor of Law

Ruth Greenwood

Assistant Clinical Professor of Law

Jon D. Hanson

Alan A. Stone Professor of Law

Alan Jenkins

Professor of Practice

Larry Schwartztol

Nicholas stephanopoulos.

Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law

Cass R. Sunstein

Robert Walmsley University Professor

Visiting Professors & Lecturers

Anna dorman.

Lecturer on Law

Tarunabh Khaitan

Visiting Professor of Law

Michael Mitchell

Climenko Fellow and Lecturer on Law

Stephanie Robinson

Election law clinic, research programs and centers, animal law & policy program, berkman klein center for internet and society, charles hamilton houston institute for race and justice, harvard law school project on disability, julis-rabinowitz program on jewish and israeli law, systemic justice project, related courses.

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Election Law Program

A Joint project of William & Mary Law School and the National Center for State Courts

Courts play a vital role in the U.S. electoral process. Judges are often asked to resolve cases concerning the functioning of U.S. democracy. Courts must decide issues of ballot access, election management, voting rights disputes, and many more. When legal challenges arise, it is imperative that judges have access to accurate and reliable information about the operation of complex state election laws as they navigate the political thicket such cases, by definition, entail.

The ELP has a number of ongoing projects students play a critical role in developing. The Program's Election Law Manual , updated in 2022 but first published in 2008, provides a comprehensive overview of election law topics and judicial relief available. The Program is currently developing an "eBenchbook" — an online resource aimed at creating a complete, up-to-date repository of all 50 states' election codes and regulations with supplementary materials to enrich judges' understanding of how election codes operate and are interpreted within their state. The ELP is also developing a judicial orders database to provide judges examples of judicial orders resolving common election issues in their state. 

The ELP also works closely with its student arm, the William & Mary Election Law Society to run an Election Law Speaker series bringing prominent election lawyers and scholars to campus and planning other events throughout the academic year. Each year, the Society and Program host a symposium addressing a timely election law topic. For information about the annual symposium series, and speaker events, see the ELP News & Activities page. The Election Law Society also provides opportunities for students to get involved with election law, research, and local elections. More can be found about this organization, its sister organizations ASAP and Revive My Vote, and how students can get involved on the side page. 

*Featured Image (top of page):  Levar Stoney, the youngest person and the first African American to ever hold the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia (now serves as Mayor of Richmond), speaking about the state of voting rights removal and restoration policies in the Commonwealth on February 19th, 2015. 

Researching Election & Voting Law

• Introduction

Terms & Concepts

Voters' rights, campaign finance, election administration, election fraud.

• Major Federal Acts Governing Elections
• Key Resources
• Texas Resources
• Additional Print Resources
• Comprehensive Websites
• Campaign Finance and Debate Websites
• Miscellaneous Websites

Election Fraud / Voter Fraud

Election Crimes

Redistricting

Apportionment

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

Campaign Reform

Law and Politics

The fundamental right to vote includes:

• The right to participate in elections on an equal basis with other citizens in the jurisdiction;
• The right to have one's vote counted;
• The right to an undiluted vote, that is, the right to cast a ballot equal among voters;
• The right to be free from restrictions that deny the franchise or render its exercise so difficult and inconvenient as to essentially deny the right.

- 25 Am. Jur. 2d Elections §100 (2004).

Laws and regulations placing "restrictions on contributions [or donations] to candidates, parties, campaigns, or other political organizations, and ... limits on [campaign] expenditures [or spending]."

- Michael Dimino et al., Voting Rights and Election Law , 786 (2010).

Election administration is the mechanics of how elections are run, ranging from preparations for the election, to the methods by which people cast their ballots, to how winners are declared.

- Dr. Michael McDonald, Department of Public and International Affairs, George Mason University

Includes determining methods for voter registration, designating polling locations, poll worker management, counting votes, etc.

The illegal interference with the process of elections.

Includes such activities as:

• voter intimidation
• ballot stuffing
• destruction of ballots

Examples of election crimes:

• illegal campaign contributions
• racial or ethnic discrimination in voting
• << Previous: Introduction
• Next: Major Federal Acts Governing Elections >>
• Last Updated: Jan 17, 2018 11:48 AM
• URL: https://law.tamu.libguides.com/electionlaw

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Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law, “new ballot-box obstacles: mapping the states with recent laws that make it harder to vote”.

