Emily Lau, Staff Attorney PDF Available Here This April, Wisconsin voters will be asked to vote on two proposed amendments to the Wisconsin Constitution. To amend the Constitution, legislators in two successive legislative sessions must …
Explainers
Explainer: Status of Partisan Gerrymandering Claims Across the Country
Harry Isaiah Black, Staff Attorney PDF Available Here Every 10 years, following the federal census, states are required to redraw their congressional and legislative district maps. In the majority of states, the duty to redistrict …
Supreme Court of North Carolina: 2023 Review and 2024 Preview
Emily Lau, Staff Attorney PDF Available Here The North Carolina Supreme Court had an eventful 2023. Its recent decisions reflect changes in the court’s view of its own role, its relationship with the other branches …
Explainer: Shaping Democracy: 2023’s Statewide Ballot Measures and What Lies Ahead in 2024
Derek Clinger, Senior Staff Attorney PDF Available Here The past year saw a continued trend of increased interest in direct democracy, with the highest number of statewide ballot measures for an odd-numbered election year in …
Explainer: State Constitutional Standards for Adjudicating Challenges to Restrictive Voting Laws
Emily Lau, Staff Attorney PDF Available Here Last Updated: February 3, 2025 State constitutions are distinct from the U.S. Constitution in many ways—not least of which is their commitment to popular sovereignty, majority rule, and …
Explainer: Judicial Recusal in Wisconsin and Beyond
Derek Clinger, Senior Staff Attorney Professor Robert Yablon, Faculty Co-Director PDF Available Here Table of Contents Introduction I. Background: The Law of Judicial Recusal A. Federal Constitutional Standards Campaign Funding Campaign Statements B. Wisconsin-Specific Recusal …
The Calm Between the Storms: A Review of the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s 2022-23 Term and Preview of 2023-24
Dustin Brown, Senior Staff Attorney PDF Available Here The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s 2022-23 term, which ended on June 30, unfolded against the backdrop of the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history.[1] While the election …
Moore v. Harper and the Purcell Principle
Featured, Explainers | State Democracy Research Initiative
Commentary on Moore v. Harper has not yet focused on how the Purcell principle might shape what comes next.
Ohio Supreme Court Clears Way for August Vote on Legislative Effort to Curb Direct Democracy
Featured, Explainers | State Democracy Research Initiative
In a ruling with major implications for direct democracy in Ohio, the Ohio Supreme Court greenlighted the state legislature’s controversial plan to have Ohioans vote in August on a proposed constitutional amendment that would make it harder to amend Ohio’s Constitution in the future.
At the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Marsy’s Law survives as the justices clash over constitutional interpretation
Featured, Explainers | State Democracy Research Initiative
The Wisconsin Constitution requires the legislature to present proposed constitutional amendments to the people for a vote.