1. Maureen Edobor Publishes Article in the California Law Review

Maureen Edobor Publishes Article in the California Law Review The article imagines the future of democracy after the erosion of voting rights protections.

By Law Communications
January 19, 2026

Washington and Lee law professor Maureen Edobor has published an article in the online edition of the California Law Review. The article, "Letters from a Fragmented Democracy," is a unique exploration of the current trajectory of democracy in America and how it has been impacted by voting restrictions, judicial erosion, and administrative manipulation. The article presents six fictional letters to illustrate where today's ominous currents could lead.

"Each letter voices a different facet of democratic erosion: a voter disenfranchised by bureaucratic hurdles, a candidate's voice hijacked by deepfake technology, a neighbor ensnared by punitive voting laws, a community erased by gerrymandering, a campaign drowned in dark money, and even a corporate memo cheerfully touting the 'efficiencies' of voter apathy. Pieced together, these forces operate to fragment a withering liberal democracy, turning the franchise into an illusion of choice rather than a vehicle for self-governance. These dispatches from our potential future aim to sound an alarm in the present; the fate of liberal democracy in America hinges on how we respond to current dynamics now," writes Edobor.

The full article is available online at the W&L Law Scholarly Commons.

Edobor joined the faculty in 2023. She teaches and writes in constitutional law, election law, and democratic theory, and serves as a Theodore DeLaney Center Fellow focusing on Southern race relations, politics, and culture. Her scholarship examines how constitutional and election law doctrines influence access to democratic participation and shape collective understandings of civic identity.

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