USA Today :

In the wake of former  President Donald Trump’s lies   about a stolen election  in 2020, many state legislatures implemented new laws restricting voter accessibility in key parts of the voting process. Passed in more than half of U.S. states, the laws are often part of sweeping bills that targeted multiple parts of the process, including absentee voting, early voting, and Election Day voting. They mostly come from Republican-led legislatures. Supporters of the laws say they help improve the integrity of elections, sometimes by standardizing elections and often using a common tagline, “hard to cheat.” Opponents have accused lawmakers all over the country of disenfranchising voters − especially Democratic-leaning groups such as voters of color and low-income voters − and they often sue to try to block new laws from going into effect, with mixed success.

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Support responsible news and fact-based information today!

10 tips for effective election fact-checking

‘what does a good election look like’.

During a recent visit to the London offices of the fact-checking organization Full Fact, I noticed an important question written on a whiteboard as the team prepared to fact-check the United Kingdom’s July 4 elections.

“What does a good election look like?”

This question is pivotal, especially for fact-checkers who aim to ensure election integrity. To effectively fact-check, we must understand how our efforts contribute to the overall quality of the election itself. How can our work actually lead to what Full Fact called “a good election”?

We can all agree that elections should be open and transparent, with clear procedures and mechanisms for accountability. It then follows that fact-checking organizations and fact-checkers play a crucial role in maintaining these principles. By providing accurate information and debunking hoaxes, fact-checkers help maintain voting integrity and foster public trust.

This year has been unprecedented in how many elections have happened around the world, with millions of people going to the polls in the United States, India, Africa, Europe and many other places. As manager of the Arab Fact-Checkers Network, my visit to Full Fact inspired me to document 10 practices that can help fact-checking organizations anywhere plan their activities effectively.

1. Planning: Everything starts with a strategy

When planning to fact-check an election, it is essential to brainstorm with your team well in advance. Start by answering this crucial question based on your country’s context and election environment: What does a good election look like?

Understanding what constitutes a good election in your own context will help shape your fact-checking strategies and priorities. It is also crucial to consider prebunking, which involves disseminating accurate information about the election before misinformation has a chance to spread. The “ Facts Sheets ” of Africa Check are good examples of prebunking an election, tackling issues like water, electricity, jobs and sanitation before voters actually went to the polls.

While planning for the election, think also about strategic activities like resource allocation, stakeholder engagement, team coordination, and post-election evaluation.

2. What should you fact-check in an election?

When fact-checking an election, it is crucial to focus on impact. Start by preparing a well-organized list of candidates, public figures, and media organizations to monitor. Categorize these based on relevant topics within the election context, such as policy, candidate backgrounds and key issues. This structured approach ensures that your efforts are targeted, allowing you to track the most influential voices and sources that shape the public opinion.

Fact-checking an election does not mean verifying every single statement made. Instead, it involves focusing on information that truly impacts people’s lives, debunking harmful misinformation and disinformation, and holding public figures accountable for their statements. The selection of claims by Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post, on the first Donald Trump-Joe Biden debate in June 2024 is worth reading; he focused on some of the candidates’ highest-profile claims.

3. Trusted sources to fact-check an election

Maintaining a clear and organized list of trusted election-related resources is essential. Start by compiling a list of reputable sources, such as official government websites, which provide accurate and up-to-date information on voter registration, polling locations and election laws.

Include in your list major news organizations known for their intensive coverage and balanced reporting. Additionally, nonprofit organizations might offer valuable data and research on voter demographics and election trends. By keeping trusted resources at your fingertips, you can quickly access reliable information and cross-reference data.

4. Analyze trends

Go beyond verifying individual statements, photos and videos, and focus on analyzing broader trends in the misinformation landscape. By identifying patterns and themes in false narratives, you can better understand the tactics used to spread falsehoods, so as to develop more effective countermeasures.

