This is an excerpt from Chapter 4 of The Court v. The Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights, published today by Beacon Press and written by Washington Monthly Contributing Writer Joshua A. Douglas, a professor of law at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law. […]
Joshua A. Douglas
Joshua A. Douglas is a law professor at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law. He is the author of The Court v. The Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights. He is currently working on a new project on voter turnout and nonvoters. He is also the host of the award-winning Democracy Optimist podcast. Find him at www.joshuaadouglas.com.
Posted inProtecting the Vote
Confessions of a Democracy Optimist
There’s cause for optimism despite bad court decisions and conspiracy theories.
Posted inProtecting the Vote
A Body Blow to the Voting Rights Act
Individual plaintiffs can’t sue under the landmark 1965 statue, rules a federal appeals court, shattering judicial precedent.
Posted inPolitics
Other Elections You’ll Want to Follow
From ranked choice voting to public budgeting, a look this fall’s races that could reshape governing and voting.
Posted inPolitics
Alabama’s Defiance of the Supreme Court and the Rule of Law
The state’s attempt to nullify a Voting Rights Act decision calls for a swift and firm rebuke.
Posted inLaw and Justice
The Roberts Court Isn’t Getting More Moderate
The six conservative justices haven’t been shy about jettisoning decades of precedent and even their supposedly moderate rulings aren’t so moderate.
Posted inLaw and Justice
A (Mostly) Good Supreme Court Ruling, Nixing the “Independent State Legislature” Theory of Election Law
It wasn’t ideal, but by a 6-3 vote, the justices rebuked the radical proposition that statehouses can ignore the voting protections in state constitutions.
Posted inProtecting the Vote
Florida’s New Law Takes Aim at Voter Registration
The statute jacks up fines and imposes onerous new requirements on the American tradition of community groups registering voters—a move so at odds with historical precedent that even conservative judges, including the Roberts Court, should strike it down.
Posted inLaw and Justice
Once Again, Voting Rights and Democracy Are Under Siege in North Carolina
The new conservative majority on the state Supreme Court overturns two important gerrymandering decisions.
Posted inProtecting the Vote
Republicans Took Over the North Carolina Supreme Court. Here’s What Happened.
After a change in justices, the court is ignoring precedent and taking aim at issues like redistricting and voter ID laws.
