Travis Crum


Associate Professor of Law

Contact Information
Media Contact

Crum’s scholarship explores the relationship between voting rights, race and federalism. His current projects examine the Fifteenth Amendment as an independent constitutional provision and the role of racially polarized voting in redistricting.

Crum’s work on the Voting Rights Act’s bail-in provision was described by the Wall Street Journal as the “blueprint” for the “Obama administration’s new legal strategy to preserve decades of minority-voting rights” in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder striking down the VRA’s coverage formula. His work has also been discussed in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and MSNBC. He is a frequent contributor to the Election Law Blog and Take Care.

Crum’s proposal for an effects-test bail-in provision was incorporated in the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

In the media

The Court v. The Voters

Joshua Douglas’s sterling new book examines the most important Supreme Court cases on voting rights in the last 50 years and how we can correct this “hard turn toward anti-democracy,” writes Travis Crum.

Bailing in the Sunshine State

As I have argued since before Shelby County invalidated the VRA’s coverage formula, Section 3(c) provides a court-centric and constitutional approach to re-imposing federal oversight of State and local voting changes, writes the School of Law’s Travis Crum.

Stories

The historic 2020 election, and what’s next

The historic 2020 election, and what’s next

After the contentious 2020 presidential election, Washington University in St. Louis faculty experts offer their predictions and perspectives on the legal battle ensuing, the election process, the transition of power and the future for both President-elect Joe Biden’s administration and President Donald Trump’s.
Voting Rights Act should apply to federal government

Voting Rights Act should apply to federal government

In light of President Trump’s recent attacks on the United States Postal Service, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act should be revised to prohibit racial discrimination in voting by the federal government, says a Washington University in St. Louis expert on voting rights.
100 years after ratification

100 years after ratification

Four faculty members share their thoughts on the complicated history of the women’s suffrage movement, the ratification of the 19th Amendment, and their hopes for what we might do today to honor the anniversary.