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Our Work

The State Democracy Research Initiative works to produce high-quality research and share its findings and insights with the public, press, advocates, scholars, and judges. This work takes a variety of forms, from timely commentary to comprehensive overviews of all 50 states to forward-looking legal analysis.

Interactive Sites

All Resources and Publications

In the Media

ProPublica: Inside the North Carolina GOP’s Decade-Long Push to Seize Power From the State’s Democratic Governors

Derek Clinger 12.22.25

"In November 2024, Democrat Josh Stein scored an emphatic victory in the race to become North Carolina’s governor, drubbing his Republican opponent by almost 15 percentage points. His honeymoon didn’t last long, however. Two weeks after his win, the North Carolina legislature’s Republican supermajority fast-tracked a bill that would transform the balance of power in the state.'

In the Media

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Legislature spent $26.2 million in taxpayer money on private attorneys since 2017

Rob Yablon 07.18.25

"The Wisconsin Legislature has spent $26.2 million in taxpayer money on legal fees to private law firms since 2017, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analysis found. Under a Democratic governor and state attorney general, Republican legislative leaders have sought outside counsel to represent the Legislature in a wide range of high-profile legal battles including redistricting, laws passed during the 2018 lame-duck session and Michael Gableman’s failed investigation into the 2020 election."

In the Media

Wisconsin Public Radio: Wisconsin Supreme Court sides with Evers in dispute over conversion therapy ban, rulemaking power

Bryna Godar 07.08.25

"Gov. Tony Evers had the legal right to ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth, and a Republican-controlled legislative committee exceeded its authority by blocking the rule, the state Supreme Court found Tuesday. In the ruling, justices said the statutes governing how that committee processes rules proposed by government agencies are unconstitutional because they bypass two fundamental principles of the legislative process."

Books

State Constitutional Law: Cases and Principles

Developed by two of the subject’s leading experts, the First Edition of State Constitutional Law: Cases and Principles provides a contemporary, authoritative treatment of the field, complete with majority approaches and alternatives across the country. The book provides detailed treatments of the wide range of state constitutional issues—not only rights, but also government structure, democracy, fiscal provisions, and intrastate relations.

Articles & Essays

Constitutional Limits on Legislative Overrides of Statutory Initiatives in Ohio

Derek Clinger 04.08.25 Last Updated 08.22.25

Does the Ohio Constitution allow the General Assembly to override the will of the people? The Essay situates Ohio within the broader national landscape, surveys how other states address legislative overrides of citizen-initiated statutes, and develops an interpretive framework grounded in the Ohio Constitution.

In the Media

The Cap Times: Most of Gov. Tony Evers' Cabinet is unconfirmed. Here's why it matters

Emily Lau 01.21.25

"As the incoming Trump administration seeks to get its appointees confirmed, a new session in the Wisconsin Legislature offers Gov. Tony Evers a fresh chance to get more of his appointees approved. Of Evers’ 17 Cabinet-level appointees who oversee state government agencies, six have been confirmed by legislators."

In the Media

CBS 58: Wisconsin's voter ID requirement will be on the April ballot

Rob Yablon 01.14.25

"Voters will decide whether to enshrine Wisconsin's voter ID law in the state constitution after GOP lawmakers voted to place the question on the April ballot. Assembly Republicans took final action on a constitutional amendment that will ask voters whether Wisconsin's existing law requiring voters to show proof of a photo ID at the polls should be added to the state constitution."

Articles & Essays

State Legislative Vetoes and State Constitutionalism

Recent scholarship persuasively argues that state constitutional law should be grounded in state-centered reasoning, not federal imitation. That approach, compelling at the 10,000-foot level, also requires development through examples closer to the ground. This symposium Article uses legislative vetoes—arrangements in which legislators can override executive action without passing new laws—to explore the practice and adjudication of state structural constitutionalism.

In the Media

WUNC: North Carolina governor will start his term off much like his predecessor did, in court

Derek Clinger 12.24.24

"Incoming Gov. Josh Stein will start out his term as North Carolina's chief executive much the same way his predecessor and fellow Democrat Roy Cooper did, battling the Republican-led legislature in court. But Stein faces a much more slanted playing field than Cooper did."

In the Media

National Public Radio: After Tennessee House Republicans expelled 2 Democrats, will other states follow?

"'Most expulsions have involved criminal conduct or abusive behavior, not suppression of dissent or targeting of political opponents,' state constitutional law expert Miriam Seifter told NPR in an email. 'The Tennessee expulsions are therefore an extremely concerning outlier.'"

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