Media Advisory: Experts available in election law, voting rights

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to announce a decision in “Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission,” Docket No 13-1314 as early as Monday, June 22.

Experts from the University at Buffalo’s Jaeckle Center for Democracy, Law and Governance are available to explain voting rights, election law and campaign finance issues, and answer questions from the media.

“The court’s decision will have a significant impact on independent redistricting across the nation,” says Associate Professor Michael Halberstam, acting director of the Jaeckle Center for Democracy, Law and Governance. “It will guide policymakers seeking to reform redistricting before the post-2020 redistricting round.”

Voting rights, election law and campaign finance issues are at the top of the national agenda as the 2016 Presidential election season heats up.  The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing in with major decisions that will shape campaigns from the White House down to local offices.  Other cases before the U.S. Supreme Court for consideration later this year may rewrite the one-person/one-vote population standard, which could profoundly reshape legislatures across New York State.

UB Law School experts include:

James Gardner, interim dean of UB Law School, Bridget and Thomas Black Professor, and SUNY Distinguished Professor, a highly regarded specialist in constitutional and election law.

Michael Halberstam, acting director of the Jaeckle Center and associate professor of law, an expert on redistricting and voting rights and a member of the editorial board of the Election Law Journal.

Jeffrey M. Wice, Jaeckle Center Fellow and expert in redistricting and voting rights issues who has worked on redistricting in New York and in other states.

The UB Law School is also the home to the Jaeckle Center's New York State Democracy Clearinghouse, an election law and redistricting resource center for New York State, and New York Election News, a blog covering the world of election law: https://nyelectionsnews.wordpress.com.

For more information about the Jaeckle Center, contact: Michael Halberstam, acting director of the Jaeckle Center for Law, Democracy and Governance, UB Law School, at 646-285-6281.