The Voting Rights and Democracy Forum is currently accepting submissions for the Commentary section and Volume 2 of the online journal to be published during the 2023-2024 academic year.

General Information

The Forum is a student-edited online publication within the Voting Rights and Democracy Project at Fordham University School of Law. We publish legal analysis by law professors, scholars, policymakers, legal practitioners and law students on voting rights, election law, democratic institutions, and how these areas intersect with social justice.

As one of the first law school publications with this focus, the Forum publishes pieces on topics including, but not limited to:

• redistricting and gerrymandering;
• voter disenfranchisement;
• racial discrimination in elections;
• ballot access and reform;
• campaign finance;
• contested elections and post-election litigation;
• reform of democratic institutions;
• separation of powers;
• election administration;
• lobbying and ethics reform;
• recall elections;
• popular referenda and initiatives; and
• the rule of law.

Submission Guidelines

Commentaries

The Forum‘s Commentary section provides an agile platform for legal scholars, experts and students to share novel analysis of today’s legal issues.

We actively consider commentaries of between 400 and 2,000 words for publication. Examples of commentaries include:

• Analysis of a case, proposed legislation, statute or regulation, or of another underdeveloped legal topic;
• Opinion-editorials with a clear topic and theme;
• Reviews of books and scholarly legal articles;
• Letters to the Editor responding to published Forum commentaries, articles, and essays.

Commentaries are evaluated based on the quality of the analysis and the timeliness of the topic. Forum editors work with authors to finalize the work for publication, including conducting a comprehensive review of all sources. Commentaries must contain hyperlinks to sources, but need not cite in footnotes. 

How to Submit a Commentary

Submissions may be sent to the Executive Commentary Editor at democracyforum.ece@law.fordham.edu with “Commentary Submission” in the subject line. Current law students should additionally submit a C.V. (or resume).

Articles & Essays

The Forum publishes two types of content in our online journal, Articles and Essays. 

• Articles.
  • Articles are typically under 15,000 words (excluding footnotes) and tend to analyze a problem and offer a solution. Articles should provide some background information before addressing a novel argument. Most follow a traditional roadmap of an introduction, background, analysis/arguments, and conclusion. Articles tend to be formal in tone and ground analysis in substantive support with consistent citations. Submissions should include a brief abstract.
• Essays.
  • Essays are typically between 3,000 and 5,000 words (excluding footnotes) and advance an idea, analyze a judicial case, or succinctly summarize a legal development. Essays should be formal in tone, and while there is no preferred structure, student submissions should be particularly mindful to ground analysis in substantive support and cite comprehensively to established scholarly work.

Articles and Essays are selected based on the thoroughness of the analysis, the originality of the topic and the quality of the writing. Forum editors work with authors to finalize the work for publication, including conducting a comprehensive review of all sources and citations.

How to Submit an Article or Essay:

Article and essay submissions to the Forum should be in Microsoft Word (.docx) format, with footnotes, not endnotes, according to the conventions found in the 21st edition of The Bluebook:  A Uniform System of Citation. 

Authors are encouraged to submit through Scholastica or via email.

Submitting via Scholastica:

Submitting via Email:

To offer a submission via email, please email the Editor-in-Chief at democracyforum.eic@law.fordham.edu with “Article Submission” or “Essay Submission” in the subject line. Authors should submit a C.V. (or resume) with their manuscript and be prepared to send sources by upon request.