Election Law, Constitutional Structure, and Democratic Crises: Constitutional Structure and the 2020 Election Cases

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2025

Abstract

This Article analyzes how the U.S. constitutional order responds to democratic crisis by examining Supreme Court cases dealing with the effort to overturn the 2020 election, and the response to the January 6th Capitol attack. It analyzes the Court’s approaches to constitutional structure in key cases and how these approaches impact constitutional capacity to address democratic crises. The Article discusses how the effort to overturn the 2020 election sought to exploit key weaknesses in the U.S. constitutional framework. It then examines how the Supreme Court adjudicated cases related to the effort to overturn the 2020 election, including Moore v. Harper, Trump v. Anderson, and Trump v. United States. I argue that the application of constitutional structure-based approaches in these cases pose key challenges for the constitutional order’s ability to respond to democratic crises. The Article suggests applying a limited conception of the basic structure doctrine in comparative constitutional law in these cases.

Publication Title

University of Chicago Legal Forum

First Page

291

Last Page

330

Comments

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