The 2026 Essay Question
In November 2026, United States citizens will vote to elect United States Senators and members of the House of Representatives. The people elected will be responsible for carrying out the duties of Congress as defined by the Constitution, including the powers to check the other two branches of government. Congress’s decisions, actions, and inactions impact not only the United States of America – their impacts are felt around the world. Their decisions and actions impact your future as well.
If you are a United States citizen who is at least 18, you have the power, through your vote, to influence how our representative government handles issues that are important to you. Marshall University believes that your right to vote is crucial; for this reason, over the last several years, it has worked hard to establish itself as a Voter Friendly Campus. Marshall’s is the only campus in West Virginia that has earned this designation and is one of only 129 colleges or universities in the United States to have earned the “Highly Established Action Plan Seal” for this election cycle from the “All in Campus Democracy Challenge.”
This year’s essay contest focuses on you and your future. It asks you to identify an issue that is important to you, to research and explain the various positions taken by politicians and others on how your issue should be handled, and to propose how this issue would ideally be addressed through lawmaking or otherwise. You must also discuss how our founding documents – the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution – relate to your issue. You should thoroughly describe why the issue is important, and your essay should reflect your research into prior attempts to address it, as well as offer possible solutions that could be implemented by Congress or otherwise.
Conceptual Background
The U.S. Constitution drafted in the summer of 1787 created a representative democracy, with a government that acts through its elected leaders. The Constitution defined checks and balances for the three branches of government and incorporated concepts of federalism to define the respective powers of state and federal governments. It established a judicial branch through which courts are to enforce the rule of law. The Constitution also provided that it could be amended to address issues that were unresolved at that time as well as issues that could arise in the future. It is notable that by 1791, the first ten amendments, commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights, were added to the Constitution.
The Declaration of Independence, which is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year,
was a statement in 1776 by those advocating rebellion against the British government in which they articulated the reasons they found it necessary to separate from British rule. Its proclamation that all people “are created equal” and have the inalienable right to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” (regardless of how its authors understood its meaning at the time) has been relied upon by those seeking political and civil rights, and the expansion of this concept is reflected in the 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th Amendments to the Constitution.
The expanded recognition of citizenship, human rights, and equal protection of the law has not been straightforward and has not been easy. Even a cursory review of United States history reveals that these expansions of rights have involved great sacrifice, suffering, bloodshed, and even a Civil War. But, over time, the country has endured, grown, and changed when the ideas for its betterment have been pursued and demanded by its citizens. To continue peaceful progress, even in the face of the polarization of our electorate, we, as citizens, must identify and discuss issues important to us and how they can and should be resolved by our government. We also must translate our views on these topics into effective voting for representatives who share or can be persuaded to pursue the goals important to us.
Summary
Your issue must be a known issue that could be addressed by governmental action.
Examples of issues that are often discussed in our political discourse include, but are not limited to:
- Constitutional amendments to change the undemocratic aspects of the existing Constitution, such as the electoral college or U.S. Senate
- campaign finance reform
- changes to the U.S. Supreme Court
- climate change
- income inequality
- immigration
- reproductive rights
- the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech, press, religion, and the right to petition the government
- the Second Amendment
- protecting equal rights
- protecting and restoring voting rights
- changes to the criminal justice system
- whether there should be a right to education
In summary, your essay must thoroughly describe the issue you identify and explain why you believe it is critical. You should articulate how it relates to the ideas in the Declaration of Independence and how the U.S. Constitution, as it now exists, permits government to address the issue. If it does not, you must argue whether and how the Constitution should be reformed to allow it to be addressed. Your essay must explain the history of attempts to address your issue, your suggested resolution, how to effectuate it through legal means, and how voting behaviors could impact your desired resolution, depending on the outcome of the election. Please note that you can agree with existing proposals to address the issue, or, alternatively, suggest a different remedy that you think would be better.
Rules for the Contest
Eligibility: This contest is open to all students (undergraduate and graduate) who will be enrolled at Marshall University full-time in the fall of 2026.
Deadline: Your essay must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, September 14, 2026. Submissions are to be made via email to Patricia.Proctor@marshall.edu. Both a PDF and Microsoft Word version of your essay must be attached to your submission email. Use the “read receipt” feature to ensure your entry was received.
Judges: Entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges.
Length: Your essay is expected to be approximately 8 to 15 pages long, though this page range is reasonably flexible (the essay can be slightly longer or shorter).
Writing and Research: You are to proofread your work carefully to ensure that it meets collegiate writing standards. Your entry can rely on the sources cited above, all of which can be accessed through the Marshall University library online. In addition, you should conduct and cite your own research.
