Daniel P. Tokaji

Associate Professor of Law; Associate Director, Election Law @ Moritz

Daniel Tokaji is an Associate Professor of Law at The Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law and the Associate Director of Election Law @ Moritz. He is Visiting Professor of Law and Ralph E. Shikes Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School in the Fall 2008.

Prof. Tokaji’s areas of expertise include election law, civil rights, and federal courts. His scholarship addresses questions of political equality, racial justice, and the role of the judiciary in democracy. He is a co-author of the casebook Election Law: Cases and Materials (4th ed. 2008). Recent writings include “Voter Registration and Election Reform,”17 William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal – (forthcoming), “Desegregation, Discrimination and Democracy: Parents Involved’s Disregard for Process,” 69 Ohio State Law Journal – (forthcoming), “The Story of Shaw v. Reno: Representation and Raceblindness,” in Race Law Stories (Foundation Press 2008), and “The Justiciability of Eligibility: May Courts Decide Who Can Be President?”, 107 Michigan Law Review First Impressions 31 (2008).Among the other publications in which Prof. Tokaji's scholarship has appeared are the Michigan Law Review, Stanford Law & Policy Review, and Yale Law Journal. He is also the author of the "Equal Vote" blog, which provides commentary on election reform and voting rights issues.

Prof. Tokaji has litigated numerous civil rights and election law cases. He was lead counsel in a case that struck down an Ohio law requiring naturalized citizens to produce a certificate of naturalization if challenged at the polls (Boustani v. Blackwell). He was also part of the legal teams that obtained a court order keeping open the Ohio window for simultaneous registration and early voting in 2008 (Project Vote v. Brunner), and that challenged punch-card voting systems in Ohio and California (Stewart v. Blackwell and Common Cause v. Jones). Among his other cases was a lawsuit that successfully protected the First Amendment rights of protesters at the 2000 Democratic National Convention (SEIU Local 660 v. Los Angeles). He has argued before the California Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Sixth and Ninth Circuit, and other state and federal courts.

Prof. Tokaji serves on the boards of the ACLU of Ohio, the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights, and the Conference of Asian Pacific American Law Faculty. He served on the National Governing Board of Common Cause from 1999 to 2005, and was the Chair of California Common Cause from 2000 to 2003. He was a founding board member of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Central Ohio.

Prior to arriving at the Moritz College of Law, Prof. Tokaji was an attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Southern California from 1995 to 2003. He clerked for the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1994 to 1995. He earned his J.D. in 1994 from Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal and a director of the Disability Law Clinic. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1989 with an A.B. in English and American Literature and Philosophy.

Prof. Tokaji has appeared in numerous media outlets, on subjects including election reform, voting rights, affirmative action, free speech, and police misconduct. Among the print media that have quoted him are the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Columbus Dispatch, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune and USA Today. He has appeared on the NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, the Today Show, Fox News, National Public Radio, and numerous other television and radio outlets.

Professor Tokaji's Podcasts

Crawford v. Marion County Election Board Preview

Issues: Election Law
Podcast Series: U.S. Supreme Court
Date: Jan. 8, 2008

NY Board of Elections v. Lopez-Torres preview

Issues: Election administration; ballot access
Podcast Series: U.S. Supreme Court
Date: Oct. 1, 2007

Morse, Deborah, et al. v. Frederick, Joseph

Issues: First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, Schools
Podcast Series: U.S. Supreme Court
Date: July 6, 2007

Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District #1, et al. and Meredith, Crystal v. Jefferson County Bd. of Education, et al.

Issues: Affirmative Action, 14th Amendment, School Integration
Podcast Series: U.S. Supreme Court
Date: July 5, 2007