We Survived the Election of 2020! How’s Our Democracy’s Health?

The election of 2020 has tested American democracy to its limits. Voter suppression; threats of voter intimidation; confusion about how and when to vote; widespread misinformation about absentee balloting; rules for casting and counting ballots varying widely by jurisdiction and changing frequently due to court challenges: all of these factors at play in the midst of a deadly pandemic and highly divisive atmosphere made the election of 2020 one that will be examined by historians for generations. The voting is behind us at last. How has American democracy fared so far? Join us for a first-take conversation and Q&A with elections law expert Professor Ellen Katz, of the University of Michigan School of Law.

 Bio: Ellen D. Katz, the Ralph W. Aigler Professor of Law, writes and teaches about election law, civil rights and remedies, and equal protection. Her scholarship addresses questions of minority representation, political equality, and the role of institutions in crafting and implementing anti-discrimination laws. In addition, she created the Voting Rights Initiative at the Law School to provide data about the past and present status of minority participation in the political process. The findings have served to inform courts, Congress, and public debate. Professor Katz has published numerous articles, including an influential empirical study of litigation under the Voting Rights Act. Prior to joining the Michigan Law faculty, Professor Katz practiced as an attorney with the appellate sections of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division and its Environment and Natural Resources Division. She was a judicial clerk for Justice David H. Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court and for the Hon. Judith W. Rogers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She earned her JD in 1994 from Yale Law School, where she served as articles editor of the Yale Law Journal. She graduated summa cum laude from Yale College in 1991 with a BA in history.