Law 792:  Presidential Selection and the Constitution

This course will focus on the ways in which the U.S. Constitution regulates, or does not regulate, the selection of a President and Vice President every four years.  We will delve into, among other things, the origins and explanations of the so-called “Electoral College,” the independence, vel non, of presidential electors, modern reform efforts that could move the nation in the direction of a national-popular-vote system for presidential election, Vice-Presidential selection, presidential succession, the so-called Purcell doctrine, the respective roles of Congress and state governments in regulating presidential elections, the (related) “independent state legislature” theory, and the meaning and scope of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment as regards the office of the President.  We will not have a casebook for this course, but instead will use materials from a set of readings (cases, law review articles, online commentary, etc.) that the instructor has put together.  

Students should expect to attain the following learning outcomes from this particular course:

• A deep understanding of how presidential elections fit within the framework of the U.S. Constitution
• An appreciation for the theory and history behind the creation of the electoral college and the delegation of authority to states in this realm
• A sophisticated awareness of the modern areas of constitutional contention as regards presidential elections
• The ability to understand and analyze arguments made in judicial opinions and in legal scholarship

This is a pass/fail course.

Sequence and Prerequisites: Law 606, Constitutional Law

Evaluation:  To receive course credit, students will be required to take and pass a final examination.