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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · 26d

In this zone, disputes must be resolved on grounds other than the constitutional text's original meaning. Alignment could be a factor that courts consider in the construction zone, pushing them to further, not to frustrate, this value.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · 26d

Likewise, American constitutional law could appreciate the full arrays of misaligning threats and potential judicial responses to them. Lastly, one of the key concepts of modern originalism is the construction zone.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · 26d

So doctrines analogous to those that implement federalism could be crafted to operationalize alignment. Second, comparative constitutional law recognizes democratic malfunctions that involve misalignment as well as innovative judicial remedies for these problems.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · 26d

In this symposium contribution, I outline three ways in which constitutional law could incorporate alignment. First, alignment resembles federalism in that it's a principle implied by the Constitution's text, structure, and history.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · 26d

Here's the abstract:

At present, American constitutional law gives short shrift to the democratic value of alignment (congruence between governmental outputs and popular preferences). But it doesn't have to be this way.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · 26d

I just posted a new paper, "Aligning Constitutional Law," exploring how the alignment principle could be incorporated into constitutional (not just election) law.

I'll be giving the Constitution Day Lecture at Drake University today on the same subject.

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Aligning Constitutional Law

At present, American constitutional law gives short shrift to the democratic value of alignment (congruence between governmental outputs and popular preferences

papers.ssrn.com

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · 29d

Here's a link to Ned's article:
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

And here's a link to my book, a symposium on which is the forum for Ned's piece:
global.oup.com/academic/pro...?

Bracket Voting: Structuring "Final Four" Elections like Familiar Sports Tournaments

This essay, a contribution to the Ohio State Law Journal symposium on the important new book Aligning Election Law by Nicho

papers.ssrn.com

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · 29d

@nedfoley.bsky.social has written this insightful article on Bracket Voting as a method of achieving what I call "alignment" between voters' preferences and elections' winners.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Sep 3

The brief also argues that Section 2 differs from the policies on which the Court has previously imposed time limits; and that, if the Court wants to further curb Section 2's reach, it has many other options.

Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Sep 3

I filed this amicus brief in Callais today. The main argument is that Section 2 doesn't require a court-imposed time limit because -- thanks to the Gingles framework -- it's already inherently self-limiting.

www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...

www.supremecourt.gov

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Sep 1

This Article is the first to explore the implications of the new electorate for election policy and law. As to policy, the parties’ longstanding positions on numerous electoral issues have become obsolete. As to law, an array of electoral claims and defenses now operate differently than in the past.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Sep 1

These shifts include the disappearance of income as a partisan cleavage, the emergence of education as a new partisan axis, a decline in racially polarized voting, and a more neutral political geography.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Sep 1

My article, "Election Law for the New Electorate," is out in the Journal of Legal Analysis.

academic.oup.com/jla/article/...

Here's the abstract:

The American electorate is transforming—undergoing its most sweeping changes in half a century.

Election law for the new electorate

Abstract. The American electorate is transforming—undergoing its most sweeping changes in half a century. These shifts include the disappearance of income

academic.oup.com

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Aug 18

My new article, "Redistricting Without Tradeoffs," has found a home in @columlrev.bsky.social.

Here's the abstract; I'll be posting the piece soon.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Aug 12

electionlawblog.org?p=151527

"Why a gerrymandering critic wants to toss out California’s maps" #ELB

California Playbook: Sara Sadhwani is proud of her work on California’s independent redistricting commission, but now she wants voters to tear up the maps she and her colleagues spent hundreds, if not...

electionlawblog.org

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Aug 12

It's striking that members of the CA commission now agree that CA's congressional map should be redrawn if other states enact mid-decade gerrymanders.

The goal here should be national partisan fairness. A redrawn CA map can serve that goal by offsetting gerrymanders elsewhere.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Aug 8

We filed this brief defending the constitutionality of the NY Voting Rights Act. I'll be arguing the case in the NY Court of Appeals in October.

The issue is pretty important: If the NYVRA somehow violates the Equal Protection Clause, then so do all disparate-impact laws.

t.co/3A2Vy4JvB4

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60a559b59cfc63389f67f892/t/689600d4885354540e6d3a4d/1754661076451/Clarke+v+Newburgh-RespBrf.pdf

t.co

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Reposted by Nicholas Stephanopoulos

Michael Albertus @mikealbertus.bsky.social · Aug 6

My interview with election law expert
@profnickstephan.bsky.social on #Texas Republicans' extreme partisan #Gerrymandering. Why the rare move threatens representation and the balance in the US House – and could spark widespread partisan redistricting. 👇

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Jul 24

“The mugger asked for a billion dollars, the keys to my house, and my first-born. I got him to agree to $200M (for now). I’m such a savvy negotiator.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/n...

Columbia Agrees to $200 Million Fine to Settle Fight With Trump

www.nytimes.com

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Jun 27

The decision to reargue Callais is confusing. The most plausible rationale for reargument is getting into the Section 2 merits of the preceding lawsuit.

But this case simply isn't about Section 2. So it's a terrible vehicle for a blockbuster ruling about the VRA.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Jun 20

My reaction to the HLR leak is that they take article selection extraordinarily seriously.

400+ memos totaling 2000+ pages? And that’s just one stage of their process?

Geesh. When I ran YLS’s international law journal, we just met and talked about submissions.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Jun 17

Link to my book: academic.oup.com/book/57975

Link to WaPo on BBB: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Aligning Election Law

Abstract. This book argues that alignment between governmental outputs and popular preferences should be a tenet of the law of democracy. Alignment is a co

academic.oup.com

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Jun 17

In a highly polarized environment, whichever party is in power tends to pursue policies that are too liberal or conservative for the electorate as a whole.

So we often get a combination of partisan alignment with policy misalignment.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Jun 17

Yet voters hate the unified Republican government's main agenda item, by a margin of about 2-to-1. So if this bill is approved, stark policy *misalignment* will ensue.

Unfortunately, this is a common pattern in modern American politics.

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Nicholas Stephanopoulos @profnickstephan.bsky.social · Jun 17

The unpopularity of the Republican megabill highlights the distinctions between different kinds of alignment (the subject of my recent book).

In partisan terms, the unified Republican government aligns with voters' preferences. Voters wanted a Republican President and Congress.

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