Protecting the Vote symposium to examine election law conflicts, politics in US

LAWRENCE—A two-part symposium, Protecting the Vote: Dialogues on Citizenship, Elections and the Franchise, will examine the status of enfranchisement in America 50 years after the passage and ratification of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Discussions will address the requirements of voting, including registration, voter identification laws and early/absentee voting laws. Attention will also be given to the mechanical and logistical issues of voting, including lines at the polls and provisional ballots. The title of the symposium reflects the tension between protecting against corruption at the pollsand protecting the individual’s right to vote.

The symposium will take place Oct. 8.

Part one of the symposium will be two 90-minute scholarly panels. Panel One, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the Hall Center for the Humanities’ Conference Hall, will deal with historical issues facing voting and will feature panelists Pippa Holloway from Middle Tennessee State University, J. Morgan Kousser from California Institute of Technology and Michael Clemons from Old Dominion University. 

Panel Two, dealing with current political debates and legal cases, will be from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Hall Center Conference Hall. Dan Smith from the University of Florida, Matt Barreto from the University of California Los Angeles and Lonna Atkeson from University of New Mexico will serve on the panel.

If you wish to attend one or both of the afternoon panel sessions, please visit the Hall Center website, which has a link to RSVP. The panels are free and open to the public, but space is limited.

Part Two of the symposium will be a discussion with current Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, moderated by Stephen McAllister, distinguished professor of law. The discussion will take place at 5:30 p.m. in The Commons, Spooner Hall. During the discussion, Kobach will take questions from the audience.

The keynote event is free and open to the public, but seating in The Commons is limited. Reservations are available via the Hall Center website. Overflow will be in the Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union, where the keynote will be livecast.

For more information, contact the Hall Center at hallcenter@ku.edu or 864-4798.

This event is co-sponsored by The Commons, Hall Center for the Humanities, the Langston Hughes Center, the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Provost, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, School of Law, School of Public Affairs and Administration, Dole Institute of Politics, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Institute for Policy and Social Research, and the departments of African & African-American Studies and Political Science.