Skip to main content

Ilya Somin

B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies

Ilya Somin is the B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, and a professor of law at George Mason University. He is the author of Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration and Political Freedom, Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government Is Smarter, and The Grasping Hand: Kelo v. City of New London and the Limits of Eminent Domain, and coauthor of A Conspiracy against Obamacare: The Volokh Conspiracy and the Health Care Case.

Somin is widely published in both the scholarly and popular press, including the Yale Law Journal, the Stanford Law Review, the Northwestern University Law Review, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today.

Somin’s interests include democracy and political knowledge, federalism, property rights and migration. As a member of the Volokh Conspiracy, affiliated with Reason magazine, he is a prominent blogger.

Read Full Bio
Collapse Full Bio
Media Contact
202-789-5200
Speaking Engagements
free-to-move-cover.jpg

Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom

Ballot box voting is often considered the essence of political freedom. But it has two major shortcomings: individual voters have little chance of making a difference, and they also face strong incentives to remain ignorant about the issues at stake. “Voting with your feet,” however, avoids both of these pitfalls and offers a wider range of choices. In Free to Move, Ilya Somin explains how broadening opportunities for foot voting can greatly enhance political liberty for millions of people around the world.