The New-York Historical Society's Bonnie and Richard Reiss Graduate Institute for Constitutional History's spring seminar has been announced. It is “The Contested Right to Vote.” The instructors are Richard Briffault, Joseph P. Chamberlain Professor of Legislation at Columbia Law School, and Eugene D. Mazo, a “visiting professor of law at the Seton Hall University School of Law and a nationally recognized scholar of election law.” The seminar will be presented in person at the New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024 on Fridays, May 13 and 20, June 3 and 10, 2022, from 2–5 pm ET.
The ICH seminar–which is not to be confused with the Institute for Constitutional Studies seminar–“is produced twice per year and designed for graduate students, junior faculty, and other educators, in history, political science, law, and related disciplines. There is no tuition or other charge for this seminar.” More information about the seminar and how to apply can be found here.The right to vote is the foundation of democracy, yet the extent, meaning, and effectiveness of
A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund (LC)
the vote have been contested throughout American history. Voting eligibility has expanded since the Revolution from a limited number of white men, who in most states had to be property owners or taxpayers, to include most adult citizens today. But significant obstacles to voting and to the institutions that protect the right to vote remain, serving to undermine democracy. The Constitution itself does not confer the right to vote, but, since the ratification of the Bill of Rights, more amendments have addressed voting than any other subject, and constitutional law—along with important federal statutes—has played a key role in structuring the ongoing debate over voting. In this seminar, Professors Richard Briffault and Eugene Mazo will trace the evolution of the right to vote from the founding to the present day, paying particular attention to the legal, political, and social forces that led to the expansion of the right to vote, and to the forces—both historical and contemporary—that have sought to curtail it.
--Dan Ernst
