Spencer Overton

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Spencer Overton
Political commentator
SpouseLeslie Overton

Spencer A. Overton (born August 11, 1968) is an

law professor at George Washington University Law School. He is a leading election law scholar,[1]
and is a tenured Professor of Law at George Washington University.

Early life and education

Overton was born in

Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Southfield High School. He has one sibling, Cynthia A. Overton, a research analyst at the American Institutes for Research.[2]

Overton received his Bachelor of Arts degree with highest honors from Hampton University in 1990, with a major in mass media and journalism. He received his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1993.

Legal and political career

After graduating from Harvard Law School, Overton was a law clerk to Judge Damon Keith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Detroit from 1993 to 1994. He practiced law with the firm of Dickinson, Wright, Moon, Van Dusen & Freeman in Detroit from 1994 to 1996. He practiced at Debevoise & Plimpton, in Washington, D.C. from 1997 to 2000. Overton has been admitted to the Maryland, Michigan, and Washington, D.C. bars.

Overton became interested in election law when he served as counsel to the

Congress and the Department of Justice
.

From 1999 to 2000, Overton was a Charles Hamilton Houston Fellow at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he wrote "Mistaken Identity: Unveiling the Property Characteristics of Political Money," an article analyzing property theories and campaign finance law.

From 2000 to 2002, Overton taught law at the

University of California, Davis School of Law
.

Overton served as on the

cost-benefit analysis. The existing evidence suggests that the type of fraud addressed by photo ID requirements is extraordinarily small and that the number of eligible citizens who would be denied their right to vote as a result of the Commission's ID proposal is exceedingly large."[5]

Overton, a Democrat, has served on the National Governing Board of Common Cause in Washington, D.C.; in 2006 he became the chair of the board's policy committee. Overton also serves on the governance committee of Common Cause. Overton served on the boards of Demos and OpenSecrets.

Overton served on the

Governor Tom Vilsack
restored voting rights to 98,000 Iowans who had completed their sentences.

Overton is a top bundler for Barack Obama, bundling more than $500,000.[7]

In early 2009, Overton was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy in the Department of Justice.[8]

In 2005, Overton co-founded, with Professor Paul Butler, Blackprof.com, a

academics. Overton now is a "Contributor Emeriti" on the blog.[9]

Overton is a frequent media commentator in print, radio, and television. He is often sought after for analysis of voting rights, election reform, and campaign fundraising.[10][11][12]

Overton's achievements have earned him several awards including the Diverse Issues in Higher Education Magazine Emerging Scholars Award in January 2006, which recognizes ten emerging scholars in America, and the Association of American Law Schools' Minority Section's Derrick Bell Award, for its "most promising junior faculty member," in 2004. In 2003, Overton was recognized in Black Enterprise Magazine as one of nine people who "may conceivably end up leading a major black empowerment organization."[13] In 2003, Overton was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board.

Writings

Overton's academic writings have appeared in the

Los Angeles
.

Overton wrote Stealing Democracy: The New Politics of Voter Suppression, on voter suppression and manipulation of election laws in the United States.[15][16][17]

Personal life

Overton lives with his wife Leslie C. Overton, who is also a lawyer, and their children in

Washington metro area. Leslie Overton specializes in antitrust law and has worked for the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division, as well as in private practice.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Spencer A. Overton Archived 2008-07-03 at the Wayback Machine." George Washington University Law School 6 September 2007.
  2. ^ "Cynthia Overton Archived 2008-07-02 at the Wayback Machine." National Center for Technology Innovation.
  3. ^ Not to be confused with the separate National Commission on Federal Election Reform.
  4. ^ "Members Archived 2007-04-05 at the Wayback Machine." Commission on Federal Election Reform, American University Center for Democracy and Election Management.
  5. ^ a b c "Spencer Overton - Dissenting Statement on the Carter-Baker Report' Archived 2005-11-23 at the Wayback Machine."
  6. ^ "Commission on Presidential Nomination Scheduling and Timing." Democratic National Committee.
  7. ^ "Who are Senator Obama's bundlers?[permanent dead link]" Obama for America.
  8. ^ Election Law Blog announcement http://electionlawblog.org/archives/013003.html
  9. ^ "Blackprof.com — Race, Culture and Society Archived 2006-05-31 at the Library of Congress Web Archives."
  10. ^ Transcript: Tavis Smiley show (8/10/06) https://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200608/20060810_overton.html
  11. ^ Quoted in Concord Monitor (11/28/05) http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051129/REPOSITORY/511290372/1037/NEWS04 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Cincinnati Enquirer (9/29/05) http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050929/NEWS01/509290355/-1/CINCI
  13. ^ Black Enterprise (4/04) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_10_34/ai_n6155035
  14. ^ Voter Identification "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2008-07-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ Stealing Democracy by Spencer Overton. (official website).
  16. ^ Kinsley, Michael. Election Day. New York Times 5 November 2006.
  17. ^ The Nashville Chapter Presents 'Stealing Democracy Archived 2007-10-12 at the Wayback Machine.' American Constitution Society.
  18. Findlaw
    .

External links