Spencer A. Overton (born August 11, 1968) is an American lawyer, former president of the

Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, originally the Joint Center for Political Studies and also known in abbreviated form as Joint Center, is an American public policy think tank headquartered in Washington, DC. Founded in 1970 t ...

, and

law professor A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a legal practition ...

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

. He is an

election law Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management ...

scholar, and is a tenured professor of law at George Washington University.

Early life and education

Overton was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. He graduated from

Southfield High School Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology is a State school#United States, public Education in the United States#High school (Grades 9 through 12), high school located in Southfield, Michigan. The school was founded in 1951. It serves ...

. He has one sibling, Cynthia A. Overton, a research analyst at the American Institutes for Research. Overton received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree with highest honors from

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missiona ...

in 1990, with a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

and

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

. He received his J.D. cum laude from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1993.

Legal and political career

After graduating from Harvard Law School, Overton was a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

to Judge

Damon Keith Damon Jerome Keith (July 4, 1922 – April 28, 2019) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern Dist ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of K ...

in Detroit from 1993 to 1994. He practiced law with the

firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

of Dickinson, Wright, Moon, Van Dusen & Freeman in Detroit from 1994 to 1996. He practiced at

Debevoise & Plimpton Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is an international white-shoe law firm headquartered in New York City, with offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Luxembourg. The firm specializes in intellectual ...

, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

from 1997 to 2000. Overton has been admitted to the

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, Michigan, and Washington, D.C. bars. Overton became interested in election law when he served as counsel to the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

Legal Redress Committee. He drafted legal memoranda and testified before the judiciary committees of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

regarding the application of the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights move ...

to the proposed merger of Detroit Recorder's Court with Wayne County Circuit Court. His interest deepened when, as a lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton, he represented the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

in the Lincoln Bedroom for contributors controversy and White House Coffee campaign finance investigations by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. From 1999 to 2000, Overton was a Charles Hamilton Houston Fellow at

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

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

University of California, Davis School of Law The University of California, Davis School of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of California, Davis. The school received ABA approval in 1968. It joined the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1968. UC Dav ...

. Overton served as on the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform at the

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

Center for Democracy and Election Management (CDEM) from May–September 2005. He dissented from the commission's final recommendations, taking issue with the Real ID proposal.Spencer Overton - Dissenting Statement on the Carter-Baker Report'
." Overton wrote that this recommendation for voter identification was "more extreme than any ID requirement adopted in any

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

to date" and was "so excessive that it would prevent eligible voters from proving their identity with even a valid U.S. passport or a U.S. military photo ID card," stating that "the Commission's Report fails to undertake a serious cost-benefit analysis. The existing evidence suggests that the type of fraud addressed by photo ID requirements is extraordinarily small and that the number of eligible citizens who would be denied their right to vote as a result of the Commission's ID proposal is exceedingly large." Overton, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, has served on the National Governing Board of

Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President Lyndon ...

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 Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...

and

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector an ...

. Overton served on the

(DNC) Commission on Presidential Nomination Scheduling and Timing in Washington, D.C., from February to December 2005. On the Commission he led effort to encourage

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

to restore voting rights to citizens who had completed their

sentences The ''Sentences'' (. ) is a compendium of Christian theology written by Peter Lombard around 1150. It was the most important religious textbook of the Middle Ages. Background The sentence genre emerged from works like Prosper of Aquitaine's ...

; In July 2005,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Tom Vilsack Thomas James Vilsack (; born December 13, 1950) is an American politician. He served as the 30th and 32nd United States secretary of agriculture from 2009 to 2017, during the Obama administration, and again from 2021 to 2025 during the Biden admi ...

restored voting rights to 98,000 Iowans who had completed their sentences. Overton is a top bundler for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, bundling more than $500,000. In early 2009, Overton was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy in the Department of Justice. In 2005, Overton co-founded, with Professor Paul Butler, Blackprof.com, a

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

of " race,

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, and

society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

" mainly written by

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

academics Academic means of or related to an academy, an institution learning. Academic or academics may also refer to: * Academic staff, or faculty, teachers or research staff * school of philosophers associated with the Platonic Academy in ancient Greece ...

. Overton now is a "Contributor Emeriti" on the blog. 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. 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 The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 175 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non- ...

