Researching Elections and Election Law (2008)


Custom Search
Use this custom search to locate select resources devoted to elections and election law.

Getting Started | Journals and Law Reviews | Databases | Primary Authorities | Secondary Authorities | Federal Agencies, Associations, and NGOs | Brief Bibliography

Getting Started

Some quick jumping off points:

As in all projects, unless you are already knowledgeable about the topic area, it is best to start with introductory resources and then to consult more focused works; moving from secondary to primary resources.

Articles, books and government documents can provide you with an overview of your topic and help you think of search terms that you might not have thought of otherwise. They will also cite primary authorities such as statutes and case law. You can then use the primary sources cited in the secondary sources as a jumping off point to find other primary sources.

Please note that many of the electronic resources identifed below are available to members of the University of Maryland School of Law community from anywhere on campus and from home via the UMB network. Members of the public from outside the Law School are invited to use these resources for free on campus only [access policies]. Additionally, a number of the Internet resources below are freely available and can be followed directly from this website.

 

Journals and Law Reviews

The two main indexes to law journals available in the Law Library are LegalTrac and Index to Legal Periodicals & Books. These indexes include references to many journals not included in the more familiar Westlaw or Lexis databases and in some cases provide access to the full text electronically. Each of these two online indexes has a parallel print version: the Current Law Index (K33 .C87), and the Index to Legal Periodicals (K9 .N32) are shelved near the print journals on level 1. The Index to Legal Periodicals is particularly helpful if you need to find articles published prior to 1980.

Additionally, many journals not subscribed to directly in a print version are available in electronic form via one of the library's databases. The list below of subscription databases should help you get started in locating these resources.

Most print journals are shelved on level 1 of the library, in alphabetical order by journal title. Many of these titles also have an electronic version. To find out if the library has a particular journal title in electronic format, please check the library's collection of electronic journals or ask a librarian for help.

Below are a few titles that might help you to get started.

  • Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy. Coverage: v. 1-9 (1992-2000).
  • CQ Weekly. CQ Weekly provides full-text coverage of the weekly journal. Restrictions: Available direct on campus.
  • The Hill. Newspaper- federal government information and activities.
  • Law & Policy.Deals with such topics as the relationship of law, legal institutions, and processes to social welfare, dispute resolution, economic analysis, and criminal justice. Restrictions: Availability restricted to on-campus access.
  • National Journal. Leading weekly journal of politics, policy and government. Coverage 1970 - to date.
  • Political Sciences Quarterly. Full text of all issues from 1/1/1998. Restrictions: Availability restricted to on-campus access.
  • Presidential Studies Quarterly. Covers topics related to presidential policies and administration. Restrictions: Limits on reproduction and electronic redistribution of content.
  • Public Administration Review. Produced by the American Society for Public Administration, this journal provides coverage of administrative issues facing urban communities. Restrictions: Availability restricted to on-campus access.
  • Review of Black Political Economy. Examines issues related to the economic status of African-American and Third World peoples. It identifies and analyzes policy prescriptions designed to reduce racial economic inequality. The journal is devoted to appraising public and private policies for their ability to advance economic opportunities without regard to their theoretical or ideological origins. Restrictions: Limits on reproduction and electronic redistribution of content.
  • Rollcall. Newspaper of Congress and federal government.
  • U.S. Law Week/Supreme Court Today. Tracks every Supreme Court petition and case on the docket, from filing to final disposition and highlights important federal and state legal developments, non-decisional and pre-decisional, across specialized fields.

Databases

The Thurgood Marshall Law Library offers access to a number of different databases that cover the topic of election law and related political science and public policy topics. For members of the law school community these databases are available anywhere on campus and from off-site with your UMBID. Researchers from outside the law school are welcome to use these tools in the library. These databases are valuable tools for conducting research during the introductory stage of a project as well as for locating more specialized resources.

