The Supreme Court and Elections

Voting may appear to be the simple act of casting a ballot, but organizing, running, and tabulating the results of a popular election are, in fact, highly contested processes, the forms, meanings, and practical boundaries of which are open to widely differing interpretations. From who gets to cast a ballot to which votes get counted, elections provoke discussion and debate because the stakes are so high.

Charles L. Zelden is professor of history at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where he teaches courses on legal/constitutional history, twentieth-century American history, and the judicial process. He is the author of Bush v. Gore: Exposing the Hidden Crisis of American Democracy (2008), The Battle for the Black Ballot: Smith v. Allwright and the Defeat of the Texas fill-White Primary (2004), and Voting Rights on ft/a/(2002). Melvin I. Urofsky, series editor, is professor of public policy and law at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author of several books on the Supreme Court and constitutional history.