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5 Election L.J. 1 (2006)

handle is hein.journals/enlwjr5 and id is 1 raw text is: ELECTION LAW JOURNAL Volume 5, Number 1, 2006 © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Editorial The Party Line DANIEL H. LOWENSTEIN and RICHARD L. HASEN T HE ISSUE OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE regulation is a major one in election law, and the Supreme Court's recent decision to hear two new campaign finance cases certainly will put the issue back in the forefront of public debate on the wisdom and constitutionality of various campaign finance laws. In this issue, we offer two articles related to campaign finance law and (following the other articles in this issue) a case preview by Richard Briffault of the two cases pending in the Supreme Court. We begin with Michael Malbin's analysis of the system of public financing for presidential elections. Malbin looks at how the system de- signed in 1974 is no longer meeting its goals, and he makes recommendations for changes to improve the system. Without those changes, Malbin argues, most major presidential candi- dates will choose to opt out of the system-as both John Kerry and George W. Bush did in 2004 during the primary portion of the presi- dential campaign. One of the main constitutional justifications for campaign finance laws is their assumed role in preventing the appearance of corruption in the minds of the public, which presumably undermines the public's faith in elected offi- cials. David Primo and Jeffrey D. Milyo con- sider the empirical question whether campaign disclosure laws, individual contribution limits, and public financing laws increase or decrease citizens' perception of political efficacy. They find no signs of increased public confidence in the election process resulting from campaign finance laws, and in some cases they find a de- crease in public confidence. Although campaign finance sometimes may seem to dominate election law, it does not en- tirely dominate this issue. R. Michael Alvarez, Betsy Sinclair, and Richard L. Hasen consider social science and law surrounding the ballot order effect, the theory that candidates garner additional votes if listed first on a ballot. They find that, at least in general elections, being listed first does not appear to systematically ad- vantage (or disadvantage) candidates for office. This result is somewhat contrary to earlier re- search, and the authors consider what role the social science muddle should play in court cases challenging election procedures (and sometimes election results) on the basis of the state's rules for choosing ballot order. Continuing with our goal of providing more coverage of international and comparative elec- tion law issues, Frederic Baumgartner explores the history of papal elections. The recent death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI has brought increased public at- tention to the rules for choosing the pontiff. Baumgartner explores those rules and explains how they have changed over time. In addition to these articles and the case preview by Briffault, John Hibbing reviews Thad Kousser's new book on legislative term limits. As we begin our fifth volume, we would like to take the opportunity to thank those who help produce ELJ. In addition to our appreciation of Associate Editor Sam Hirsch, we thank Vicki Cohn, Bernadine Richey, and the staff at our publisher's office; Karen Mathews and Betty Kinuthia for administrative support; members of our editorial advisory board; and, most im- portantly, our many fine peer reviewers. With- out these thoughtful reviews, we could not pro- duce a consistently high-quality journal. Like the review process itself, our thanks, though heartfelt, must be anonymous. 1

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