Webinar series

Note: Individuals desiring CLE credit in select states may choose to register and view these free materials through Lawline.

2026 Webinars

Webinar 1: What Every Judge Needs to Know about Election Administration

Explore the structural foundation of American election administration across the country. Topics include state-level leadership models (elected vs. appointed vs. bipartisan boards), the spectrum of local decentralization, party joinder, the hierarchy of legal authority (statutes vs. formal regulations vs. agency manuals), and how operational practice deadlines can impact judicial relief.

Panelists: 

• Amy Cohen, Executive Director, National Association of State Election Directors
• Rebecca Green, Professor of Law, William & Mary Law School
• James Alcorn, Senior Director, William & Mary Law School

Resources:

• Federal Role in U.S. Campaigns and Elections: An Overview, Congressional Research Service
• The Internal Law of Democracy, Kevin M. Stack, Vanderbilt Law Review 
• Election Administration at State and Local Levels, Brief, National Conference of State Legislatures
• Adversarial Election Administration, Rebecca Green, North Carolina Law Review 

Webinar 2: Ballot Security and Judicial Remedies

Explore the operational infrastructure of ballot chain of custody and the remedial standards applied by courts when security protocols are breached. Topics include tamper-evident seals, transfer logs, voting equipment testing, post-election audits, and evidentiary thresholds in contest litigation (opportunity to tamper vs. direct evidence of tampering).

Panelists:

• Jennifer Morrell, Chief Executive Officer, The Elections Group
• Rebecca Green, Professor of Law, William & Mary Law School
• James Alcorn, Senior Director, William & Mary Law School

Resources:

• Best Practices Chain of Custody, U.S. Election Assistance Commission
• Chain of Custody, The Elections Group
• Chain of Custody and Critical Infrastructure, U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency 
• Chain of Custody: State Laws and Judicial Remedies, The Election Law Program

Webinar 3: Mail Ballot Administration and Litigation

Examine the operational lifecycle of mail-in and absentee voting from ballot distribution and drop-box intake to signature-matching and cure procedures. Panelists discuss practical legal guidance for emergency litigation flashpoints.  Topics include postmark vs. receipt windows, technical defect exclusions, procedural due process, and the Purcell principle.

Panelists:

• Judd Choate, Director, Division of Elections, Colorado Department of State
• Danielle Lang, Senior Director, Voting Rights, Campaign Legal Center
• James Alcorn, Senior Director, William & Mary Law School

Resources:

• Absentee Ballots, Election Law Manual, Chapter 6, Section 3, The Election Law Program 
• Which States Require an Excuse for Mail (Absentee) Voting? The Election Law Navigator, The Election Law Program
• Vote-by-Mail in the United States, Gronke, Paul, et al. 
• Early Voting and Mail Voting: Overview and Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service

Webinar 4: Navigating Post-Election Deadlines and Conflicts

Learn about the chronological progression that takes place between election night and the seating of officeholders. Topics include unofficial tallies, canvassing, audits, and official certification. Panelists analyze the ministerial nature of certification duties, the statutory boundaries distinguishing recounts from post-election contests, and discuss balancing expedited hearings against the legal value of finality.

Panelists:

• Michelle K. Tassinari, First Deputy Secretary and Director of Elections, Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
• Steven F. Huefner, Professor of Law, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
• James Alcorn, Senior Director, William & Mary Law School

Resources:

• Canvassing, Certification and Recounts, Election Law Manual, Chapter 8, The Election Law Program
• Election Contests, Election Law Manual, Chapter 9, The Election Law Program 
• Tracking Post Election Processes Across 50 States, James Alcorn, William & Mary Law School
• Remedying Election Wrongs, Steven Huefner, Harvard Journal on Legislation 
• Contested Election Deadlines, National Conference of State Legislatures 
• CEIR Explains:  What Happens After We Vote, Center for Election Innovation and Research 

2020 Webinars

Webinar 1: Everything You Need to Know About Election Administration

The first webinar in the series, Everything You Need to Know About Elections Administration, discusses methods that Americans use to vote, what happens when the polls close, mechanisms in place to safeguard elections administration, and promising tools emerging to improve elections administration.

Panelists:

• Leslie Reynolds, Executive Director, National Association of Secretaries of State
• Judd Choate, Director of Elections, Colorado Department of State, National Association of State Elections Directors Past President
• Amber McReynolds, Chief Executive Officer, National Vote at Home Institute

Webinar 2: Legal Remedies for Election Litigation

The election might be a few weeks away, but the litigation has started. This webinar will outline the litigation trends courts across the country are experiencing – and expected to experience. Panelists will explore available legal remedies that courts might apply and discuss the issues, core principles, and the caselaw that informs these issues. Topics include: pre-election, election day, and post-election litigation.

Panelists:

• Rebecca Green, Kelly Professor for Excellence in Teaching and Election Law Program Co-Director, William & Mary Law School
• Justin Levitt, Professor of Law and Gerald T. McLaughlin Fellow, Loyola Marymount University
• Daniel P. Tokaji, Fred W. & Vi Miller Dean and Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School
• Michael T. Morley, Assistant Professor, Florida State University College of Law

Webinar 3: Election Safeguards for the Judiciary

The judiciary cannot stop disinformation and misinformation campaigns aimed to undermine our elections. But the judiciary does play a key role in safeguarding our elections through the impartial resolution of election disputes. In this webinar panelists will discuss disinformation campaigns, cybersecurity and election observation to alert judges to issues that may arise and safeguards that exist to protect our democratic system of elections.

Panelists:

• Suzanne Spaulding, Senior Advisor for Homeland Security and Director of the Defending Democratic Institutions Project, Center for Strategic & International Studies
• Siobhan Gorman, Partner with the Brunswick Group
• Kemba Walden, Senior Counsel for Cyber and Democracy, Microsoft Innovation and Policy Center
• Avery Davis-Roberts, Associate Director for the Democratic Election Standards Project, The Carter Center

Webinar 4: What's the Message and How to Deliver It? Perspectives on Election Litigation Communications from the Courts

State court election litigation filings are on the rise and expected to continue post-election. Courts are likely going to play a role in resolving these cases, in a highly charged public atmosphere. In this webinar panelists offer practical tips for courts on how to prepare and deliver election litigation news in a timely, fair and impartial way.

Panelists:

• The Honorable Maureen O'Connor, Chief Justice, The Supreme Court of Ohio
• The Honorable Terry Lewis, Judge (retired), Second Judicial Circuit Court of Florida
• Aaron Nash, Communications Director, Arizona Supreme Court and Administrative Office of the Courts
• Craig Waters, Director, Public Information Office, Florida Supreme Court
• Mary McQueen, President, National Center for States Courts