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Research

Election-Litigation Data: 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024 State and Federal Court Filings

Posted on February 17, 2025

Following the 2024 election, we updated our survey of election-related lawsuits to help understand the role of litigation in our elections. This update underscores key themes from our survey of litigation from 2018 to 2022: litigants continue …

Posted in Research, Research & ExplainersTagged Multi-state, State Courts

Research Note: Laches in State Court Election Cases

Posted on October 11, 2024

Harry Isaiah Black, Staff Attorney Published: October 11, 2024 Link to PDF Ahead of Election Day 2024, courts—and especially state courts—continue to be inundated with election-related lawsuits. As in 2020, courts may see a deluge …

Posted in Research, Research & ExplainersTagged Multi-state, State Courts, Voting and Elections

Call for Papers: Federalism Scholarship Roundtable

Posted on August 23, 2024

August 23, 2024 The University of Wisconsin Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative (SDRI) is pleased to announce a Federalism Scholarship Roundtable, to be held on April 25, 2025. The Roundtable will be co-hosted by …

Posted in Featured, Research, ScholarshipTagged Other States, State Constitutions, State Courts

Direct Democracy in State Court: Judicial Approaches to Ballot Initiative Conflicts

Posted on August 9, 2024

Allie Boldt, Legal Research Director Published: August 9, 2024 Link to PDF Introduction In roughly half of U.S. states, state constitutions confer rights of direct democracy, allowing the people to make law directly through statutes …

Posted in Featured, Research, Research & ExplainersTagged Direct Democracy, Multi-state, State Constitutions, State Courts, Voting and Elections

White Paper: State Judicial Conduct Commissions—The Challenge of Judging Judges

Posted on July 10, 2024

Bryna Godar, Staff Attorney Published: July 10, 2024 Updated: July 30, 2024 Link to PDF Introduction This report analyzes an often-overlooked set of state entities that hold substantial power: judicial conduct commissions.[1] These entities, which …

Posted in Featured, Research, Research & ExplainersTagged Multi-state, State Constitutions, State Courts

White Paper: Shadow Shadow Dockets

Posted on April 12, 2024

Adam Sopko, Staff Attorney Published: April 12, 2024 Link to PDF Introduction In recent years, legal commentators have analyzed—and often criticized—the U.S. Supreme Court’s “shadow docket.”[1] Rulings on this docket proceed without the usual, public-facing …

Posted in Research, Research & ExplainersTagged Multi-state, State Courts

Research Note: History of Wisconsin’s Joint Committee on Finance’s Veto Powers

Posted on March 25, 2024

PDF Available Here Wisconsin’s Joint Committee on Finance (JCF) has a range of statutorily conferred powers, including powers to veto executive-branch actions.

Posted in Research, Research & ExplainersTagged State Legislatures, Wisconsin

Direct Democracy in the States

Posted on November 6, 2023

This Report surveys current state laws affecting direct democracy, with an emphasis on those relating to voter participation and understanding.  For instance, what information appears on the ballot, and who prepares it? What standards exist, …

Posted in Research, Research & ExplainersTagged Direct Democracy, Multi-state, Voting and Elections

White Paper: Unpacking State Legislative Vetoes

Posted on October 13, 2023

Derek Clinger, Senior Staff Attorney Professor Miriam Seifter, Faculty Co-Director Published: October 13, 2023 Last Updated: December 20, 2024 PDF Available Here Table of Contents Introduction I. Models of State Legislative Oversight of Agency Rulemaking …

Posted in Featured, Research, Research & ExplainersTagged Multi-state, State Courts, State Legislatures

Research: Materials on 1853 Impeachment of Judge Levi Hubbell

Posted on September 8, 2023

In 1853, Levi Hubbell, Judge of Wisconsin’s Second Circuit Court and Associate Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, became the first—and still only—judge in Wisconsin history to have articles of impeachment filed against him by …

Posted in Research, Research & ExplainersTagged State Courts, Wisconsin
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