Rebecca Green is an associate professor of law and co-director of the Election Law Program at the William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia. She is an expert on election law and frequently is sought out by the media and others to comment on the issue.

In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Green emerged as a leading supporter of changes to the Electoral Count Act, which governs the tabulation of Electoral College votes in Congress. These reforms are intended to prevent the various challenges to presidential elections in Congress. ¹

Green is also a part of the National Task Force on Election Crises. ²

Early Life

Green graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Asian studies and political science in May 1993 from Connecticut College. She received a master’s degree in Chinese history from Harvard University in June 1996 and a law degree from Harvard in June 2001. ³

In 2005, she joined the faculty of William and Mary Law School as an adjunct. She would eventually rise to become associate professor of law and co-director of the Election Law Program, a joint venture between the law school and the National Center for State Courts. The program provides resources to judges on election law topics. ⁴

Felon Voting Rights

In 2013, Green and a student founded the organization Revive My Vote, which helps Virginians convicted of felonies regain their right to vote. By 2018, the organization, which is made up of William and Mary Law School students and faculty, had helped restore the voting privileges of hundreds of Virginia felons. ⁵

The organization operates a hotline and a website to help felons go through the process of applying to restore their right to vote. The process normally took two to four weeks to complete. ⁶

Redistricting

In 2020, Green discussed the practice of “gerrymandering” during Congressional redistricting, which she described as the practice of legislators picking their voters instead of the other way around. She claims that legislators have nearly perfected by the practice by the use of sophisticated software and granulated data. ⁷ She also said the practice dilutes the votes of minorities. ⁸

She appeared to support the idea of independent redistricting commissions, such as the one approved by voters in Virginia, to draw the new districts. She said she saw Virginia’s commission as a “win” for voters. ⁹

2020 Election

During the 2020 election cycle, Green joined the National Task Force on Election Crises, which supports securing U.S. elections in the wake of foreign hacking and the COVID-19 pandemic. Though ostensibly cross-partisan, the task force opposes voter integrity laws and supports the federalization of U.S. elections, positions generally supported by Democrats and opposed by Republicans. ¹⁰

In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Green was a skeptic of challenges to state ballot counting lodged by President Donald Trump and his campaign team. She described a lawsuit trying to throw out hundreds of thousands of ballots in Pennsylvania as a longshot, and rejected the Trump campaign’s claims of fraud and their attempt to reverse the outcome of several state elections. ¹¹

She described a lawsuit that sought to throw outside the results of the election by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) against four states former Vice President Joe Biden won as “outlandish.” She argued that Texas did not have legal standing to sue other states based on their voting processes. ¹²

Electoral Count Act

Green has emerged as a supporter of making changes to the the Electoral Count Act of 1887, the law that governs the process by which Congress counts electoral votes and confirms the result of the presidential election. Green criticized the process laid out in the law because they “just don’t make sense in the modern world.” ¹³

In 2022, Green supported the Electoral Count Reform Act, proposed legislation that would streamline and reform the electoral count process. The intent of the law is avoid the chaos surrounding the certification of the 2020 presidential election in future years. ¹⁴

1. Parks, Miles. “Congress May Change This Arcane Law To Avoid Another Jan. 6.” NPR. Jan. 8, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/01/08/1071239044/congress-may-change-this-arcane-law-to-avoid-another-jan-6.
2. “Members.” National Task Force On Election Crises. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.electiontaskforce.org/members.
3.  “Faculty Listing.” William & Mary Law School. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://law2.wm.edu/faculty/bios/fulltime/rgreen.php.
4. Faculty Listing.” William & Mary Law School. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://law2.wm.edu/faculty/bios/fulltime/rgreen.php.
5. Clemmons, Niko “William & Mary Working To Restore Voting Rights To Convicted Felons.” 13 News Now. Sept. 8, 2018. https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/william-mary-working-to-restore-voting-rights-to-convicted-felons/291-591631100.
6. Clemmons, Niko “William & Mary Working To Restore Voting Rights To Convicted Felons.” 13 News Now. Sept. 8, 2018. https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/william-mary-working-to-restore-voting-rights-to-convicted-felons/291-591631100.
7. Martin, Brandon. “Redistricting Commission To Convene This Year.” Henry County Enterprise. Dec. 31, 2020. https://henrycountyenterprise.com/redistricting-commission-to-convene-this-year/.
8. Martin, Brandon. “Redistricting Commission To Convene This Year.” Henry County Enterprise. Dec. 31, 2020. https://henrycountyenterprise.com/redistricting-commission-to-convene-this-year/.
9. Martin, Brandon. “Redistricting Commission To Convene This Year.” Henry County Enterprise. Dec. 31, 2020. https://henrycountyenterprise.com/redistricting-commission-to-convene-this-year/.
10. ““Members”..” National Task Force On Election Crises. Accessed July 25, 2022.  https://www.electiontaskforce.org/members.
11. Previti, Emily. “Election Law Experts: Trump Campaign Lawsuit A Longshot, Could Complicate Vote Count, Certification.” 90.5 WESA. Nov. 11, 2020 https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2020-11-11/election-law-experts-trump-campaign-lawsuit-a-longshot-could-complicate-vote-count-certification.
12. Wolfe, Jan, and Makini Brice. “Analysis-Texas Tries To Overturn The U.S. Election Result. Can It Succeed?” Reuters. Dec. 9, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-election-lawsuit-texas-analysis-idAFKBN28J2R2.
13. Parks, Miles. “Congress May Change This Arcane Law To Avoid Another Jan. 6.” NPR. Jan. 8, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/01/08/1071239044/congress-may-change-this-arcane-law-to-avoid-another-jan-6.
14. Parks, Miles. “Congress May Change This Arcane Law To Avoid Another Jan. 6.” NPR. Jan. 8, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/01/08/1071239044/congress-may-change-this-arcane-law-to-avoid-another-jan-6.