Citation of Sources and Plagiarism: You are expected to cite sources to support your arguments, including peer-reviewed and scholarly sources. Your research should reflect a high degree of information literacy skills demonstrated by the quality of materials you rely upon. You must be sure that all your sources are properly cited and thus can be located and verified by the contest judges. You should include internal citations adjacent to the material relied upon and a bibliography at the end of your paper.
All entries will be submitted to plagiarism-detecting software programs and checked to ensure that they comply with the Marshall University policies regarding academic integrity.
Your writing should be your own. Contestants are prohibited from using generative AI in any way in this contest. The use of generative AI in this contest will be considered a violation of Marshall’s Academic Dishonesty Policy and will be dealt with accordingly.
History of the Contest
The Dan O’Hanlon Essay Competition was established in 2009, after an anonymous donor requested that Marshall find a way to promote scholarship related to the Constitution and simultaneously honor retired Cabell County Circuit Court Judge Dan O’Hanlon. Prior to his long career on the bench, Judge O’Hanlon served as professor and chair of the Marshall University Criminal Justice Department. In 2007, he was selected by the West Virginia Justice Association as Judge of the Year.
Previous Winners
2025
- Cameron Mays (1st) – A Declining Democracy: The Impact of Weath Inequality on the American Political System
- Miriam Crookshanks (2nd) – “We The People:” Billionaires’ For-Profit Policies and Erosion of Democracy
2024
- Tyler Farley (1st) – Rethinking the American Immigration System: A Bipartisan Blueprint for Congressional Reform
- Miriam Crookshanks (2nd) – With Fear for Our Democracy, I Dissent: Restoring Public Trust in the Separation of Powers
2023
- Brendin Flinn (1st) – Healing a Divided Nation: A Path to Repairing Democratic Norms in the Face of Pernicious Polarization and Political Violence
- Connor Waller (2nd) – Finding and Declaring Our Conscience: The Battle for Democracy and the Principles of “Americanism”
2022
- Nicolas Raffinengo (1st) – Equality Throughout a Nation The Equal Rights Amendment is the Key to Protect All Citizens
- Addie McDaniel (2nd) – The Potential Abandonment of Stare Decisis and the Necessity of the Equal Rights Amendment
2021
- Brendin Flinn (1st) – Adapting to the New Public Forum: Free Expression in the Age of Big Tech
- YÉMAYA (2nd) – www.g-dd@m/ a Defense for the Preservation of Section 230 of the CDA
2020
- Brendin Flinn (1st) – Justice’s Vision: Historicizing Black Lives Matter as the Modern Abolition Movement
- Payton Fitchpatrick (2nd) – “Striking” Similarities Between The West Virginia Mine Wars and George Floyd Protests: How They Pertain to Civil Disobedience and the Civic Duty All Americans Have to Keep Their “American Creed”
2019
- Miranda Smith (1st) – Rebalancing the Scales: The Need for a Limited and Nonpartisan Supreme Court Amid Threats to Its Legitimacy and Impartiality
- Melody Shea Russell (2nd) – A Case for Changing Congressional Process, not the Supreme Court
2017
- Erin L. Shaver (1st) – Fighting Harmful Words: Balancing Free Speech and Student Well-being for Public Colleges and Universities
- Matthew Gallagher (2nd) – Free Speech, the University, and the Examined Life
2016
- Gregory Ward (1st) – Defending the Fence: The Electoral College’s Vital Role within Madison’s Constitutional Model
- Cindy D. Krepps (2nd) – Dissolving the Electoral College: America’s Cry for Change
2015
- Nicholas Alexander O’Donnell (1st) – SuperPAC Ed: How Citizens United Sets a Faulty Precedent for Corruption and Distortion
- Sepideh Ghenatnevi Dunham (2nd) – Citizens Unite: Combating Corporate Suppression of the Voice of the People
2014
- Sophia D. Mills (1st) – A Step Too Far: Protecting Privacy in a Digital Age
- Olivia Milam (2nd) – The NSA’s Bulk Metadata Program and the Fourth Amendment: Holding True to the Spirit of the Constitution in the Face of Technology
2013
- Laurel Anne Peace (1st) – Disobeying the Constitution
- Adam Shaver (2nd) – The Constitution’s Necessity in American Government
2012
- Joshua Thompson (1st) – “The Individual’s Voice in Democracy: The Right to Vote”
- Lesley Cruickshank (2nd) – “Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act: Preclearance and Public Policy”
2011
- W. Austin Smith II (1st) – “Constitutional Interpretation”
- Justin Setliff (2nd) – “The View of an Originalist”
2010
- Aaron Preece – “The Right to Free Speech in an Academic Setting”
2009
- Joshua Cottle – “Protecting the Constitution: Balancing the Rights of the People and the Union”