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Vacancies Filled by Voters’ Voices: A Call for Open Special Elections with Ranked Choice Voting in New York
Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic, Dani D'Annunzio, Dawn Edelman, and David Zwick
New York’s special election system for filling vacancies in the U.S. House of Representatives and the State Legislature excludes voters from the candidate selection process. Instead of voters selecting nominees, political party leaders designate their parties’ respective candidates. In this report, the Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic recommends reforming this system by implementing open special elections using ranked choice voting. All candidates who meet petition signature requirements, regardless of party affiliation, would compete in a single election. This reform would improve participation, representation, and accountability without sacrificing efficiency.
Date: February 2026
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Reforms for Filling Vacancies in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives
Nora Donnelly, Alexa Green, and Lea Vallone
Many states’ laws for filling vacancies in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives weaken democratic legitimacy. Vacancies in the House are increasingly prolonged, leaving constituents without representation for extended periods. Senate vacancies are filled more quickly, but gubernatorial appointees often gain a significant incumbency advantage when they later seek election. In this report, the Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic recommends holding open, nonpartisan elections, without primaries or runoffs, within three months of most Senate and House vacancies, with earlier initiation when vacancies are anticipated. The report further proposes limiting interim Senate appointments to “caretakers” who serve only until a successor is elected.
Date: October 2024
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State Laws for Administering Presidential Elections: Recommendations and Considerations for Reform
Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic, Seamus Crowley, Molly Johnston, Alexander Paget, and William Russell
States have a critical role in administering presidential elections, and there are currently a range of emergent challenges that they must confront. In this report, the Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic outlines reform recommendations and considerations to assist states in crafting their presidential election administration policies in key areas, including (1) implementation of provisions of the federal Electoral Count Reform Act; (2) preparation for natural or human-caused election disruptions; (3) prevention of faithless and fake electors; (4) accommodation of third-party and independent candidates; and (5) preparation for implementation of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
Date: July 2024
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Who’s Next? Proposals to Reform New York’s Gubernatorial Line of Succession
Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic, Jolie Gentzkow, Alex Kasdan, and Greta Kaufman
A workable line of succession to the governor's office is necessary to maintain stable leadership in a variety of possible scenarios. New York's line of succession is flawed in several ways. Some of the weaknesses stem from the designation of lawmakers as the next successors after the lieutenant governor, which raises separation of powers concerns. Additionally, there are significant ambiguities in the constitutional and statutory succession provisions. And the statutory line of succession statute is impossible to use in many situations because it only covers cases where the governor's office is "vacant" due to "an attack or natural or peacetime disaster." In this report, the Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic recommends a slate of reforms to strengthen New York's gubernatorial line of succession.
Date: December 2023
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Reforming the New York Lieutenant Governor Replacement Process: A Policy Recommendation
Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic, Spencer Shih, Chase Cooper, and Harry Solomon
New York's governor has unilateral power to fill vacancies in the lieutenant governor's office. This unchecked power is undemocratic and risks elevating unqualified officials. In this report, the Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic recommends reforming the lieutenant governor replacement process. Building on a recommendation advanced by the New York State Bar Association, the clinic recommends providing the Legislature an opportunity to confirm the governor's nominees. If the Legislature rejects two nominations, the governor could choose a new lieutenant governor from among a group of elected and Senate-confirmed officials.
Date: December 2023
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Gubernatorial Inability and Absence in the New York Constitution: Proposals and Arguments for Reform
Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic, Antonia Spano, and Liam Turner
The New York Constitution's provisions related to gubernatorial inability and absence from the state are in need of reform. In this report, the Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic advances recommendations for addressing the vulnerabilities created by both provisions. The absence provision, which transfers power whenever the governor leaves the state, can cause confusion, cast doubt on the legality of gubernatorial actions, prompt rival politicians to simultaneously claim to be governor, and undermine confidence in the rule of law. The constitution's inability provision provides for transfers of power when the governor is "unable," but does not define what it means to be unable or provide a way to declare a governor unable. The Rule of Law Clinic recommends procedures for voluntary and involuntary inability declarations.
