Joshua A. Douglas

Professor of Law, University of Kentucky

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About Joshua

Douglas teaches and researches election law and voting rights, civil procedure, constitutional law, and judicial decision making. He is the author of Vote for US: How to Take Back our Elections and Change the Future of Voting, a popular press book that provides hope and inspiration for a positive path forward on voting rights. His most recent legal scholarship focuses on the constitutional right to vote, with an emphasis on state constitutions, as well as the various laws, rules, and judicial decisions impacting election administration.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | Member Spotlight | In the News | Publications

Contributions

The Roberts Court Takes Aim at the Voting Rights Act

Commentary, September 2022

In the News

Opinions by Joshua A. Douglas to Washington Monthly.

Opinion: "History shows how rare it is for a legislature to impeach a judge for their rulings," Joshua A. Douglas, Lexington Herald Leader, March 26, 2026.

Opinion: "With huge success of early voting, Kentucky needs to make even more reforms," Joshua A. Douglas, Lexington Herald Leader, November 4, 2024.

Opinion: "With huge success of early voting, Kentucky needs to make even more reforms ," Joshua A. Douglas, Lexington Herald Leader, November 4, 2024.

Opinion: "How the Supreme Court Is Undermining Voting Rights: Your Questions Answered," Joshua A. Douglas, Bolts, May 15, 2024.

Opinion: "Supreme Court has restricted voting rights in favor of politicians. Kentucky has expanded them.," Joshua A. Douglas, Louisville Courier Journal, May 15, 2024.

Opinion: "The unintended consequences of making Election Day a federal holiday," Joshua A. Douglas, CNN, April 9, 2024.

Opinion: "Trump is hoping to delay his trial. The Supreme Court shouldn’t take the bait," Joshua A. Douglas, CNN, February 12, 2024.

Opinion: "Election Deniers Aren’t the Only Threats to Democracy This Year," Joshua A. Douglas, Opinion, CNN, November 1, 2022.

Opinion: "The Roberts Court Takes Aim at the Voting Rights Act," Joshua A. Douglas, Law and Justice, The Washington Monthly, October 20, 2022.

Opinion: "The Case for the 16-Year-Old Vote," Joshua A. Douglas, Protecting the Vote, The Washington Monthly, August 25, 2022.

Opinion: "One State Where GOPers Show the Election Wasn’t Stolen," Joshua A. Douglas, Opinion, CNN, July 26, 2022.

Opinion: "Take Me Out to the … Voting Booth!," Joshua A. Douglas, The Washington Monthly, Political Animal, July 14, 2022.

Opinion: "The Dangerous Election Theory the Supreme Court May Be Poised To Endorse," Joshua A. Douglas, Opinion, CNN, July 7, 2022.

Publications

"History, Tradition, and Voter Registration" Wisconsin Law Review 247 (2025).

Argues that the Supreme Court should use the nation’s long history of robust third-party voter registration efforts to strike down modern voter registration restrictions that burden organizations and eligible voters.

The Court v. The Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights (Beacon Press, 2024).

Investigates the erosion of voting rights and its implications for democracy, told through the stories of 9 Supreme Court decisions—and the next looming case.

"How the Sausage Gets Made': Voter ID and Deliberative Democracy" 100 Nebraska Law Review 376 (2022).

Recounts the evolution of Kentucky’s voter ID law, which could have been one of the strictest ID laws in the country, but ultimately became one of the mildest. Relates it to a theory of deliberative democracy.

"Undue Deference to States in the 2020 Election Litigation" 30 William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal 59 (2021).

Entails the first comprehensive analysis of the numerous election law cases that the Supreme Court and the federal appellate courts decided in 2020.

"The Loch Ness Monster, Haggis, and a Lower Voting Age: What America Can Learn from Scotland" American University Law Review (2020).

Explores what the United States can learn from Scotland’s experience in lowering the voting age to sixteen.

Vote for US: How to Take Back Our Elections and Change the Future of Voting (Prometheus Books, 2019).

Mentions how an expert on US election law presents an encouraging assessment of current efforts to make our voting system more accessible, reliable, and effective.