W&M Featured Events
[PAST EVENT] Election Law Society Symposium: The Future of the Voting Rights Act
Access & Features
- Open to the public
- Registration/RSVP
![list of speakers and photos](https://events.wm.edu/images/event_uploads/jpwelc_2021_04_07_22_22_01.jpg)
RSVP at link below to receive Zoom information. Free admission & all are welcome.
The 2021 Election Law Society Symposium is co-sponsored by the Institute of Bill of Rights Law, American Constitution Society & Federalist Society.
Buffeted by hyper-partisanship, a global pandemic, and a racial reckoning, American voters cast ballots in record numbers during the 2020 election. State legislatures and courts across the country have responded to voting rights issues by tightening regulations, loosening restrictions, and sometimes both. Commitments to minority ballot access have run up against arguments that election laws must do more to curb public perceptions of fraud. But while our immediate circumstances are unique, haven't we been down this road before?
The 2021 Election Law Society Symposium will examine the role of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in the 2020 election and its potential reform going forward both as a tool to address voting rules and districting maps that harm minority voters. This year’s Symposium will reflect on why and whether the VRA litigation remains vital and will explore emerging trends in VRA-related reform efforts as we move into a post-Trump, post-pandemic era. Attendees will gain valuable context and knowledgeable projections about the VRA and its role going forward, with help from respected practitioners and scholars who work in the minority voting rights arena.
Participants include:
Jessica Ring Amunson
Partner, Jenner & Block
Brnovich Counsel
Mark Braden
Of Counsel, BakerHostetler
Former special election law counsel to the United States' House of Representatives' Administration Committee
Adriel I. Cepeda Derieux
Senior Staff Attorney,
Voting Rights Project
Jason Torchinsky '98, JD '01
Partner, Holtzman Vogel
Josefiak Torchinsky PLLC:
Adjunct Professor, W&M Law