With Callais not out yet & no opinion likely until late March at the earliest, it is becoming functionally too late for most southern states to redraw maps. By the end of March, primaries will have happened in TX, NC, & MS & mail ballots will go out shortly after in AL, GA, and LA.

In a new Election Law Blog, I argue that, in prepping for a post-Trump world, we need to re-think preclearance. Using the mid-decade redistricting fights as an example, the post argues that DOJ should be sidelined and/or courts given power to review preclearance grants. electionlawblog.org?p=154611

I've just submitted a new paper out this law review cycle. In Liquidating Reconstruction, I ask what the Reconstruction Amendments can teach us about liquidation and vice versa. This paper is especially timely given that 2027 is the 150th anniversary of the end of Reconstruction.

My book is available for pre-order! Get your copy here: www.cambridge.org/us/universit...

Remember how the first Trump administration tried to "enforce the VRA" by adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census? Well it appears we're gonna have that fight again, and this time a recent lawsuit brought by Missouri is the opening volley. electionlawblog.org?p=154179

Missouri has filed a lawsuit seeking to exclude undocumented immigrants from the 2030 Census and apportionment. Remarkably, Missouri is also seeking a "redo" of the 2020 enumeration "if necessary." No idea how that would even be possible at this stage. electionlawblog.org?p=154059

I'm thrilled to announce that I’ve signed a contract with Cambridge University Press to write a book on the Fifteenth Amendment. The target publication date is late 2028. The tentative title is "The Fifteenth Amendment: An Unabridged History of the Fight against Racial Discrimination in Voting."

SCOTUS is sitting on a cert petition in a major Section 2 case about implied causes of action. There's likely a dissent from denial of cert or its being held for Callais. This has very worrisome implications for the VRA's constitutionality. electionlawblog.org?p=153412

“‘Constitutional hardball’: National gerrymander battle turns the heat up in Missouri” electionlawblog.org?p=153339

The first mid-decade redistricting case is headed to the Supreme Court's shadow docket. Here's why the so-called Purcell Principle--which counsels against enjoining redistricting maps close to an election--should not apply here: electionlawblog.org?p=153101

Hot off the presses! I helped organize a symposium on the 150th anniversary of Minor v. Happersett, where the Supreme Court held that women were not enfranchised by the 14th Amendment. The case originated in St. Louis, so it was rewarding to shine a light on this overlooked piece of local history.

Missouri is seeking to revive the independent state legislature theory by insisting there's a clear statement rule. The rejected legal theory that plagued the 2020 election makes a return in the mid-decade redistricting wars. electionlawblog.org?p=152593

Here's my take on today's big voting rights argument in Louisiana v. Callais. The Justices re-hashed arguments that had been considered three Terms ago in Milligan, and they appeared more interested in tweaking the VRA than in overturning it. electionlawblog.org?p=152557

In advance of tomorrow's re-argument in the major voting rights case of Louisiana v. Callais, I've got two posts on the Election Law Blog. I'll be attending the argument and will provide an eyewitness account on ELB as well.

Can't wait to read this!

Really excited to be attending the 2025 Election Law Conference at Florida State University this weekend. We've got a great line-up of speakers! electionlawblog.org?p=151984

I filed an amicus brief in Callais, this fall's blockbuster voting rights case. I make three arguments. First, the Fifteenth Amendment is the constitutional provision that bans racial discrimination in voting. Second, Shaw should be overturned. Finally, Section 2 of the VRA is constitutional.

Preclearance under the Voting Rights Act was designed to stop the game of whack-a-mole that was Southern States defying federal court orders. Alabama did just that in 2023. Unfortunately, Alabama dodged the hammer once again. electionlawblog.org?p=151462

Happening today!

Tomorrow, there's a big hearing on whether to bail-in Alabama under the Voting Rights Act, meaning that it would have to get federal approval to enact any new congressional redistricting plans through the 2030 Census. Here's my thoughts on the Election Law Blog: electionlawblog.org?p=151207

What's taking the Supreme Court so long to issue a re-argument order in last Term's big voting rights case? electionlawblog.org?p=151175

New paper! Along with my co-authors, Prof. Susan Appleton and Hannah Keidan, I have posted a short symposium foreword, "The Curiously Minor Role of Minor v. Happersett," on SSRN. Anyone interested in legal history, election law, or women's rights should check it out: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Breaking: Three-Judge District Court Finds Alabama’s Congressional Redistricting Plan Intentionally Discriminated Against Black Voters **Updated** electionlawblog.org?p=149829 by the great @traviscrum.bsky.social

District Court rules that Alabama intentionally discriminated against Black voters when it defied SCOTUS's decision in Allen v. Milligan. The upshot is that Alabama may be required to preclear congressional redistricting plans through 2030 cycle. My analysis at ELB: electionlawblog.org?p=149829

