Interactive Websites
The Democracy Principle
This website highlights constitutional provisions across the nation that contribute to the democracy principle. You can explore the site in two ways: by state or by category. Exploring by category—popular sovereignty, suffrage, government institutions, political equality, direct democracy, and constitutional change—also displays featured cases.
50 Constitutions
This website allows you to explore the full, up-to-date text of all 50 state constitutions and allows for searches within and across states. We are also rolling out “Tracking Constitutional Change” features to allow users to see how each state’s constitution has evolved over time.
Briefs
Ninth Circuit – Quiñonez v. United States Amicus Brief Filed
PDF Available Here On October 22, the State Democracy Research Initiative’s faculty co-directors, Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon, filed an amicus brief with nine other legal scholars in Quiñonez v. United States, a case before …
October 23, 2025Oregon Court of Appeals – Farrell-Smith v. Oregon Department of Justice Amicus Brief Filed
PDF Available Here On October 16, the State Democracy Research Initiative’s faculty co-directors, Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon, filed an amicus brief with six other legal scholars in Farrell-Smith v. Oregon Department of Justice, a …
October 20, 2025Arizona Supreme Court – Center for Arizona Policy, Inc. v. Arizona Secretary of State Amicus Brief Filed
PDF Available Here On June 24, the State Democracy Research Initiative’s faculty co-directors, Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon, filed an amicus brief with six other legal scholars in Center for Arizona Policy, Inc. v. Arizona …
June 27, 2025Pennsylvania Supreme Court – Baxter v. Philadelphia Board of Elections Amicus Brief Filed
PDF Available Here On March 28, the State Democracy Research Initiative’s faculty co-directors Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon filed an amicus brief with five other legal scholars in Baxter v. Philadelphia Board of Elections, a …
March 31, 2025Wisconsin Supreme Court – Evers v. Marklein II Amicus Brief Filed
PDF Available Here On December 20, the State Democracy Research Initiative’s faculty co-directors Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon filed an amicus brief along with six other legal scholars in Evers v. Marklein II, a case in the Wisconsin …
December 20, 2024Wisconsin Supreme Court – LeMieux v. Evers Amicus Brief Filed
LeMieux v. Evers – Amicus Brief, Wisconsin Supreme Court On September 17, the State Democracy Research Initiative filed an amicus brief on behalf of Columbia Law School Professor Richard Briffault in LeMieux v. Evers, a case before …
September 18, 2024Washington Supreme Court – Vet Voice Foundation v. Hobbs Amicus Brief Filed
Vet Voice Foundation v. Hobbs – Amicus Brief, Washington Supreme Court On September 16, the State Democracy Research Initiative submitted an amicus brief in Vet Voice Foundation v. Hobbs, a case pending before the Supreme …
September 17, 2024Pennsylvania Supreme Court – BPEP v. Schmidt Amicus Brief Filed
BPEP v. Schmidt – Amicus Brief, Pennsylvania Supreme Court On September 4, the State Democracy Research Initiative submitted an amicus brief in BPEP v. Schmidt, a case pending before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The …
September 5, 2024New York Court of Appeals – Stefanik v. Hochul Amicus Brief Filed
Stefanik v. Hochul – Amicus Brief, New York Court of Appeals On July 3, the State Democracy Research Initiative submitted an amicus brief in Stefanik v. Hochul, a case pending before New York’s highest court, …
July 8, 2024Wisconsin Supreme Court – Evers v. Marklein Amicus Brief Filed
Evers v. Marklein – Amicus Brief, Wisconsin Supreme Court On March 27, the State Democracy Research Initiative’s faculty co-directors Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon filed an amicus brief along with six other legal scholars in …
March 28, 2024- More Briefs posts
Scholarship
Call for Papers: Scholarship Roundtable on State and Local Governance: Agencies, Institutions, and Infrastructure
September 3, 2025 The University of Wisconsin Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative (SDRI) is pleased to announce a Roundtable on State and Local Governance: Agencies, Institutions, and Infrastructure, to be held on Friday, April …
September 3, 2025Wisconsin Law Review Special Issue 2024: “Public Law in the States”
Scholarship | State Democracy Research Initiative
November 21, 2024
Wisconsin Law Review Special Edition featuring papers from our June 2023 ConferenceCall for Papers: Federalism Scholarship Roundtable
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 …
August 23, 2024Wisconsin Law Review Special Issue 2023: “Public Law in the States”
Scholarship | State Democracy Research Initiative
December 18, 2023
Wisconsin Law Review Special Edition featuring papers from our June 2023 ConferenceColumbia Law Review: “State Constitutional Rights and Democratic Proportionality” by Jessica Bulman-Pozen & Miriam Seifter
This Article seeks to begin a new conversation about state constitutional adjudication. It first shows how in myriad defining ways state constitutions differ from the U.S. Constitution. These distinctive founding documents, prizing individual and collective self-determination alike, require their own implementation frameworks—not federal mimicry.