For example, during an election, you might notice recurring false claims about the security of mail-in voting. By tracking these trends, you can highlight and address the root causes and methods of dissemination, whether they originate from specific groups, social media platforms, or other channels. An investigation by The Associated Press , for example, looked at how voters of color were targeted by misinformation campaigns.

5. Prioritize your audience

Engage your audience when publishing fact-checking content to foster trust and cultivate an informed electorate. Use interactive methods like quizzes to educate the audience on key election topics, such as the electoral process, candidates’ platforms and common misinformation themes. These quizzes can make learning about the election more engaging and memorable. Africa Check did this with the Nigerian elections in 2023 , and South African elections in 2024 .

Live discussions and Q&A sessions are also highly effective. Hosting these events on social media platforms or through webinars allows you to address questions and concerns in real time, providing immediate clarification on contentious issues or debunking circulating misinformation on elections.

6. Should you use artificial intelligence? Why and how?

While AI-generated misinformation might not always play a significant role during an election (it has in the U.S., but didn’t in the UK), don’t expect to focus exclusively on AI threats. Instead, leverage AI tools to facilitate the monitoring and detection of various claims.

AI can efficiently monitor vast amounts of data from social media, news organizations and other sources, helping to identify potential misinformation quickly. This not only saves time but also ensures that efforts are focused on the most significant and widespread claims.

Full Fact’s AI tools, for example, are invaluable in supporting this process. In 2024, Full Fact used them to cover far more ground than would have been possible with human eyes alone. Those tools monitored over 136 million words in 142,909 articles, transcripts and social media posts. The tools also spotted hundreds of misleading election claims on social media.

Full Fact’s tools are what inspired my visit to the London newsroom. The Arab Fact-Checkers Network , which I manage as part of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (or ARIJ ), is supporting 25 fact-checking organizations from 11 Arab countries to use Full Fact’s AI tools in Arabic. The network will be fact-checking the Algerian, Tunisian and Jordanian elections in 2024.

7. Consider accountability: Let them correct and apologize

Accountability can mean sharing your fact-checking results with the individuals or organizations that initially spread the false claims. By doing so, you not only confront the sources of misinformation but also encourage them to take responsibility for their statements.

For example, if a political candidate or a media organization spreads a false narrative, reach out to them with your findings in hopes that it will prompt a re-evaluation of their narrative. This practice not only helps correct the record, but also underscores the importance of accuracy in public communication.

Full Fact decided, for example, to address an open letter to Keir Starmer, the new UK prime minister, the day after his appointment, urging him to take several specific steps to improve information integrity. Yes, governments, politicians and policy makers should know that fact-checking organizations are watching, following their work and working towards holding them accountable.

8. Safety: It is a priority, not a luxury

This leads to our next point: Always start with a risk assessment. In the Arab world, safety is crucial for effective journalism and fact-checking. For the Arab Fact-Checkers Network, ensuring safety is a priority. When journalists and fact-checkers feel secure, they can focus on their work. But if safety is compromised, effective operation becomes impossible.

Election fact-checking exposes those doing it to threats, ranging from harassment to potential violence. Conducting a thorough risk assessment to identify and mitigate these risks is crucial.

This assessment should detail specific threats like online harassment, physical intimidation, or legal repercussions, and propose measures such as training, secure communication practices, and crisis response plans to keep the team safe.

Given the recent challenges in Gaza , Georgia , Croatia and the Philippines , we must prioritize the safety of fact-checkers more than ever.

9. Collaboration: Working together increases impact

Fact-checking the war in Gaza stands out as one of the most significant collaborative efforts undertaken by the Arab Fact-Checkers Network in the past two years. This initiative brought together more than 60 fact-checking organizations from more than 40 countries, united in their mission to combat misinformation surrounding one of the most complex and exhausting international conflicts. The scale of this collaboration increased the reach of accurate information and provided essential support in fact-checking disinformation during a crisis.

Similarly, collaboration during elections offers huge benefits. Working together allows organizations to tackle challenges more effectively, utilizing a diverse range of resources and expertise. Moreover, such efforts broaden their reach, ensuring accurate information is disseminated widely in various languages.

In 2024, the European Fact-Checking Standards Network developed a fact-checking database project for the European Parliament elections. More than 40 organizations across Europe participated in the collaboration.

