Michael S. Latner
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About Michael
Professor Latner's research focuses on electoral system design, voting rights, and representation. He has co-authored two books on redistricting and gerrymandering in the United States, in addition to numerous scientific articles, expert witness testimony, and electoral system engineering and consulting for local and state governments. He currently serves as Director of Research on Democratic Reform at Harvard Law School's Chharles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice.
Contributions
How Election Reforms Could Improve American Democracy
No Jargon Podcast
In the News
Publications
Examines how the integrity of an election can be broken down into measurements. Quantifies the legitimacy, fairness, and accuracy of an election.
Presents a theory of comparative political institutions based on the concept of consensus democracy and social choice theory. Argues that “consensus democracy” is not a special form of democracy characterized by mutual vetoes, but rather the simplest form of democracy, referred to as PR-majority rule. Constructs a typology of political institutions based on differences with this simple model.
Reveals how when the Supreme Court decided partisan gerrymandering was beyond judicial oversight, it radically altered the constraints on redistricting and allowed for greater partisan bias.