A few thoughts on Judge Kollar-Kotelly's 120 page opinion preliminarily enjoining some key parts of President Trump's executive order on elections and election administration. Over at ELB, @traviscrum.bsky.social will be blogging on it here: electionlawblog.org?p=149610) /1

My thoughts on the DDC's injunction against the Trump Elections Executive Order are over at the Election Law Blog: electionlawblog.org?p=149610

For my first contributor post at the Election Law Blog, I wrote about why Trump's Voting Executive Order should encourage us to amend Section 2 of the VRA to apply to the federal government. electionlawblog.org?p=149242

So excited to be joining the Election Law Blog as a contributor!!! Thanks @rickhasen.bsky.social! electionlawblog.org?p=149229

A lot rides on how SCOTUS resolves the big voting rights case argued yesterday. My @economist.com analysis of Louisiana v. Callais economist.com/united-state... from The Economist

Over at the Election Law Blog, I have a recap of today's oral argument in Louisiana v. Callais: electionlawblog.org?p=149135

Over the weekend, @rickpildes.bsky.social posted a thoughtful response to my Election Law Blog post about Louisiana v. Callais. Here's my rebuttal about why overturning Shaw is still a good idea and why Section 2 litigation can still be used to unpack districts. electionlawblog.org?p=149124

On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Louisiana v. Callais, a racial gerrymandering challenge to Louisiana's congressional map. Over at the Election Law Blog, I have a preview of the case: electionlawblog.org?p=149079

On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Louisiana v. Callais, a racial gerrymandering challenge to Louisiana's congressional map. Over at the Election Law Blog, I have a preview of the case: electionlawblog.org?p=149079

With Biden's statement on the ERA, I'm re-upping my article, The Lawfulness of the Fifteenth Amendment. It examines States's purported rescissions of the 14th and 15th Amendments. These rescissions were ultimately rejected by Congress and Secretaries of State. scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi/viewcont...

Black Friday delivery for law professors! Loved getting the reprints of my new Columbia Law Review essay, The Riddle of Race-Based Redistricting! Great reading in advance of this Term's SCOTUS argument in Louisiana v. Callais. You can download it here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Ok, here it is…what you’ve all been waiting for…the Election Law starter pack! Let me know who I’ve missed and if you want to be added. go.bsky.app/KXLFmco

I'm honored that the WashU Law faculty has voted to grant me tenure!!! There's still more hoops to jump through, but its a huge relief to have this milestone behind me. It's been a long journey from First Gen to tenure, and I couldn't have done it without help from my mentors, friends, and family.

I'm delighted to be faculty co-advisor for tomorrow's Washington University Law Review symposium on the 150th anniversary of Minor v. Happersett, a St. Louis case in which the Supreme Court held that women were not enfranchised by the 14th Amendment's Privileges or Immunities Clause.

Come join us in St. Louis! WashU Law invites applications from entry-level or lateral candidates for tenure-track and tenured positions. We're searching for faculty in private law, corporate law, international/comparative law, and antitrust, as well as best athlete candidates.

Now on SSRN, my forthcoming Columbia Law Review essay, The Riddle of Race-Based Redistricting! It looks at the original understanding of racial gerrymandering and vote dilution under the 14th & 15th Amendments and defends the VRA's constitutionality. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

How does originalism work for constitutional amendments adopted during our lifetimes? A cert petition about the 26th Amendment, which prohibits age discrimination in voting and enfranchised Sotomayor and Roberts as teenagers, raises that question. electionlawblog.org?p=142392

I'm thrilled to announce that my next paper, The Riddle of Race-Based Redistricting, will be published in the Columbia Law Review! The paper reconciles vote dilution, racial gerrymandering, and Section 2 of the VRA by looking to the original meaning of the 14th and 15th Amendments.

Hot off the presses!! The Unabridged Fifteenth Amendment has been published in the Yale Law Journal! The Article is a 123-page exploration of the Fifteenth Amendment's drafting and ratification, shining a spotlight on the forgotten Reconstruction Amendment. www.yalelawjournal.org/article/the-...

I'm a bit late to this year's law review submission season, but my latest article, the Riddle of Race-Based Redistricting, is finally off my plate. Fingers crossed! I'll post it on @ssrn.bsky.social soon, but in the meantime, here's the abstract:

In my new Election Law Blog post, I argue that Justice Alito embraced a retrogression standard reminiscent of Section 5 in his Coalition for TJ dissent. For why that's strikingly out of character and what it could mean for proving discriminatory intent, check it out: electionlawblog.org?p=141598

Check out my new Election Law Blog post about the Fifteenth Amendment's relevance to Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment and Trump v. Anderson: electionlawblog.org?p=141101

Yesterday, the 8th Circuit held that private plaintiffs lack an implied-cause-of-action under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. But the 8th Circuit may not have had jurisdiction over the appeal. Check out my Election Law Blog post to find out why: electionlawblog.org?p=139782