  • Academic Search Premier. A general academic tool offering indexing and abstracts for more than 4,500 journals, including access to the full text of more than 3,600 journals.
  • Ad Spotlight (National Journal). Online guide to political issue ads from across the country.
  • Almanac of American Politics. Information on every member of Congress and his/her district.
  • CQ Politics. Contains original reporting on elections and campagins and links to other news sources. Some material may require a login for the linked item.
  • CQ Researcher. Contains original reporting on complex and controversial current events and social, political, economic, and international issues.
  • HeinOnline. Full-text, image-based collection of more than 700 legal periodical titles. Coverage for each journal starts at its inception and continues to the most current volume allowed under contract between Hein and the journal. Hein-On-Line also includes coverage of the Federal Register from 1936 to 1980.
  • LEXIS. Database of legal and nonlegal information. Requires valid Lexis password.
  • Poll Track (National Journal). Database of public opinion polls and surveys from around the nation.
  • StateLine.org. Stateline.org is a non-partisan, non-profit online news publication that reports each weekday on state government. Funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts it was created in 1999 to strengthen and enrich U.S. political journalism by providing information about political activity in the 50 state capitols. In an era of declining news media presence in statehouses, Stateline.org helps fill the coverage gap.
  • University of North Texas - Cyber Cemetary: Congressional Research Service Reports on elections and election law (domestic and foreign elections)
  • Westlaw. Database of legal and nonlegal information. Requires valid Westlaw password.

Primary Authorities

"Primary authorities are authorized statements of the law by governmental institutions. Such documents include the written opinions of courts (case law); constitutions; legislation; rules of court and the rules, regulations and opinions of administrative agencies." An Introduction to Legal Research. Jacobstein, Merskey and Dunn (1998).

Maryland Materials

COMAR Title 33

 

Federal Legislative Materials

Back to TopAdministrative Materials

Judicial Materials

NOTE: for both more comprehensive and more precise case law searches be sure to check either Lexis or Westlaw above.

Lexis Tip: If you find one good case on Lexis, you may be able to find others by identifying the headnote that best describes the issue of interest to you, then clicking "More Like This Headnote," or by Shepardizing the case to find other cases that have cited it for the issue represented by the headnote.

Westlaw Tip: If you find one good case on Westlaw, you may be able to find others by identifying the headnote(s) that best describes the issue of interest to you, then clicking "Most Cited Cases" for that headnote. You could also try clicking "KeyCite Notes" to fine other cases that have cited your case for the issue represented by that headnote.

Secondary Authorities

"Secondary authority is anything other than primary authority [law] that a court could use as a basis for decision, should the matter you are researching come before a court...Secondary authority includes commentary sources...treatises, periodicals, dictionaries, and encyclopedias of various sorts." The Process of Legal Research: Successful Strategies. Kunz, Schmedemann, et al. (1992).

Legal Encyclopedias

Legal encyclopedias are a secondary source for understanding the law. They are an excellent resource for starting research particularly in an unfamiliar area of the law. Usually arranged alphabetically by subject the brief articles will contain citations to case law and statutes relevant to the topic.

  • West's Maryland Law Encyclopedia (KFM1265.W3) [How to Use]

Two other, more general, legal encyclopedias are:

  • Corpus Juris Secundum [commonly referred to as CJS] ( KF154 .C57)
  • American Jurisprudence [commonly referred to as AMJUR] (KF154 .A51)

Commentaries

Like legal encyclopedias commentaries are a secondary source that can provide valuable background when approaching a topic area that may be new to the researcher. There are a number of commentary types available although almost all share some basic features - detailed analysis of the issues represented by a particular case or series of cases; annotations to case law and relevant statutes; and some type of internal finding aid or index. The American Law Reports is one of the most frequently consulted type of commentary.

  • ALR (American Law Reports) (REF KF132.L2) [How to Use]

Additional sources of secondary material: hornbooks, nutshells, treatises, and restatements can be located by using the library's catalog.

Federal Agencies, Associations, and Non-Governmental Organizations

Government agencies, think-tanks, scholarly Internet sites, non-profit organizations and blogs may all be sources of valuable background information. When using any of these sites it is important to keep in mind the orientation or affiliation of the resource creator.