A coalition of media organizations led by Africa Check worked together to combat misinformation during South Africa’s recent elections. With the support of Africa Check and the Arab Fact-Checkers Network, a coalition is in place to fact-check elections in Tunisia and Algeria this year.

As Nobel Peace Prize laureate and journalist Maria Ressa stated at GlobalFact11 in Sarajevo, “In times of fear, collaboration becomes critical.” During an election, particularly in critical regions or conflict zones, widespread fear and threats can arise. Collaborative efforts can play a crucial role in addressing and mitigating these challenges.

10. Establish clear guidelines based on lessons learned

It’s important not just to do our fact-checking, but to analyze it for ways to improve. In our rapidly changing world, the landscape of misinformation is evolving just as swiftly, necessitating adaptive strategies. Each election presents unique challenges, and by reflecting on these experiences, we can refine our approaches to better address misinformation. As we learn from one election cycle to the next, sharing insights and discussing strategies with the broader fact-checking community becomes invaluable.

As the 2024 U.S. elections approach, the global fact-checking community is closely watching how deepfakes and AI could impact the electoral process. The 10 points outlined here might help fact-checkers effectively plan and study for future elections everywhere.

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12 states have new voter ID laws. Ohio's strict rules blocked 8,000 from voting

Lynn Brown is an 80-year-old Democrat from Cleveland who’s been voting since she was eligible. But when she tried to do so in March, she had a problem she’d never experienced.

Brown, who typically votes absentee, was unable to get a mail ballot. So she went in person to her local polling place, the first time she’s done so since Ohio passed one of the strictest voter ID laws in the country.

She’s still not quite sure what the issue was, but records called the issue “non-matching” identification. She filled out a paper ballot, known as a provisional ballot, and waited for elections officials to decide whether it should be counted. It wasn’t.

Brown is one of thousands of Ohioans who have been unable to cast a valid vote as they show up to polling places but find their identification isn’t enough to comply. The law, enacted in 2023 as part of a wave of voting restrictions pushed by Republicans after the 2020 election, offers few options to people to prove their identities.

Advocates say Ohio officials have not educated voters enough about the new law, which went into effect months before a pair of hotly contested referendum votes related to abortion rights. Voters who spoke to USA TODAY often didn’t know their ballot didn’t count.

The result is election-year chaos in the former swing state, where two-term Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, is fighting to keep his tenuous grasp on a Senate seat that his party will need to control the upper chamber in Congress. Republicans are also eyeing congressional seat pickups in the Akron and Toledo areas to shore up their narrow majority in the House.

“Ohio’s an important state, and we need to make sure that votes are being counted and count it correctly,” said state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, a Republican from Bowling Green who championed the photo ID law in the Ohio legislature. “The goal is to make our elections more secure.”

Lynn Brown, who is not related to Sen. Brown, said she plans to vote in November, but she wants to do it absentee so she doesn’t have to deal with going to the polls. She’s trying not to worry about any problems that could arise.

“I think it might have some issues, but I can’t do nothing about that,” she said. “All I can do is try to vote and do my part.”

More than 8,000 disenfranchised under Ohio voter ID law

Before the new law's passage, Ohio had a less strict voter ID law that allowed those who could not provide a photo ID to use a utility bill or other piece of official mail to verify their identities.

Since Ohio’s voter ID law went into effect, more than 8,000 people have attempted to vote but not had their ballots counted because they didn’t present acceptable ID, according to data from the Ohio Secretary of State’s office.

The elections in question included two that affected whether Ohio would codify abortion rights into the state constitution and the March 19 primary that nominated former President Donald Trump-backed businessman Bernie Moreno for Brown’s Senate seat. Analysts say either party could win that race come Nov. 5.

“The Ohio voter ID law only accepts four types of ID,” said Ceridwen Cherry, the legal director for VoteRiders, an advocacy group that helps people get voter ID. “They have to be unexpired. They have to be photo ID, and they have to be government-issued.”

And while voters in many other states with strict voter ID laws can use some form of expired ID to vote, Ohio makes no such allowance, making its law among the strictest of the strict.

