Spencer Overton
Spencer Overton | |
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Political commentator | |
Spouse | Leslie Overton |
Spencer A. Overton (born August 11, 1968) is an
and is a tenured Professor of Law at George Washington University.Early life and education
Overton was born in
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
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
Overton served as on the
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
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
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
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
References
- ^ "Spencer A. Overton Archived 2008-07-03 at the Wayback Machine." George Washington University Law School 6 September 2007.
- ^ "Cynthia Overton Archived 2008-07-02 at the Wayback Machine." National Center for Technology Innovation.
- ^ Not to be confused with the separate National Commission on Federal Election Reform.
- ^ "Members Archived 2007-04-05 at the Wayback Machine." Commission on Federal Election Reform, American University Center for Democracy and Election Management.
- ^ a b c "Spencer Overton - Dissenting Statement on the Carter-Baker Report' Archived 2005-11-23 at the Wayback Machine."
- ^ "Commission on Presidential Nomination Scheduling and Timing." Democratic National Committee.
- ^ "Who are Senator Obama's bundlers?[permanent dead link]" Obama for America.
- ^ Election Law Blog announcement http://electionlawblog.org/archives/013003.html
- ^ "Blackprof.com — Race, Culture and Society Archived 2006-05-31 at the Library of Congress Web Archives."
- ^ Transcript: Tavis Smiley show (8/10/06) https://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200608/20060810_overton.html
- ^ 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
- ^ Cincinnati Enquirer (9/29/05) http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050929/NEWS01/509290355/-1/CINCI
- ^ Black Enterprise (4/04) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_10_34/ai_n6155035
- ^ 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) - ^ Stealing Democracy by Spencer Overton. (official website).
- ^ Kinsley, Michael. Election Day. New York Times 5 November 2006.
- ^ The Nashville Chapter Presents 'Stealing Democracy Archived 2007-10-12 at the Wayback Machine.' American Constitution Society.
- Findlaw.