Spencer Overton

Spencer Overton is the Patricia Roberts Harris Research Professor and the founder and faculty director of the Multiracial Democracy Project at GW Law School. He is the author of the book “Stealing Democracy: The New Politics of Voter Suppression” and several law review articles on the law of democracy, including “Overcoming Racial Harms to Democracy from Artificial Intelligence” and “State Power to Regulate Social Media Companies to Prevent Voter Suppression.” Professor Overton served as president of and rebuilt the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies—America’s Black think tank—and held various senior policy leadership positions on the Obama presidential campaign and transition and in the Obama administration. He practiced law at Debevoise & Plimpton, clerked for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Damon Keith, and graduated with honors from both Hampton University and Harvard Law School.