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Election Law: Basics

Covers U.S. elections, including campaign finance, voting rights, and election administration.

Overview

Election law covers a wide array of topics, including political spending, voting rights, ballot propositions, redistricting, gerrymandering, and campaign finance. Useful secondary materials include legal resources as well as interdisciplinary sources in the areas of political science, history, and public policy.

Starting Points - Election Law

Basic texts

The legal encyclopedias American Jurisprudence, California Jurisprudence, and Corpus Juris Secundum all treat the topic of election law. More comprehensive coverage is also in:

Statutes, Regulations, Cases

Federal election statutes are found in several titles and chapters of the U.S. Code. The FEC website provides a compilation of federal election campaign laws. Examples:

  • Title 2, Chapter 14 of the U.S. Code covers Federal Election Campaigns.
  • The Voting Rights Act is found at 42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.

Federal election regulations are in Title 11 of the CFR. Chapter I addresses the Federal Election Commission; Chapter II addresses the Election Assistance Commission.

Campaign Finance

Election Law listserv

Join the Election Law mailing list for general discussion of issues related to election law and the design and reform of electoral institutions. The list managers are Daniel Lowenstein of UCLA Law School and Rick Hasen of UC Irvine School of Law.