Smith is Professor of Law Emeritus at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio, and the founder and chairman of the Institute for Free Speech in Washington, DC. He served on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) from 2000 through 2005, including as the commission’s vice-chairman in 2003 and chairman during the presidential election year of 2004. He is one of the nation’s leading authorities on election law and campaign finance, and co-author of “Voting Rights and Election Law,” a leading casebook in the field.