Date: December 2023
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Voting Rights and the Electoral Process: Resolving Representation Issues Due to Felony Disenfranchisement and Prison Gerrymandering
Andrew Calabrese, Tim Gordon, and Tianyi Lu
Felony disenfranchisement and prison gerrymandering distort democratic representation by excluding incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals from political participation while artificially inflating representation in prison-hosting districts. In this report, the Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic recommends restoring voting rights to individuals with felony convictions once they are released from prison and ending prison-based gerrymandering by counting incarcerated persons with a certain number of years left in their sentences as residents of the districts where they intend to reside after their release, in addition to other reforms to effectively carry out these policies.
Date: May 2023
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Third Parties and the Electoral College: How Ranked Choice Voting Can Stop the Third-Party Disruptor Effect
Hillary Bendert, Jacqueline Hayes, and Kevin Ruane
Third-party candidates have at times altered the outcomes of presidential elections by drawing votes away from major-party candidates. This “disruptor” effect is largely a product of states’ winner-take-all allocation of electoral votes, which awards all of a state’s electors to the plurality winner. The system discourages support for third-party candidates and can produce results that fail to reflect majority preferences. This report by the Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic recommends that states adopt ranked-choice voting for presidential elections to ensure that winners command majority support. It also outlines complementary reforms, including best practices for implementing ranked-choice voting and federal grants to assist states in the transition.
Date: May 2023
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Presidential Election Disruptions: Balancing the Rule of Law and Emergency Response
Jason D'Andrea, Sonia Montejano, and Matthew Vaughan
Unexpected disruptions, such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks, could interfere with presidential elections. In this report, the Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic advances recommendations for how states should implement the federal law that allows them to extend the time for voting in response to catastrophic events. States should authorize local and state-level officials to trigger extensions, while providing for expedited judicial review of those decisions, whether to grant or deny additional voting time. By dispersing decision-making authority and ensuring prompt judicial oversight, these reforms aim to protect voters’ ability to cast ballots and to guard against the partisan exploitation of emergencies.
Date: May 2023
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Planning for Emerging Threats: Rethinking the Presidential Line of Succession
Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic, Gregory Ascher, Myrna Nakhla, and Colin Shea
From the COVID-19 pandemic to the Ukraine war, recent events have highlighted possible threats to the continuity of presidential leadership. The presidential line of succession in the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 has several flaws. Some of the successors it designates might be ill-suited to discharge the powers of the presidency. Others concerns include its constitutionality, inappropriate incentives it might create, and the democratic legitimacy of outcomes it might produce. This report proposes several reforms to the line of succession for pre- and post-inaugural succession contingencies.
Date: August 2022
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Ensuring Continuity of Congress
Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic, Rachida Mecheri, Bryce Robins, and Benjamin Roth
Throughout its history, the U.S. Congress has had several brushes with catastrophe that threatened to prevent it from functioning or to change its balance of power. This report advances reforms to ensure that Congress can continue functioning if many of its members die or become incapacitated or if lawmakers' ability to meet at the Capitol is challenged. It recommends procedures for (1) rapidly replacing members of Congress in the event of mass death or incapacity; (2) declaring members of Congress incapacitated during an emergency; and (3) implementing emergency protocols.
Date: August 2022
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Changing Hands: Recommendations to Improve New York’s System of Gubernatorial Succession
Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic, Ian Bollag-Miller, Stevenson Jean, Maryam Sheikh, and Frank Tamberino
Despite the frequency with which the state’s highest executive offices have changed hands, New York is unprepared to deal with a panoply of issues relating to its constitution’s gubernatorial succession provisions. In this report, the Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic proposes reforms to address four principal issues with the existing gubernatorial succession provisions: gubernatorial inability, gubernatorial absence, lieutenant governor replacement, and the gubernatorial line of succession.
Date: June 2022
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