The Constitutional Democracy Project (CDP) will hold a virtual panel discussion on voting rights in celebration of Constitution Day on September 17 from 4–5 p.m. The program is free and open to the public.The panel, “What Does the Constitution Say About Voting?,” will focus on the history of the right to vote in this country and the role of federalism in defining the scope and operation of the right.
When: Thursday, September 17, 2020, 4–5 p.m.
Where: Virtual panel. Pre-registration is required for the program and is available through this link.
Panelists include:
- Felice Batlan, professor of law and women’s legal historian at Chicago-Kent College of Law. Batlan’s research includes the history of the 19th Amendment, and she recently published a paper on the complicated history of citizenship and women’s suffrage.
- Atiba Ellis, professor of law at Marquette University Law School. Ellis’ research focuses on voting rights law with specific attention to how varying conceptions of the right to vote exclude voters on the margins.
- Derek T. Muller, professor of law at University of Iowa College of Law. Muller’s research includes a wide variety of voting rights issues such as the popular vote, electoral college, voter registration and voter identification laws, and nonjudicial solutions to partisan gerrymandering.
- Carolyn Shapiro, professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law and co-director of the Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States. Shapiro’s research is focused on the Supreme Court and its relationship to other institutions in a constitutional democracy. She recently published a paper on the Guarantee Clause and Congress’ role to protect elections.
The panel is part of CDP’s upcoming professional development workshop series for high school civics, social studies and history teachers this fall, which will focus on voting rights and elections. The Constitution Day panel and professional workshop series is supported through a partnership with the Jack Miller Center’s Chicago Founding Civics Initiative.
The CDP offers high-quality, hands-on civics education programs and teaching materials focused on the Constitution, law, and policy for middle school and high school students and their teachers. It is part of Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States (ISCOTUS).