Election law

Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management bodies, election campaign, the division of the territory into electoral zones, the procedures for the registration of voters and candidacies, its financing and propaganda, voting, counting of votes, scrutiny, electoral disputes, electoral observation and all contentious matters derived from them. It is a discipline falling at the juncture of constitutional law and political science, and involves "the politics of law and the law of politics". After the legally-contested 2000 United States presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, the importance of election law has grown in the United States. According to the National Law Journal, election law "grew from a niche to multi million-dollar draw." The UCLA election law professor Richard Hasen showed that in the United States, litigation rates have been soaring for two decades and hit record high during the 2020 election. Since the early 2000s, election law has been taught at most of the law schools throughout the United States. American election law experts and academics are connected in the academic network founded by Daniel H. Lowenstein, professor at UCLA Law School, and Richard L. Hasen. Lowenstein is considered the "pioneer" and the one who "invented" the election law. In 2000s, Lowenstein and Hasen edited the Election Law Journal and the election law mailinglist. As of 2022, Hasen manages the Election Law Blog and the mailing list. The Election Law Journal is an academic publication devoted to election law, currently edited by David Canon of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Most of its articles deal with election law in the United States. According to the Routledge Handbook of Election Law, election law is a growing area globally. Voters around the world are increasingly challenging election results.