Election Analysis Blog Goes Live During 2016 Presidential Election, Attracts Visitors Across the World
November 16, 2016
Members of the Election Law Society at the University of Kentucky College of Law spent election night providing live analyses regarding significant election law issues in Kentucky and across the nation through their Election Analysis Blog. The blog received traffic from 40 of the 50 states and attracted visitors from 11 other countries including Ireland, Russia, and South Korea.
“I am proud that our Election Analysis Blog had such a widespread impact, both in Kentucky and across the country and world,” said Joshua A. Douglas, election law expert and the Robert G. Lawson & William H. Fortune Associate Professor of Law. “The event provides a valuable educational exercise for our students while also benefitting the general public, as the traffic to the website shows."
The Election Analysis Blog, the first of its kind at the university, is staffed by a dozen Election Law Society members who are dedicated to exploring the role of law in politics. It was launched in October 2014.
Under the supervision of Professor Douglas, students fielded questions from the general public and media and provided easy-to-understand legal explanations during the vote counting and casting process. In a three-day period, more than 600 visitors landed on the blog with over 3,000 page views.
Law students Justin Cloyd, Jeremy Faulk, Faith Gingrich-Goetz, Brandon T. Hamilton, Carly Kleiman, Roger Morris, and Clifton Rogers drafted posts for the site, but every post was reviewed by Professor Douglas for substance and clarity. Though students’ bylines appeared at the top of the articles they drafted, they do not represent themselves to be practicing lawyers. Their analyses are objective and non-partisan. Articles written included, “Extending Polling Hours,” “How the Electoral College Works,” and “What to Expect at the Polls Today in Kentucky.”
“I really enjoy the opportunity to help explain complex topics to people,” said Clifton Rogers, President of the Election Law Society. “And I'm really happy with how the blog went this year. Students were busy preparing pieces for about a week beforehand and they wrote great content. I was proud to see ‘I voted’ stickers on all of them.”
To read posts from election night, visit the blog at http://www.uky.edu/electionlaw/.