Join the Task Force on the Presidential Election Oct. 13 To Gain Insight Into Laws Governing the Transfer of Power

Join the Task Force on the Presidential Election Oct. 13 To Gain Insight Into Laws Governing the Transfer of Power

10.9.2020

By Susan DeSantis

The New York State Bar Association Task Force on the Presidential Election, chaired by veteran election lawyer Jerry H. Goldfeder, is inviting reporters and lawyers to an information session on the laws that will determine how the winner of the November election is decided. The task force includes some of the most experienced election law scholars in the state. These experts will describe laws governing the Electoral College and the role of Congress in the process.

The session, “Presidential Transfer of Power,” will be held at noon on Tuesday, Oct. 13th.  Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions, and we will provide panelists’ contact information so that the media can clarify issues as developments unfold over the next month.

In announcing the formation of the task force, Scott M. Karson, president of the New York State Bar Association, said: “The work of this task force is crucial to making sure that the law of the land is the winner on Election Day. We believe that fostering a deep understanding of how our democracy works ensures that the election will be civil and orderly and that we can all agree on the rightful winner who will assume the important task of moving the country forward at this difficult moment in our collective history.”

The webinar is free to members and $25 for non-members. To register, go to:  https://staging.nysba.cliquedomains.com/events/presidential-transfer-of-power/.

Liz Benjamin, managing director of Marathon Strategies in Albany, will be moderating the discussion. In addition to Goldfeder, special counsel at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP and an adjunct professor of election law at Fordham Law School, some of the task force members are participating in the event. The task force members are:

• Ava Ayers, director of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School, who teaches classes in administrative law, law of government and professional responsibility.
• Wilfred U. Codrington III, a constitutional law scholar with a focus on constitutional reform, election law and voting rights. He is an assistant professor of law at Brooklyn Law School and is a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
• James A. Gardner, a SUNY distinguished professor, Bridget and Thomas Black professor and a research professor of political science at the University at Buffalo School of Law. His research focuses on election law, federalism and Democratic theory.
• John “Jack” Hardin Young was on the Democratic National Committee team that handled the Florida recount during the 2000 election and Bush v. Gore. Young, of counsel to Sandler Reiff, is an adjunct professor of comparative election law at William & Mary Law School.
• Deborah Pearlstein, professor of law and co-director of the Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy at Cardozo Law, specializes in constitutional law, international law,  and U.S. national security law.
• Richard H. Pildes, one of the nation’s leading scholars of constitutional law and a specialist in issues facing democracy, is the Sudler Family professor of constitutional law at NYU School of Law.
• Jed Shugerman, a professor at Fordham University School of Law, is the author of a book that traces the rise of judicial elections, judicial review, and the influence of money and parties in American courts.