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10 Election L.J. 1 (2011)

handle is hein.journals/enlwjr10 and id is 1 raw text is: The Party Line Paul Gronke and Daniel P. Tokaji W E ARE HONORED to be taking over as the new co-editors of Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy, the premiere forum for scholar- ship in the interdisciplinary field of election law, ad- ministration, and policy studies. It is at once humbling and daunting to step into the oversized shoes of our predecessors, Dan Lowenstein and Rick Hasen. Starting a new journal is an enterprise for which few scholars have the stomach or tenacity. Founding one dedicated to an emerging field that is so hotly contested, in both the legal and political realms, is a challenge that scarcely anyone is brave (some would say foolish) enough to undertake. Yet this is precisely the challenge that Rick and Dan have enthusiastically met, with the unwavering support of Mary Ann Liebert, since they founded Election Law Journal in 2002. In the Journal's first issue, Rick and Dan wrote that they hoped to create a forum for discussion of election law issues among government officials, practicing lawyers, journalists, academics from var- ious disciplines (including law, political science, public policy, history, and economics), and others with an interest in electoral law, institutions, and ad- ministration. They have succeeded beyond what anyone could reasonably have expected. The con- versation they helped nurture is now flourishing, thanks in no small part to their vision, judgment, and hard work. Later in the year Rick and Dan started the Jour- nal, Congress enacted the Help America Vote Act. This established a strong federal footprint in elec- tion administration, an area that had historically been left almost completely to state and local offi- cials. Punch cards and lever machines were out- lawed, voting systems standards were established, and $3.9 billion in federal funding was designated to improve the administration and conduct of elec- tions in the United States. That same year, Congress enacted the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, precipitating the most significant changes in the financing of federal campaigns in almost three decades. 2002 was also the year in which Pennsyl- vania adopted the congressional redistricting plan, the constitutionality of which was before the Court in Vieth v. Jubelirer, a decision that left the law of partisan gerrymandering in an uncertain state that persists to this day. Where are we now, almost a decade later? One is tempted to reply with the old adage: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Our politics have become, if anything, more polarized, with close elections common at all levels of govern- ment. While the administration of elections has im- proved in important respects, public and scholarly scrutiny of the electoral process is as intense as ever. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on electronic voting machines in the last decade, but a number of states abandoned them by decade's end in favor of paper-based systems. Following Bush v. Gore, major legal challenges erupted over a razor-thin governor's race in Washington (2004), a U.S. House election in Florida (2006), and U.S. Senate contests in Minnesota (2008) and Alaska (2010). Issues like voter identification and voter reg- istration lists, though not exactly new, are more hotly contested than ever-and sometimes become the subject of litigation, as with the Indiana ID law upheld in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board. Government regulation of campaign spend- ing remains highly controversial, with proponents of regulation more worried than ever about spending by wealthy interests after last year's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Supporters of public financing, after some signifi- cant accomplishments, are now in retreat after citi- zens overturned a Portland, Oregon law and, just before this issue went to press, the Supreme Court agreed to review a challenge to Arizona laws in 1 ELECTION LAW JOURNAL Volume 10, Number 1, 2011 © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. DOI: 10.1089/elj.2010.0096 Editorial

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