"Wisconsin Election is Referendum on Governor"

This NY Times report begins: "Until a few weeks ago, this state's election on Tuesday for a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court was widely expected to be dull and predictable."

"More FEC Terms Expire, but Replacements Unlikely"

Roll Call offers this report.

And in Election Law-Related News from Ohio

The Hamilton County judge case may be heading to the Supreme Court (which, if taken, would almost certainly lead the Court to explain the meaning of Bush v. Gore)

The Ohio Chief Justice wants to change the rules for judicial selection.

ePollbooks may come to Ohio.

And there's controversy over Brad Smth's possible appointment as dean of Case Western.

Is It a Legislative District or a Rorschach Ink Blot?

You decide.

"Lawmakers End Same Day Voter Registration"

News from Montana.

"McComish, the Supreme Court, and the Fiesta Bowl Scandal"

Doug Kendall blogs.

"Big Money, Union Fight Shape Wisconsin Court Race"

Politico offers this report.

Volokh on the History of the First Amendment's Press Clause

Eugene Volokh has posted "The Freedom...Of the Press"-- from 1791 to 1868 to Now -- Freedom for the Press as an Industry, or the Press as a Technology? on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Both Justices and scholars have long debated whether the "freedom ...of the press" was historically understood as securing special constitutional rights for the institutional press (newspapers, magazines, and broadcasters). This issue comes up in many fields: campaign finance law, libel law, the newsgatherer’s privilege, access to government facilities for newsgathering purposes, and more. Most recently, last year's Citizens United v. FEC decision split 5-4 on this very question, and not just in relation to corporate speech rights.

This article discusses what the "freedom of the press" has likely meant with regard to this question, during (1) the decades surrounding the ratification of the First Amendment, (2) the decades surrounding the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, and (3) the modern First Amendment era. The article focuses solely on the history, and leaves the First Amendment theory questions to others. And, with regard to the history, it offers evidence that the "freedom... of the press" has long been understood as meaning freedom for all who used the printing press as technology -- and, by extension, mass communication technology more broadly -- and has generally not been limited to those who belonged to the institutional press as an industry.

"Obama FEC Filing Confirms No Public Funds for Re-Election"

Roll Call offers this report.

"Bring Donors Out of the Shadows"

David Callahan has written this important NYT oped.

--
Rick Hasen
Visiting Professor
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 - office
949.824.0495 - fax
rhasen@law.uci.edu

William H. Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law
Loyola Law School
http://www.lls.edu/academics/faculty/hasen.html
http://electionlawblog.org