On December 5, 2014, a Massachusetts PAC filed a federal lawsuit against a 1946 Massachusetts law that says, “No person shall make or publish, or cause to be made or published, any false statement in relation to any candidate for nomination or election to public office, which is designed to or tends to aid or to injure or defeat such candidate.” This law is in Mass. General Laws, chapter 56, section 42, part of the election code.

The case is Jobs First Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee v Coakley, 1:14cv-14338. It has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton. The Massachusetts law is similar to an Ohio law invalidated in September 2014 in U.S. District Court. That case was Susan B. Anthony List v Driehaus.

The Tennessee Republican State Executive Committee will meet on February 7 to vote on whether the party should work for a closed primary for itself. See this story. Tennessee has always had open primaries and has never had voter registration forms that asked applicants to choose a party affiliation or to choose independent status. The Tennessee legislature has a Republican majority in both houses, and the Governor is a Republican, so if the party decides in favor of closed primaries, it would probably work with the legislature, rather than going to court.

Iowa Representative Bruce Hunter (D-Des Moines) has introduced HF 27, to provide for public funding of campaigns for state office. It would also provide for a voters pamphlet to be sent to all voters, with candidate statements. See this story, which describes the bill. The story also mentions the other election law bills introduced in Iowa so far. Thanks to Nathan Hetzel for the link.