Alexander Eldridge, who lives in a suburb of Columbus, also saw his provisional vote rejected in the March primary because of a lack of ID. He didn’t realize the provisional ballot wasn’t counted.

“My ID was expired,” he said. “That’s all. I didn’t know it was expired.”

12 states have new voter ID requirements since 2020

Ohio is one of 12 states that passed laws stiffening their in-person voter identification laws in the wake of the 2020 election and Trump's false claims of mass voter fraud, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice. Others include Florida, Georgia and New Hampshire.

A court decision in North Carolina led to stricter requirements there, too. South Carolina and Indiana stiffened ID requirements for mail-in ballots only.

“What we see as a consistent pattern is that voter ID laws are sort of passed with the public messaging to address supposed voter fraud,” said Ceridwen Cherry, the legal director for VoteRiders. “At the same time, there is no evidence that any of that voter fraud is taking place.”

The stricter voter ID requirements are often part of larger omnibus laws or packages of laws that make voting harder in other ways, like making it harder to get or return an absentee ballot or reducing the availability of absentee ballot drop boxes, leaving many people with the only option of in-person voting with ID.

While these laws generally allow citizens to get free non-driver photo ID for voting purposes – something that the conservative Heritage Foundation says is crucial to making sure voting is still accessible – critics say it’s still hard for people to get them. For example, people who need these IDs often don’t drive.  

Ohio’s law stands out for its strictness. Among the nine states with so-called strict photo ID laws, it offers the smallest number of options for proving an identity and is one of only two that won’t allow an expired ID. (The other is Kansas.)

A January study from the University of Maryland, commissioned by nonprofits including VoteRiders and the Brennan Center, found that nearly 21 million Americans don’t have a non-expired driver's license.

“Anecdotally, what we’ve been hearing, is the biggest thing that’s tripping up people is it can’t be expired,” said Cherry, from VoteRiders.

Provisional ballots used more, rejected more often

The only way a voter who shows up to the polls can get out of the ID requirement is if they have a religious objection to being photographed. Otherwise, their only remaining option is to fill out a paper ballot that the elections office sets aside until the voter returns within four days to show their photo ID. (Until this new law, voters had seven days after the election to fix their ballot.)

These types of paper ballots, called provisional ballots, were designed to allow people to fill out a ballot if a poll worker couldn’t determine on the spot if the person was registered. Then the worker would take the time to look up the voter registration to determine whether to throw out the ballot or count it.

But since the ID law went into effect, thousands of Ohioans have been given provisional ballots because they aren’t showing proper ID. And thousands aren’t showing up to fix the issue.

“These are people who got up, went to their polling location on Election Day,” said Kayla Griffin, the Ohio state director for All Voting Is Local, a voting rights advocacy group. “And I think that’s important.”

In the March primary, Ohio’s most recent election, a failure to show ID was the most common reason a provisional ballot was rejected, accounting for more than 40% of provisional ballot rejections, a change from years past when the most common reason was that the person wasn’t registered to vote in Ohio.

More than 1,100 provisional ballots were thrown out because of a failure to show proper ID, more than seven times as high as in the March 2020 primary, a similar presidential year that saw nearly identical turnout.

A similar situation unfolded in North Carolina. In the March 2020 presidential primary, when a less strict voter ID law was in place, about 9,000 people voted provisionally because of a lack of ID, according to data from the state board of elections. About 5,700 of those were not counted.

In this year's March presidential primary, nearly 62,000 North Carolinians voted provisional because of an ID issue. About 24,500 of those ballots were not counted, and another 500 ballots were only partially counted.

Advocates criticize lack of education initiatives

Voters don’t always realize that they need photo ID to make their vote count at the polls because they voted for years under the more lenient ID law, and they didn’t receive any outreach explaining the new requirements to them.

And sometimes in-person voting on Election Day is their only option. The same law that stiffened ID on in-person voting stiffened ID requirements for getting absentee ballots and eliminated in-person early voting the Monday before an election.

“I didn’t have any problem until this time when I went to vote,” said Cynthia Robinson, who votes in Toledo, Ohio. She has voted since 2015 and even worked the polls in years past, but she said she had no idea she needed a photo ID.

