I’ve just spent the last week in proofreading hell, reading through the 988 pages making up the fourth edition of the Election Law casebook. I’ve finished the index and tables, passing my corrections on to my two co-authors, Dan Lowenstein and Dan Tokaji. I am especially pleased that the book is 77 pages shorter (excluding tables and appendices) than the third edition, even though we’ve updated many chapters, added a new chapter on election administration and new sections of chapters on the substantial compliance doctrine, the political science literature on campaigns, and competitiveness in election law jurisprudence. Sara Sampson, head of reference at the Georgetown law library, has written a new appendix, “Election Law Research Guide,” that will be very helpful for students and others researching the area of election law.
How did we manage to add all that and still cut the book? The chapters on the Voting Rights Act and the Shaw jurisprudence have been combined, some sections of some chapters (such as term limits) have been severely edited, and the campaign finance chapters have been reorganized into: The Buckley Framework, Contribution Limits After Buckley, Spending Limits After Buckley, Public Financing, and Campaign Finance Disclosure. Much of McConnell has been cut. I have to say that I am very pleased with the (near)-final project, thanks in large part to the excellent work of my co-authors.
Instructors who need to see page proofs before the book ships later this summer should contact Linda Lacy at Carolina Academic Press, linda-at-cap-press.com.