' Minority Section's Derrick Bell Award, for its "most promising junior faculty member," in 2004. In 2003, Overton was recognized in

Black Enterprise ''Black Enterprise'' (stylized in all caps) is an American multimedia company. A Black-owned business since the 1970s, its flagship product ''Black Enterprise'' magazine has covered African American businesses with a readership of 3.7 mil ...

Magazine as one of nine people who "may conceivably end up leading a major black empowerment organization." In 2003, Overton was elected to the

National Governing Board.

Writings

Overton's academic writings have appeared in the ''

Michigan Law Review The ''Michigan Law Review'' is an American law review and the flagship law journal of the University of Michigan Law School. History The ''Michigan Law Review'' was established in 1902, after Gustavus Ohlinger, a student in the Law Department ...

'', ''

University of Pennsylvania Law Review The ''University of Pennsylvania Law Review'', formerly known as the ''American Law Register'', is a law review published by an organization of second and third year J.D. students at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. It is the oldest law ...

'', ''

UCLA Law Review The ''UCLA Law Review'' is a bimonthly law review established in 1953 and published by students of the UCLA School of Law, where it also sponsors an annual symposium. Originally, UCLA Law proposed in 1950 that either Berkeley and UCLA should p ...

'', Harvard ''Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review'', ''Election Law Journal'', ''

Vanderbilt Law Review The ''Vanderbilt Law Review'' is the flagship academic journal of Vanderbilt University Law School. The law review was founded in 1947 and is published six times per year. In 2022, it was ranked #8 among general-topic law reviews by the Washingt ...

'', ''

Florida State University Law Review The ''Florida State University Law Review'' is the flagship law review at the Florida State University College of Law. It publishes four issues per year and is generally recognized among the top 100 student-edited law reviews in the United States. ...

'', ''

North Carolina Law Review The ''North Carolina Law Review'' is a law review, law journal of the University of North Carolina School of Law. It publishes six issues each year as well as its online supplement, the ''North Carolina Law Review Forum'' (Bluebook abbreviation: ') ...

'', ''

Texas Law Review The ''Texas Law Review'' is a student-edited and -produced law review affiliated with the University of Texas School of Law (Austin). The ''Review'' publishes seven issues per year, six of which include articles, book reviews, essays, commentaries ...

'', and ''

Washington and Lee Law Review The ''Washington and Lee Law Review'' is a law review published four times each year by the Washington and Lee University School of Law and founded in 1939. It presents lead articles contributed by leading scholars, judges, and lawyers, as well ...

''. He is a member of the

editorial board The editorial board is a group of editors, writers, and other people who are charged with implementing a publication's approach to editorials and other opinion pieces. The editorials published normally represent the views or goals of the publicat ...

of the ''Election Law Journal'' in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Overton wrote ''Stealing Democracy: The New Politics of Voter Suppression'', on

voter suppression Voter suppression is the discouragement or prevention of specific groups of people from voting or registering to vote. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting behavior by changing the o ...

and manipulation of election laws in the United States.

Personal life

Overton lives with his wife Leslie C. Overton, who is also a lawyer, and their children in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the colloquial name of an area that includes a town, several incorporated villages, and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland; and one adjoining neighborhood in northwest Washington, D ...

, in the

Washington metro area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washington, D.C., the fed ...

. Leslie Overton specializes in

antitrust law Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust ...

and has worked for the

United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division The United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division is a division of the U.S. Department of Justice that enforces U.S. antitrust law. It has exclusive jurisdiction over federal criminal antitrust prosecutions, and it shares jurisdict ...

, as well as in private practice.Overton, Leslie C.
"

Findlaw FindLaw is a business of Internet Brands that provides online legal information in the form of state laws, case law and codes, legal blogs and articles, a lawyer directory, DIY legal services and products, and other legal resources. The compa ...

References

External links

Official biography
from the

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Overton, Spencer American legal scholars African-American legal scholars George Washington University Law School faculty American legal writers American political writers American democracy activists Activists from Maryland Maryland Democrats Harvard Law School alumni Hampton University alumni Southfield High School alumni People from Chevy Chase, Maryland 1968 births Living people People associated with Debevoise & Plimpton