Daniel Tokaji
Fred W. & Vi Miller Dean and Professor of Law
Education
A.B., Harvard University
J.D., Yale Law School
Biography
Dan Tokaji is the Fred W. & Vi Miller Dean and Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School. As Dean, he serves as the chief academic and executive officer of the school, with responsibility for faculty and staff development, personnel oversight, strategic planning and institutional vision, fundraising, budget planning and management, curriculum, and student academic affairs
Dean Tokaji became Dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2020. From 2003 to 2020, he was on the faculty at Ohio State University, where he served as Associate Dean for Faculty and Charles W. Ebersold & Florence Whitcomb Ebersold Professor of Constitutional Law. He has taught a wide variety of courses, including Civil Procedure, Civil Rights Lawyering, Comparative Constitutional Law, Election Law and Voting Rights, Federal Courts, First Amendment, Legal Analysis and Writing, Legislation and Regulation, and the U.S. Legal System. He has also taught at Harvard Law School, Hong Kong University, and Oxford University.
A leading authority in the field of Election Law, Dean Tokaji’s scholarship addresses questions of voting rights, free speech, and democratic inclusion. He has published over 50 law review articles, book chapters, and other scholarly papers on a wide range of topics. His recent work includes "Election Law, Democracy, and Legal Education" in Beyond Imagination? The January 6 Insurrection (2022), “Voter Registration in a Pandemic,” University of Chicago Law Review Online (2020), “Denying Systemic Equality: The Last Words of the Kennedy Court,” Harvard Law & Policy Review (2019), and “Gerrymandering and Association,” William & Mary Law Review (2018). He is the author of Election Law in a Nutshell (2d ed. 2016), and co-author of Election Law: Cases and Materials (7th ed. 2022). His recent scholarship addresses the challenges facing democracies around the globe, including the free speech issues surrounding digital disinformation, the need for trustworthy electoral institutions, and the role of law schools in strengthening democratic governance.
Media have frequently relied on Dean Tokaji’s expertise on election law, voting rights, and free speech issues. He has been quoted or interviewed by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and National Public Radio, and many other outlets.
Dean Tokaji graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College, with an A.B. degree in English and American Literature and Language and Philosophy, then earned a J.D. from Yale Law School. Dean Tokaji clerked for the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A former civil rights lawyer, he has brought many free speech, racial justice, and voting rights cases over his career.
Scholarship & Publications
SSRN
Law Repository
Research Interests
- Election Law
- First Amendment
- Law and Democracy
Activities
Daniel Tokaji participated on a panel discussing "The Supreme Court and Election Law Jurisprudence" during the Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy 2022 Symposium hosted by the University of Notre Dame Law School on Feb. 11.
Dean Daniel Tokaji moderated "The First Amendment on College Campuses", a panel discussion hosted by the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership. A video of the discussion is available.
Daniel Tokaji participated in "One Week Out: The Legal Landscape of Election 2020," an online discussion hosted by the American Constitution Society.
Daniel Tokaji was a panelist in "What Happens (in our Courts) When America Votes? Election Safeguards for the Judiciary." The webinar was part of a four-part October 2020 series organized by the Election Law Program of the National Center for State Courts and William & Mary School of Law.
Daniel Tokaji participated on the panel, "Election 2020: The challenge, the law & the path ahead," sponsored by the Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy at Cordozo School of Law.
Daniel Tokaji's post, "Voter Registration in a Pandemic," was published in the University of Chicago Law Review online.
News & Media
Monday, Feb 27, 2023Dan Tokaji Comments on How a Paragraph Put the Voting Rights Act in More Danger
NPRThursday, Jan 26, 2023University of Wisconsin Law School Will Not Participate in U.S. News Survey
Friday, Dec 16, 2022Dean Tokaji Discusses Impact of Voter Suppression and Election Subversion Efforts
The Scholars' CircleTuesday, Nov 22, 2022Op-Ed: Ending Standardized Law School Tests Could Diminish Diversity
Monday, Oct 10, 2022Dan Tokaji: Argument Would 'Open a Gaping Hole in Our Public Corruption Laws'
The New RepublicFriday, Jul 15, 2022Rachel Burg Joins the Wisconsin Innocence Project
Thursday, Jul 7, 2022Emily Buchholz Joins UW Law As Director of L&E Clinic
Wednesday, May 4, 2022Grenadian Diplomat Dessima Williams visits UW Law; discusses human rights and climate change
Tuesday, Mar 29, 2022UW Law again ranks among best law schools
Monday, Nov 22, 2021Dan Tokaji comments: Could a law school diploma stand in for the bar exam?
Bloomberg LawThursday, Nov 18, 2021Dan Tokaji named among most-cited election law faculty in the U.S.
Election Law BlogWednesday, Jul 14, 2021Dean Dan Tokaji testified on the Elections Clause
House Administration CommitteeTuesday, Mar 16, 2021Daniel Tokaji comments on the Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act
Washington PostMonday, Oct 5, 2020Three constitutional law scholars join UW Law faculty
Tuesday, Jun 2, 2020 University of Wisconsin Law School dean named
Teaching Areas
- Civil Procedure
- Civil Rights
- Constitutional Law
- Election Law
- Federal Jurisdiction
- First Amendment Law
- Legislation
