As more and more women enter the field of electoral politics and become candidates for federal and state office, they will continue to bring their unique perspectives to the myriad of policy questions and challenges of governing. The increased number of women in electoral politics will indelibly reshape our nation’s laws. To that end, and quite fittingly, before a new generation of female lawmakers reshape our halls of legislation in both state capitals and in Washington D.C., they are first changing the ways in which they arrive in those very halls.
Continue reading “Women, Motherhood, and the Quest for Easier Entry Into Campaigns for Elected Office”Tag: Elections
Voting Rights for People with Diminished Mental Capacity
Implementing a capacity metric for those with diminished mental capacity comes with inherent risks. Ideally, states should amend their constitutions and statutes to remove voting restrictions based on mental incapacity. Realistically, for states that wish to continue implementing voting restrictions based on mental incapacity, they should implement the ABA’s recommendation absent the third criterion. This method would serve to create uniform standards implemented by the judiciary and deter informal gatekeeping. Mobilization and advocacy through education and non-legislative initiatives should occur to promote enfranchisement and encourage those with diminished mental capacity to vote, thereby cementing their inclusion in society and dismantling the continuation of stigma.
Continue reading “Voting Rights for People with Diminished Mental Capacity”Does Voter Fraud Pay? Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s $1 Million Voter Fraud Offer
Alt text: American flag, hands placing ballots in voting box
Michael Conklin*
Introduction
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick put out a press release stating, in relevant part, “[S]tarting today [I] will pay up to $1 million to incentivize, encourage and reward people to come forward and report voter fraud. . . . Anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and final conviction of voter fraud will be paid a minimum of $25,000.”[1] This Article analyzes whether Patrick’s statement constitutes an offer that contractually obligates him to pay in the event that someone accepts by completing the requested action. Additionally, the potential existence of whether this statement constitutes a campaign finance violation is considered.
Continue reading “Does Voter Fraud Pay? Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s $1 Million Voter Fraud Offer”New Turf for Lawn Sign Wars: Free Speech and the Limitation on Candidate Lawn Signs
Carly Johnson is an Articles Editor for Volume 47 of the Mitchell Hamline Law Review and a third-year law student at Mitchell-Hamline School of Law.
Continue reading “New Turf for Lawn Sign Wars: Free Speech and the Limitation on Candidate Lawn Signs”Election Security 2020: How Safe is your Vote?
Josh Numainville is a 2020 graduate of the Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Josh’s various writings and research projects provide practitioners with insights into how technology is altering the law. This article is an adaption of Josh’s working paper on election cybersecurity threats, which can be obtained by contacting the author at joshua.numainville@mitchellhamline.edu.
Introduction
Four years removed from the 2016 Presidential Election, politicians continue to debate the extent and effect of Russia’s election interference.1 Despite this polemical handwringing, the United States intelligence community has been clear in its assessment: election interference is a very real threat to U.S. National Security.2 While media attention has focused largely on Russia’s disinformation campaigns, the 2016 election also served as a testing ground for another insidious election interference strategy—cyberattacks on election infrastructure like voting machines and voter registration systems.3 These attacks were, at least according to publicly available information, relatively innocuous in 2016.4 However, the methods and strategies utilized by in 2016 are predictive of the greater threats our election infrastructure will face as foreign adversaries5 further develop their cyber capabilities. This article briefly explores three pressing election security concerns that the United States will face during the 2020 election and beyond, as well as the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to designate election systems as critical infrastructure and the limitations of the critical infrastructure designation.
Continue reading “Election Security 2020: How Safe is your Vote?”