Modern Democracy is a blog about law, politics, and reviving the Republic.

Every generation has a responsibility to attend to the machinery of our democracy and to contribute to shaping the rules that govern our political process.  It is our duty to restore a system capable of meeting modern demands and to build a nation fit for a new century.  Modern Democracy follows, discusses, and proposes fundamental changes to the U.S. political system through litigation, legislation, and amendments to the Constitution.

The author of Modern Democracy is G. Michael Parsons.  Parsons is a Program Affiliate Scholar at NYU School of Law and a Senior Legal Fellow at FairVote. He previously served as the Associate Director of Lawyering (2020-2021) and as an Acting Assistant Professor (2018-2021) at NYU Law. In 2021, Parsons was awarded the Podell Distinguished Teaching Award.

His scholarship focuses on voting rights, election law, and the political process and has been published or is forthcoming in the California Law Review, Minnesota Law Review, Indiana Law Journal, and University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, among others. His work has been cited by federal courts and incorporated into legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Parsons also remains actively involved in law reform efforts, advising nonprofit organizations, government officials, and candidates regarding election law legislation and litigation. He has represented merits parties and amici in major constitutional cases implicating the law of democracy and the separation of powers, including Rucho v. Common Cause (partisan gerrymandering), Blumenthal v. Trump (emoluments), and Patchak v. Zinke (separation of powers).

Prior to joining NYU, Parsons practiced political, appellate, and antitrust law at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where he served as the principal author of briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Virginia, and the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Parsons also clerked for the Honorable Norman H. Stahl of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the Honorable Robert E. Payne of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He received his JD, magna cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center, and his AB, cum laude, from Davidson College. All views expressed on this blog are his own, unless otherwise noted.

Nothing appearing on this website is intended to be legal advice, and none of the content is intended as attorney advertising or a solicitation of business.