November 22, 2023- More Scholarship posts
Research and Explainers
Exploring State Checks Against Federal Overreach
Published: August 8, 2025 Updated: October 23, 2025 States have many tools to help counter federal abuses of power. Facing a torrent of controversial federal government actions, states today are pursuing or considering an array …
October 23, 2025Explainer: Can States Prohibit Federal Law Enforcement from Masking on the Job?
Bridget Lavender, Staff Attorney PDF Available Here Published: October 3, 2025 Introduction As the federal government ramps up immigration enforcement under President Trump’s second administration, federal agents sometimes conduct operations while wearing masks or other …
October 3, 2025Explainer: State-Created Damages Remedies Against Federal Officials
Harrison Stark, Senior Counsel PDF Available Here Published: August 1, 2025 Introduction & Summary What recourse do people have if federal agents violate their constitutional rights? In recent months, this question has taken on new …
August 1, 2025Explainer: Can States Prosecute Federal Officials?
Bryna Godar, Staff Attorney PDF Available Here Published: July 17, 2025 As state and local officials increasingly clash with federal officials over immigration enforcement,[1] policing of protests,[2] and much more,[3] they could soon turn to …
July 17, 2025Wisconsin Supreme Court 2024-25 Term Review and 2025-26 Preview
Bryna Godar, Staff Attorney PDF Available Here Published: July 16, 2025 Updated: September 8, 2025 The 2024–25 Wisconsin Supreme Court term wrapped up in June and July with a series of high-profile decisions, including on …
July 16, 2025Explainer: Wisconsin Supreme Court Set to Consider Fate of “Mini Legislature”
Derek Clinger, Senior Staff Attorney PDF Available Here Published: March 25, 2025 In recent decades, the Wisconsin Legislature has increasingly empowered legislative committees, rather than its full membership, to wield control over state agencies and …
March 25, 2025Explainer: Wisconsin Supreme Court Race
Bryna Godar, Staff Attorney Bree Grossi Wilde, Executive Director PDF Available Here Published: March 12, 2025 Updated: March 14, 2025 On April 1, 2025, Wisconsin voters will choose the newest justice on the Wisconsin Supreme …
March 12, 2025Explainer: The Proposed Voter ID Constitutional Amendment on Wisconsin’s April Ballot
Bryna Godar, Staff Attorney PDF Available Here Published: February 24, 2025 On Wisconsin’s April 1, 2025, spring election ballot, voters will see a proposed constitutional amendment asking whether to add a voter ID requirement to …
February 24, 2025Election-Litigation Data: 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024 State and Federal Court Filings
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 …
February 17, 2025Explainer: North Carolina Supreme Court Election Protest
Emily Lau, Staff Attorney PDF Available Here Last Updated: February 21, 2025 More than a month after the November 2024 election, the result of the North Carolina Supreme Court race is still uncertain. There have …
December 20, 2024- More Research & Explainers posts