About the Election Law Program

The functioning of the U.S. electoral process increasingly comes down to resolving election law disputes in court. These election law cases are extraordinarily important to the democratic process, often concerning fundamental issues such as ballot access, accurate vote counts, and voter challenges.

Created in 2005 as a joint venture of the National Center for State Courts and the William & Mary Law School, the Election Law Program seeks to provide practical assistance to state court judges called upon to resolve difficult election law disputes. Resources include a Manual for judges that discusses and analyzes election law issues and the judicial relief available for election law violations. The Program also produces a  series of web-based lectures designed to educate judges and journalists about the fundamentals of election law. 
 

Each year, the program hosts a symposium addressing a timely election law topic. Past symposia have featured an array of distinguished panelists discussing topics such as judicial campaign finance, redistricting, and the role of secretaries of state in managing elections. For information about the annual symposium series, see the Program's News & Activities page.