Issues
Democracy in the United States faces serious challenges. At both the state and national levels, commentators worry about attacks on voting rights, the distortion of representative institutions through gerrymandering, and unstable transfers of power. The federal Constitution offers limited resources to address these problems, and it creates headwinds to majority rule through the structure of the Senate, Electoral College, and federal courts, as well as the difficulty of amendment.
State constitutions offer a vital counterweight. Though often overlooked, these constitutions reflect a powerful commitment to democracy. In text, structure, and history alike, state constitutions privilege popular sovereignty, majority rule, and political equality, a concept that Jessica Bulman-Pozen and Miriam Seifter have called the “democracy principle.”
The State Democracy Research Initiative works to track, understand, and promote the democracy principle in state constitutions. Our resources both highlight the various ways that the democracy principle manifests in state constitutions, as well as how it can help inform state courts and decisionmakers confronting democratic challenges.
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Amicus Briefs
Ferrell-Smith v. Oregon Department of Justice
10.20.25
In a case challenging the Oregon Department of Justice's creation of a sweeping domestic surveillance program, State Democracy Research Initiative filed an amicus brief arguing that, in the absence of explicit statutory authorization, mere inclusion of funding for the program in an omnibus appropriations law does not amount to proper authorization of the program itself.
Articles & Essays
State Constitutional Rights and Democratic Proportionality
Jessica Bulman-Pozen & Miriam Seifter
05.01.23
Last Updated 11.30.23
We argue for "democratic proportionality review" as a state-centered approach to adjudication. Such review tailors proportionality’s decisional framework to state constitutions committed to popular, majoritarian self-government, and it recognizes state courts themselves as democratically embedded actors, not countermajoritarian interlopers.
Websites
Democracy Principle
State constitutions reflect a powerful commitment to democracy. This website highlights state constitutional provisions across the nation that contribute to the democracy principle.