State constitutions espouse a democracy principle that commits states
to political equality, popular sovereignty, and majority rule. This Essay
explains state court application of the democracy principle can mitigate
several impending threats to elections, including direct attempts to overturn
election results as well as efforts to degrade the integrity of elections through
bogus audits and harassment of election personnel.
The textual provisions, structural guarantees, and historical developments that inform the principle in each of the fifty states make state constitutional law a significant, if underappreciated, resource for combatting electoral threats.
