UK law professor releases book on voting rights and democracy
University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law Ashland, Inc-Spears Distinguished Research Professor of Law Joshua Douglas is the author of the newest book to examine the erosion of voting rights and its implications for democracy, told through the stories of nine Supreme Court decisions — and the next coming case.
“I wrote this book for the general public,” said Douglas. “I wrote about fascinating people and interesting disputes that reached the Supreme Court and had an immense effect on our elections.”
In “The Court v. The Voters,” Douglas dives deep into the details of significant cases involving voting rights — some familiar, some surprisingly unknown. He uses his book to investigate the historic crossroads that have changed U.S. elections and the voting public.
“The book is ideal for anyone who cares about democracy, senses that the Supreme Court has been harmful, but doesn't fully understand how or why,” said Douglas.
Douglas uses each case to shed light on the intractable election problems the country faces and highlights the unique role the highest court has played in producing a broken electoral system.
“I have three goals for the book: to inform and educate, to entertain, and to spur a movement for people to invest even more in our democracy,” Douglas explained. “So, I expect readers will enjoy learning about some Supreme Court cases they probably have never heard of but have had an outsized role in the functioning of our democracy.”
Some of the cases discussed include: Bush v. Gore, Citizens United, Shelby County v. Holder and Crawford v. Marion County Elections Board.
“The Court v. The Voters” is a reminder of real-world effects from the supreme court’s voting rights decisions.
Douglas is hosting a book launch event at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 14 at Pivot Brewing.
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