In March, she filled out a provisional ballot, but she was unaware her provisional ballot wasn’t counted until USA TODAY contacted her. She said she planned to get a new ID so she could vote.

Catherine Turcer, the executive director of Common Cause Ohio, a left-leaning good-government advocacy group, criticized the state of Ohio for not funding an educational program, instead leaving the responsibility up to county election boards, voting rights groups and candidates.

“It was all piecemeal,” Turcer said. “And that’s why when we look at the impact on the strict ID, we also have to look at this missing voter education piece. They didn’t spend the money in 2023 to educate voters, and they certainly aren’t spending it this year to educate voters, and we have a presidential election.”

Mike West, the spokesperson for the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in Cleveland, said staff did outreach through libraries, contacting journalists, and attending public events like church picnics. But the office didn’t get any funding from the state to do it.

“We're lucky that we do have the resources to use every method at our disposal to do a lot of voter education,” West said. “I can see that in other counties where they don’t have the resources or the know-how, it’s a little more difficult.”

Gavarone, the state senator, contends that the state “undertook extensive efforts” to make sure people understood the law. She pointed to signs at her own county elections office that informed people who came in that they needed a photo ID.

“Right now, we’ve had four elections through this, so hopefully, by this November everybody is very familiar with the new laws in place,” Gavarone said. “But I’m certainly happy to talk to our boards of elections or our secretary of state to see if there’s something more we can do to make sure people are aware.”

Republicans defend the bill

The majority of Americans support voter identification laws, and the laws are even more popular among Republicans. A January poll from Pew Research Center found that 69% of Democrats and 95% of Republicans support requiring people to show government-issued photo ID to vote.

Ohio's law is so strict that the Heritage Foundation catapulted the state up the list from No. 17 in 2022 to No. 9 in 2023 on its Election Integrity Scorecard . In 2024, since more states have stiffened their laws, Ohio is No. 13, right behind Texas.

“A photo ID requirement strikes many as an elementary precaution to protect the voting process,” Jack Fitzhenry, a legal fellow for the Heritage Foundation, wrote in a blog post. “Try boarding a plane or buying a beer without one.”

Kay Matteo, a Republican from Grove City , Ohio, has no hard feelings about the state not counting the provisional ballot from her father, 94-year-old Walter Harris, a Republican. She said he recently stopped driving and let his license expire, and he hasn’t gotten a new one.

“We’re all proponents of having an ID, so we like that idea and think people should have IDs, and that’s the only way we can get a fair election,” Matteo said. She said it was their fault for forgetting to get her father a new ID. 

Ohio provides free state IDs to people who provide a birth certificate, passport, or naturalization papers. Most drivers can renew their licenses online for a fee, but people 65 and older must go in person.

Matteo said they just need the basic ID, but she’s not sure she’ll be able to get around to bringing him in to get one.

“We’re dealing with a lot of stuff with him right now,” she said. “You just have to prioritize sometimes when you’re a caregiver.”

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the age at which Lynn Brown of Cleveland began voting.

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Electoral Laws in India

14 Pages Posted: 10 Sep 2020

Soham Sarkar

Amity Law School

Date Written: May 15, 2020

Election in India finds its roots in the Government of India Act of 1919 while the first evidence of election can be dated back to the Act of 1861 which was introduced after the First Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Then after further details of election although not based on the principle of democracy can be found in the Act of 1894. The First General Elections of India were held in the year 1951 and the recent elections were held in the year 2019. Today, India is the largest democracy in the world. From its origin in the year 1857 up until the recent elections in 2019, the laws relating to election have undergone a drastic change. My paper discusses these Changes in a detailed manner. Objective of the paper is: • To find out the history of election in our country • To find out the laws relating to election in our country • To analyse these different laws. • To find out any new amendments in these laws. • To find out any shortcomings in these laws. • To check whether there is a need for reforms. • To suggest reforms and the steps needed to be taken.

Keywords: Election Law, Representation of Peoples Act, 1950, Taikunde Committee, Voter Turnout, Electorate

JEL Classification: K19, K40

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Soham Sarkar (Contact Author)

Amity law school ( email ).

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