Constitution Day 2024

A Real Right to Vote

Tuesday, September 24, 2024, 6:00 p.m.
Stockton University Campus Center Event Room

Richard L. Hasen is the Gary T. Schwartz Endowed Chair in Law, Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law. Professor Hasen is an internationally recognized expert in election law. He is co-author of leading casebooks in election law and remedies and he is the author of over 100 articles on election law issues, published in numerous journals including the Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review, and Supreme Court Review. Professor Hasen has served as Election Law Analyst for CNN and NBC News/MSNBC. His op-eds and commentaries have appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Politico, and Slate. Hasen also writes the Election Law Blog, which tracks current developments in voting rights and access around the country. His most recent book, A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy, was published by Princeton University Press in February 2024.

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley (B.A.) and UCLA (J.D., M.A., and Ph.D. in Political Science), Hasen clerked for the Honorable David R. Thompson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and then worked as a civil appellate lawyer at the Encino firm Horvitz and Levy. Prior to joining the UCLA Law faculty, Professor Hasen taught at the Chicago-Kent College of Law (1994-1997),  Loyola Law School, Los Angeles (1998-2011), and University of California, Irvine (2011-2022).

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Professor Hasen recommends the following readings that complement his keynote address: 

• A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy (Princeton University Press, February 2024)
• "The U.S. Lacks What Every Democracy Needs"  (New York Times, January 16, 2024)
• ‘The best way to protect voting rights’: A book Q&A with Richard Hasen (UCLA) 

Interested in learning more about Professor Hasen’s scholarship? Check out these selected publications from Professor Hasen or visit his website for additional information. 

• “How to Actually Guarantee the Right to Vote.” (The Atlantic, February 13, 2024)
• “I’m an Election Law Expert. Here’s What I Fear Most in 2024” ( Politico, January 25, 2024)
• “The Supreme Court Is Putting Democracy at Risk.”  (The New York Times, July 1, 2021)
• “Identifying and Minimizing the Risk of Election Subversion and Stolen Elections in the Contemporary United States.” Harvard Law Review Vol. 135 (2022): 265-301
• “Three Pathologies of American Voting Rights Illuminated by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and How to Treat and Cure Them.” Election Law Journal 19 No. 3 (2020):  263-288. 
• "Election Reform: Past, Present, and Future." Oxford Handbook of American Election Law (2022)

About Constitution Day 

On September 17, 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the United States Constitution. Stockton University began celebrating this important occasion in 2006 as a result of a new federal law designating September 17th of each year as Constitution Day.  The law—championed by Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia--requires public schools, universities and governmental entities to offer educational programs to promote a better understanding of our Constitution. From 2006 - 2022, Professor Emerita of Political Science Linda J. Wharton chaired the inaugural Constitution Day Planning Committee, which includes a dedicated group of faculty and staff.

The William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy is proud to sponsor this annual event, along with the American Democracy Project (ADP) at Stockton, the Stockton University Foundation, the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, and the Office of the Provost.

Past Constitution Day Speakers at Stockton: