Voting Rights & Election Law

Brennan Center for Justice

The Brennan Center for Justice was founded in 1995 by former law clerks to Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., who served on the Supreme Court from 1956 to 1990. It is an independent, nonpartisan law and policy organization that works to reform, revitalize, and when necessary, defend our country’s systems of democracy and justice.   

The Brennan Center's complete archive of publications is available in HeinOnline in its own dedicated collection. Extracted within Voting Rights & Election law are selected publications from the Brennan Center on voting rights, elections, campaign financing, and other related topics.

Selected reports include:

• After Citizens United: The Story in the States (2014)
• Eliminating Barriers to Voter Registration for People with Felony Records (2003)
• Securing the Nation's Voting Machines: A Toolkit for Advocates and Election Officials (2018)

ALI Election Administration

The American Law Institute (ALI) is the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law. 

Formerly known as Principles of the Law, Election Law: Resolution of Election Disputes, this work focuses on two areas of great importance: non-precinct voting and the resolution of disputed elections.

Congressional Hearings

The deliberations of Congress provide insight both into issues requiring federal attention and their proposed solutions.

A hearing is a meeting or session of a Senate, House, joint, or special committee of Congress. Hearings are held:

• to obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation.
• to conduct an investigation.
• to evaluate/oversee the activities of a government department or the implementation of a federal law.

In addition, hearings may also be purely exploratory in nature, providing testimony and data about topics of current interest. Most hearings are published two months to two years after they are held. This material provides a transcript of the proceedings for the general public.

Some hearings of note:

• Administration of Upcoming Elections (2022)
• Election night coverage by the networks (2001)
• Universal Voter Registration Act of 1977 (1977)

CRS and GAO Reports

Find thousands of reports on a diverse range of topics, including affirmative action, youth employment, technology in the workplace, self-employment, and more, authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and Government Accountability Office (GAO).

What are these agencies?

• The Congressional Research Service is a public policy research institute of the U.S. Congress
  • Its job is to help Congress form sound policies based on analysis and research
  • Access CRS Reports on topics other than labor and employment by navigating to HeinOnline’s U.S. Congressional Documents database and selecting the CRS Reports subcollection
• The General Accountability Office is a legislative branch agency
  • It provides auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for the U.S. Congress
  • Staff produce reports and written correspondence, testimonies and statements for the record, briefings for congressional staff members, and more
  • Access GAO Reports on topics other than labor and employment through HeinOnline's dedicated GAO Reports and Comptroller General Decisions database

Some reports of note:

• Campaign Finance: Constitutional and Legal Issues of Soft Money (2004)
• Funding Of International Election Observers For El Salvador Election (1982)
• National Popular Vote (NPV) Initiative: Direct Election of the President by Interstate Compact (2018)

CFR and U.S. Code

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the U.S. Code represent the current statutory positions of the federal government.

Published annually, the CFR is divided into 50 titles (aka subjects) that are the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government.

The U.S. Code, divided into 53 titles, is the official compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal statutes of the United States. Main editions of the U.S. Code are published every six years, with supplements published annually. Unlike the CFR, the U.S. Code does not include regulations issued by executive branch agencies.

Extracted within this database are the following relevant titles:

CFR Title 11: Federal Elections

US Code Title 52: Voting and Elections

Legislative Histories

Legislative histories present the journey of a bill as it becomes a law, with all its changes, additions, deletions, and various legislative hurdles.

Some legislative histories of note included in this database are:

• Legislative History of Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974 
• Legislative History of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
• Legislative History of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993

Supreme Court Briefs

The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation. Its decisions affect all federal law and U.S. Constitutional law. It can also strike down statutes or presidential directives if it finds they violate Constitutional law.

Presented here are briefs filed in cases appearing before the Supreme Court. These cases can be on voting and elections, or be filed by organizations encouraging the Court to rule a certain way.

Some briefs of note are:

• Arizona State Legislature, Appellant, v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, et al. Brief for Appellees (2014)
• Federal Election Commission, Appellant, v. Ted Cruz for Senate, et al. Brief for the Federal Election Commission (2022)
• Beverly R. Gill, et al., Appellants, v. William Whitford, et al., Appellees. Brief of Fairvote and One Nation One Vote as Amici Curiae in Support of Appellees (2017)

Serials & Periodicals

Browse serials and periodicals dedicated to voting and elections, including:

• Annual Report. Federal Election Commission
• Election Law Journal
• Journal of Election Administration
• Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election

Scholarly Articles

Access hundreds of articles* selected by HeinOnline editors on election districts, campaign finance and spending, gerrymandering, the various sections of the Voting Rights Act, and more. Sort articles by Title, Author, Most-Cited, or Year, or search the list by Title or Author. 

New articles are added monthly!

*In order to access the scholarly article links, you must be subscribed to the appropriate HeinOnline collection(s).

Bibliography

Take your research beyond HeinOnline with this bibliography of books selected by HeinOnline editors. Each title is linked to its WorldCat entry to help users locate the book in a nearby library. New books will be added regularly.