Bibliography

The following is a partial list of recent Election Law related materials available in the Thurgood Marshall Law Library. For additional sources on this topic, please check the library's Catalog.

Alvarez, R. Michael.
Point, click and vote: the future of Internet voting.
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2004.
JK1985.A58 2004

Asking the right questions about electronic voting / Richard Celeste, Dick Thornburgh, and Herbert Lin, editors ; Committee on a Framework for Understanding Electronic Voting, Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council. Washington, D.C. : National Academies Press, 2006.
JK1985 .A85 2006

Coolidge, David Orgon
A legal fantasy: Marylanders for Tolerance Now! v. Maryland
State Administrative Board of Election Laws and American Citizens for Tolerance Now! v. Federal Election Commission.
From: The Journal of Law and Religion Wntr 1995, v11, n1, p109-141.
PERIODICAL STACKS

Fisher, Erica.
What do local election officials think about election reform?[survey] / Eric A. Fisher, Kevin J. Coleman.
Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, 2005.
JK1976 .F35 2005

Fortier, John C. (Editor)
After the People Vote: A Guide to the Electoral College.
Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 2004.
JK529.A68 2004

Gerken, Heather K.
A third way for the Voting Rights Act: section 5 and the opt-in approach.
From: 106 Columbia Law Review 708 (2006).

Kuhn, David Paul.
The Neglected Voter: White Men and the Democratic Dilemma
New York: Palgrave McMillian, 2007.
JK1965.K84 2007

Manza, Jeff.
Locked out : felon disenfranchisement and American democracy / Jeff Manza and Christopher Uggen.
Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2006.
JK1846 .M26 2006

Maryland. Circuit Court (Anne Arundel County).
Linda Schade, et al, plaintiffs v. Maryland State Board of Elections, Linda H. Lamone (as Administrator of Maryland's State Board of Elections), defendants - complaint / Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County Maryland and judge Joseph P. Manck.
Annapolis, Md. : Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County Maryland, 2004.
KFM1620 .A254 2004

Mayer, William G.
The Swing Voter in American Politics.
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2008.
JK1967.SD95 2008

Purged: how a patchwork of flawed and Inconsistent voting systems could deprive millions of Americans the right to vote.
New York: ACLU, 2004.
KF4893.A3 P70
Electronic Access:http://www.aclu.org/VotingRights

Robinson, Andrew.
The Voting Rights Cases of 1937: The Adoption of Voting Machine Technology in Baltimore City
[University of Maryland School of Law, Thurgood Marshall Law Library], 2007.
E-Scholarship Repository

Saltman, Roy G.
The history and politics of voting technology : in quest of integrity and public confidence / Roy G. Saltman.
New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.
JK1965 .S25 2006

Streb, Matthew J. (Ed.)
Law and election politics: the rules of the game.
Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005.
KF4886.L39 2005

United States Government Accountability Office.
Elderly Voters: Some Improvements in Voting Accessibility from 2000 to 2004, but Gaps in Policy and Implementation Remain. Testimony Before the Special Committee on Aging, U.S. Senate.
Government Accountability Office. Washington, D.C. ,2008.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08442t.pdf

United States Government Accountability Office.
Elections : the nation's evolving election system as reflected in the November 2004 general election : report to congressional committees / United tes Government Accountability Office. Washington, D.C., [2006].
JK1985 .E42 2006

Valelly, Richard M.
The Voting Rights Act : securing the ballot / Richard M. Valelly, editor. Washington, D.C. : CQ Press, c2006.
JK1924 .V68 2006

Walters, Ronald W.
Freedom is not enough : Black voters, Black candidates, and American presidential politics / Ronald W. Walters.
Lanham, Md. : Rowan & Littlefield Publishers : Distributed by National Book Network, c2005.
JK1924 .W343 2005

William, Beth.
Exploring Initiative and Referendum Law: Selected State Research Guides.
Legal Reference Services Quarterly. v. 26, no. 3/4 (2006)

 

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