Election Law Manual
Introduction

This edition has been substantially revised under the guidance of William & Mary graduate Alexandra Amado ‘20, former Election Law Program Manager. William & Mary Law graduate Elizabeth R. DePatie ‘22, who serves as the current Election Law Program Manager, provided invaluable support finalizing this Manual. William & Mary Law student Ellie Halfacre ‘23, served as lead footnote editor. The following William & Mary Law students also contributed their talents to this edition: Adriana Dunn ‘23, Elizabeth Harte ‘21, Camden Kelliher ‘21, George Leahy ‘23, Cody McCracken ‘22, Kristen Palmason ‘21, and Giselle Secada ‘23.

The first edition of the Election Law Manual, published in the Spring of 2008, was prepared by Elizabeth Bircher and funded by Deer Creek Foundation. The Election Law Program would like to thank the State Justice Institute for its generous support of this edition.

©️ 2022 The Election Law Program All rights reserved.

This Manual is designed to provide an overview of election law in the United States. Its primary focus is state election law, although reference is made to relevant federal statutes such as the Help America Vote Act, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Voting Rights Act, as well as to relevant federal constitutional provisions.

The primary goal in creating this Manual is to provide a resource for state court judges who are called upon to resolve election disputes. During the past two decades since Bush v. Gore, there has been a substantial increase in election-related litigation in the United States. Much of this litigation has been filed in state court and requires application of state election law. With the encouragement of the Conference of Chief Justices, who in the years following Bush v. Gore identified election law as an increasingly important issue for state court judges, the Election Law Program has sought to provide a comprehensive overview of the principles that govern election litigation.

This Manual does not attempt a detailed analysis of election law statutes in all fifty states. Rather, it presents an overview of the principles that may be of use to a judge or lawyer who seeks to understand this area of the law.

The Manual is organized around various substantive election-law issues that have been litigated, as well as important procedural issues that govern this type of litigation. The manual loosely follows the continuum of elections themselves. After overview chapters on general topics, coverage moves from pre-election to Election Day to post-election litigation.

The field of election law continues to experience change as states revise their election codes and election cases are litigated across the country. The Election Law Program intends to continue revising this Manual at regular intervals. Accordingly, we welcome your feedback and suggestions for issues that warrant coverage. You may contact the Election Law Program’s co-directors at:

Amy M. McDowell
National Center for State Courts
Co-Director, Election Law Program
(800) 877-1233
amcdowell@ncsc.org

Rebecca Green
William & Mary Law School
Co-Director, Election Law Program
(757) 221-3871
rgreen@wm.edu