Greg Magarian, JD, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, is a constitutional and election law expert. He was a law clerk to the Honorable Louis Oberdorfer of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the Honorable John Paul Stevens of the United States Supreme Court. He is available to discuss constitutional law issues as they relate to the election.
Says Magarian: "Under the Constitution, states control the 'time, place, and manner' of elections for national office, subject to congressional oversight. The date for national elections (first Tuesday of November) is set by federal statute. States have a lot of latitude about how they conduct elections. Most states empower local election officials to make decisions on election day about whether to extend polling hours, open additional polling places, etc. Some states have more rigid provisions than others. Some states have already extended early voting in response to days lost to Sandy."
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