Oct. 16, 2024 – They call elections “races,” and we are now officially in the home stretch. But anyone who has ever undertaken a marathon or even a 5K race knows those last few steps can be the most brutal, requiring diligent preparation.
This article provides legal professionals with resources needed to prepare for the final turn of the 2024 election season. These election law resources span the basics for first-time researchers to current awareness tools that keep you updated in this rapidly changing area of law.
Important U.S. Acts and Federal Regulations
Elections are administered by the states, but there are several key federal statutes and cases that shape the landscape of how our elections are administered.
Elizabeth Manriquez is head of Reference and Scholarly Support at the University of Wisconsin Law School Library. She is a past president of the Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin (LLAW). LLAW's Public Relations Committee coordinates regular contributions by its members to InsideTrack.
Some key federal public acts relating to election practices and rights include: the
Voting Rights Act of 1965; the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA); and the
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).
Cases on the Supreme Court Docket
Following the passage of each of these Acts, the U.S. Supreme Court issued multiple historic opinions that further laid the groundwork of our current election procedures. A quality database of cases arising from the Voting Rights Acts can be found on
Oyez.org.
Two key Supreme Court cases from the 2022 term were
Moore v. Harper (Independent State Legislature Theory) and
Merrill v. Milligan (redistricting).
The docket of the October 2024 Sitting can be found on
SCOTUSblog, but there are multiple election law and voting rights cases currently working their way through the lower courts.
These cases can be sorted into four categories:
access to the ballot;
early voting;
voter ID laws; and
vote dilution.
The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice keeps an
updated tracker of activity in these cases.
The State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School also allows users to search their site for information arranged by state and topic, such as
Wisconsin or
Voting and Elections, to access the latest developments or in-depth explanations of important cases on these issues.
Finding Legal Research Tips for Your Practice Area
Members of the Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin (LLAW), a chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries, have written legal research columns for
InsideTrack for more than a decade (thank you!). These are a great resource that can quickly boost your research.
To find their columns, search on WisBar.org “legal research,” “legal research 101,” or “legal research” and the practice area, such as “legal research estate planning.”
Federal Governmental Organizations and Nongovernmental Organizations
For more information on the federal government and its role in elections, these governmental and nongovernmental organizations provide both historical and current information as well as links to primary law:
State Statutes and Regulations
As each state is responsible for passing laws and promulgating regulations for the way in which their elections are conducted, it can be difficult to keep track of the many different ways an election can be administered.
Here are some resources that aggregate information on state elections, from both free and vendor-based platforms:
Recent Wisconsin Cases and Wisconsin-specific Information
For information about what is happening here in our home state, these two research guides provide a terrific overview of sources, with links to primary and secondary sources:
Hot Topics and Case Tracking
While statutes and regulations lay the groundwork for election administration, the major shifts in voting rights have come from the courts in recent elections. Some keyword terms and reliable databases on these debated issues include:
A fantastic tool for tracking state cases is the
Case Tracker from Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law. Its
Election Law Program includes several other reliable legal resources.
Instructional Resources
For those wanting to dive deeper into election law, whether for personal or professional pursuits, State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE® offers several seminars available to its members and the public, with CLE credit available:
Wisconsin Election Law and the Citizen Lawyer 2024 (3.0 CLE, live on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, and via webcast seminar through mid-November)
The Use of AI in Campaigns & Elections 2024 (1.0 CLE, via webcast seminar in October and November)
Voters Have Spoken: Administering Wisconsin Elections After the New Constitutional Amendments 2024 (1.0 CLE, live on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, and via OnDemand seminar)
Election Law in Wisconsin 2024 (7.0 CLE webcast and OnDemand seminar starting Friday, Nov. 1, 2024
Find out more by
using this link or
searching “election law” on the WisBar.org Marketplace.
Resources to Stay Current
There are multiple blogs and podcasts available to those who already have a base knowledge in election law and want to stay apprised of recent developments in a time-efficient manner. Some popular ones include:
Where to Learn More
If you are feeling overwhelmed by the resources above or are still unsure where to start, contact a librarian! We are trained to assist patrons with finding and using the best resources for them and their unique legal research topics. Reach out and ask your local law librarian for help with your research, or at these libraries:
