"McCain's Law Preserved Loophole for Tribal Contributions"

See this article at Human Events. It is very interesting that many opponents of campaign finance regulation, including Jan Baran and Cleta Mitchell have argued so forcefully in favor of treating Indian tribes like corporations and unions under FECA.

"Staffers Caught Editing the Wikipedia"

Political Wire has this interesting post.

"Census Bureau, Activists Debate How and Where to Count Inmates"

The Washington Post offers this report, which begins: "Since the first U.S. census in 1790, there has been a rule for keeping track of the convicts sitting in prisons: They are counted in the state and region where they are serving their time, not necessarily the place they did their crime or will call home once they are out of the joint. How to count inmates historically has not been a big issue. But the fast-expanding prison population -- now about 1.5 million -- is prompting a debate because government spending and electoral district boundaries are in part decided by population. Opponents say the practice unfairly rewards rural, often sparsely populated regions where many prisons are built, at the expense of the cities where many prisoners had resided." Thanks to Jeff Wice for the pointer.

"Popularity may drain Maine's Clean Election Fund"

Mainetoday.com offers this report. Thanks to Dewey Dow for the pointer.

Note About Important Database on Money in State Politics

The following message was forwarded to me via e-mail:

Dear APSA Organized Section Heads,

After presenting the Institute on Money in State Politics' data and analyses to the Southern Political Science
Association conference in Atlanta earlier this month, I was urged by Michael Malbin of the Campaign Finance
Institute to alert members of the national association of our information. A further discussion with APSA Executive
Director Michael Brintnall directed me to the Organized Sections as the best place to touch base with academic
researchers who would find www.followthemoney.org and its databases most useful.

My goal in reaching out to you all is twofold: First, many professors and doctoral students have discovered the
Institute's comprehensive state-level campaign-finance data and use it extensively. More should. If you think members of your Organized Section would benefit from knowing about the Institute, please let those on your list-servs know about us. And, second, as a 501(C)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit, we're anxious to build a larger network of influential academics who can add substance to our requests for support from funders.

Since its formation in 1999, the Institute has been funded by some of the most important foundations in the country:
Carnegie, Ford, Pew, OSI and more. But many are moving away from campaign-finance research. We hope to stem this trend, with your help.

By way of background, the Institute has been compiling detailed contributor information -- every check written to
candidates for legislative, gubernatorial and other constitutional offices, political parties and now ballot measure committees, since the 2000 election cycle. We collect reports for all candidates, primary and general
elections, winners as well as losers. And, in its infancy, the Institute worked as the Money in Western Politics
Project, which compiled the same data, but only in the eight Northwest states. That comprehensive data dates to
the 1990 election cycle.

The Institute's data is used extensively by reporters from some of the country's largest newspapers, by attorneys
defending campaign-reform legislation passed in the states, by activists pursuing numerous issues, and by academics like yourselves whose work is the foundation for much policy work.

In 2003, the Institute hired the RAND Corporation to review and evaluate its procedures and processes. RAND's
endorsement of the Institute and its work is available at http://www.followthemoney.org/Institute/rand.phtml.

Please consider distributing this missive to yourassociates. The Institute's data is only meaningful if it is used widely to enhance the debate in this country about the health of our democracy.

Best,

Edwin Bender
Executive Director
Institute on Money in State Politics
edwinb@statemoney.org
www.followthemoney.org

Electronic Version of McConnell Decision Now Available

You can now find an electronic version of Volume 540 of the U.S. Reports, containing McConnell v. FEC, here. Thanks to C.E. Petit for the information.

"Judges Face New Election Landscape"

The National Law Journal offers this report. It is paid subscription required, and I don't have access, but it is described as follows: "During his recent confirmation hearings, U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito invoked that sacred mantra of judicial nominees: No comment on issues that may come before him. Now imagine a world in which judges up for retention election or in contested elections or just whenever the spirit moves them, comment all of the time."

"Remember Redistricting"

The SF Chronicle offers this editorial.

-- 
Rick Hasen
William H. Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law
Loyola Law School
919 Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA  90015-1211
(213)736-1466
(213)380-3769 - fax
rick.hasen@lls.edu
http://www.lls.edu/academics/faculty/hasen.html
http://electionlawblog.org