AALS Presidential Program

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The United States has held national elections for representatives and the president on schedule since 1789. Such elections provide the base of legitimacy for our democratic, representative self-government. This panel will consider whether recent developments – including changing jurisprudence and enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, the system of campaign finance regulation, increasingly sophisticated gerrymandering, the impact of the Senate’s structure on the Electoral College, and changes in how Congress works - put this legitimacy base at risk. Threats to the integrity of election results, from alleged voter suppression, fraud, or foreign interference, are of increasing concern. Political parties are moving towards realignment, but are they working as filters for leadership and organizers of effective coalitions for action or are they, in Kim Scheppele’s words, “failing the people”? What changes, if any, should be considered in response to these phenomena? Is democratic legitimacy at risk? If so, what steps can be taken to better secure its foundation? Such questions will be addressed by the panel.