With U.S. midterm elections approaching, experts and contributors to the National Constitution Center’s Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy initiative—Edward Foley of The Ohio State University, David French of The Dispatch, and Ilya Somin of the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University and the Cato Institute—discuss election integrity, voting rights, and proposed election reforms to help bolster democratic guardrails in the United States. Ken Randall, Allison and Dorothy Rouse Dean and George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University, provides introductory remarks. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
This program is presented in partnership with the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School and in conjunction with the National Constitution Center's Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy initiative.
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Participants
Edward B. Foley lead team progressive of the Guardrails initiative. He holds the Charles W. Ebersold and Florence Whitcomb Ebersold Chair in Constitutional Law at The Ohio State University, where he also directs its Election Law Program. He is a contributing opinion columnist for the Washington Post and the author of several books, including his most recent book Presidential Elections and Majority Rule: The Rise, Demise, and Potential Restoration of the Jeffersonian Electoral College.
David French served as a member of team conservative. He is senior editor for The Dispatch, where he also writes the weekly newsletter The French Press and co-hosts the weekly podcast Advisory Opinions. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic where he is also the author of its newsletter The Third Rail. His most recent book is Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation.
Ilya Somin served as member of team libertarian. He is professor of law at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University and a regular contributor to the Volokh Conspiracy law and politics blog, hosted by Reason magazine. He is the author of several books and his most recent book is Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources
- Electoral Count Act of 1887
- 117th Congress, Presidential Election Reform Act (2022)
- 117th Congress, Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022
- Moore v. Harper
- National Constitution Center, We the People podcast, “What is the 'Independent State Legislature Doctrine'?"
- National Constitution Center, We the People podcast, “What is the 'Independent State Legislature Doctrine'? – Part 2"
- 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commission (2021)
- Wisconsin District Court, Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commission (2021)
- Rice University's Baker Center for Public Policy, "The Carter-Baker Commission: 16 Years Later"
- National Constitution Center, Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy initiative
- Reason magazine, The Volokh Conspiracy blog, "Volokh Conspiracy Symposium on the National Constitution Center's 'Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy' Project"
- National Constitution Center, Constitution Drafting Project
- National Constitution Center, Constitution Drafting Project, "The Proposed Amendments"
- Ilya Somin, Constitution Daily blog, "Constitution Drafting project highlights areas of potential consensus on constitutional reform"
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