Reference Shelf: Campaign Trends & Election Law

In the run-up to the 2016 national election, many issues involving election law have come to the fore. This volume will explore such timely topics as campaign finance and the corporate funding of elections in the aftermath of Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission (2010), which opened the door to unlimited corporate and private funding of candidates in federal elections. The volume will also investigate the effects of SCOTUS’s ruling to roll back various aspects of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, allowing states to make their own election laws—including instituting voter ID laws and cancelling early voter registration—without federal oversight. Other important issues under discussion include the rise of one-party domination of state government and the subsequent, unprecedented gerrymandering of districts; the use of initiatives and referendums to mobilize political bases; and the changing uses of social media in campaigns. Articles will also examine the rise of political dissidents both inside and outside the two major parties.