Seton Hall Law Legislative Journal Symposium
Ballots and Democracy: A New Scholarly Agenda
Seton Hall Legislative Journal, Vol. 47, Symposium
WHEN
Friday, February 24, 2023 ¦ 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST.
WHERE
The Larson Auditorium | Register now.
CLE CREDIT AVAILABLE
7 NJ CLE credits (general) and 5.5 PA CLE credits (substantive)
DESCRIPTION
This Symposium will focus on the relationship between election law and democracy. The Symposium will consider more deeply ballot design, ballot bracketing systems, the “Australian ballot,” controversies with the ballot, the history of ballots in the United States, the empirical effects of ballot design, litigation strategies to improve the ballot, and ways in which society and voters can become educated on ballot issues. Ballot design has a significant impact on people’s votes and this Symposium seeks to expose the public to those problems, particularly as they affect New Jersey. The Symposium is intended to bring together law students, law faculty, attorneys, scholars, and judges from around the country to discuss the future of election law and ballot design. All attorneys will receive CLE credit. Structurally, the Symposium will have four panels each approximately 75-80 minutes. Election law experts from across the country will sit on each panel as moderators from Seton Hall Law guide the conversation. Except for parking, admission to the Symposium is free, and there will be a complimentary breakfast, lunch, and cocktail reception following the event.
| Agenda Friday, February 24, 2023 | |
|---|---|
|
8:30 - 9:00 a.m.
|
Continental Breakfast |
|
9:00 - 9:15 |
Opening Remarks  Zachary Cimring  Eve Litvak |
|
9:15 - 9:20 |
Introduction of Symposium and panels  Eugene Mazo |
|
9:20 - 10:45 |
Panel 1: Ballots and Democracy: A (New) Scholarly Agenda from a National Perspective This panel will examine how ballot design influences electoral outcomes. The panelists will discuss the history of ballot design in the United States and the controversies that have been caused by ballot design in American politics. This panel will assess the existing scholarship on ballot design, as well as the influence that ballot design has on voters in our democracy. Moderator: Eugene Mazo  Derek T. Muller  Mark C. Alexander  Richard Lee Winger  Whitney Quesenbery |
|
10:45 - 11:00
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Break |
|
11:00 - 12:30 p.m. |
Panel 2: The History and the Empirical Effects of the County Line This panel will focus more specifically on New Jersey’s unique “county line” ballots, their history, and their empirical effects. Scholars will discuss the history of the county line, the laws that make it work, and how it impacts elections in New Jersey.  Moderator: Donna Kelly  Brett Pugach  Flavio Komuves  Sam Wang  Julia Sass Rubin |
|
12:30 - 1:15
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Lunch |
|
1:15 - 2:45 |
Panel 3: Litigation Strategies This panel will examine the ongoing challenges to New Jersey’s “county line” ballot system, assessing whether that system is constitutional. The panelists will discuss the legal theories that have been advanced to challenge the ballot bracketing system in New Jersey and how these challenges have historically played out in the courts.  Moderator: William E. Baroni Jr.  Yael Bromberg Eugene Mazo  Ryan P. Haygood  Angelo J. Genova |
|
2:45 - 3:00
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Break |
|
3:00 – 4:30 |
Panel 4: Society’s Efforts to Educate Voters – Ballots and the Public This panel will explore the efforts that activists and civil society groups are undertaking to educate New Jersey’s citizens about the impact that the state’s ballot design has on their vote. The discussion will focus on media strategies and other approaches that are being taken to reform New Jersey’s ballots.  Moderator: Solangel Maldonado  Renée Steinhagen  Liza Weisberg  Kevin P. Hancock  Ronald K. Chen |
| 4:30 – 4:40
|
Closing Remarks Zachary Cimring Eve Litvak |
| 4:45
|
Reception. Cocktails and light food to be provided. |
CONTACT
If you have any questions or need to make changes to your registration, please contact Kaitlyn Casa at 973-642-8587 or [email protected].