The Democracy of Administration

On October 4, 2019, the Gray Center co-hosted “The Administration of Democracy⏤The George Mason Law Review’s Second Annual Symposium on Administrative Law.” For the second annual symposium, scholars wrote papers on such fundamental questions as: Is nonpartisan campaign-finance regulation possible? Who should draw electoral maps—and how? How can we best protect voting rights? How should the census be administered? How do we preserve the regulatory process’s democratic legitimacy? And, are members of Congress entitled to see the President’s tax returns? These papers are forthcoming in the George Mason Law Review. In addition, the event featured a Keynote Conversation with two former public servants with deep expertise in both governance and campaigns: Robert Bauer, former White House Counsel to President Obama, and Donald McGahn, former White House Counsel to President Trump.

The fourth panel focused on the democracy of administration. Speakers discussed a paper by the University of Louisville’s Professor Russell L. Weaver, titled “Rulemaking in an Internet Era: Dealing with Bots, Trolls & ‘Form Letters.’” The panel was moderated by Antonin Scalia Law School Professor and Gray Center Affiliated Faculty Member, Carolina Cecot, and introduced by Gray Center Executive Director, Adam White. The video is available at http://administrativestate.gmu.edu/events/the-administration-of-democracy-the-george-mason-law-reviews-second-annual-symposium-on-administrative-law/.

Featuring Russell L. Weaver, Reeve T. Bull, Maleka Momand, Caroline Cecot, and Adam White.