This story, from WBIR TV in Knoxville, TN, reports on an interesting conflict over early voting, electioneering, and free speech.

The Knox County clerk’s office rents out space in the Knoxville Center Mall, and decided to use this space as an early voting center.

However, the Mall invoked its right to limit solicitation on private property, and removed campaign literature and campaign workers from the property, sparking charges of First Amendment violations.

This may be a minor legal misunderstanding between the mall and the clerk’s office, but it may portend of problems in the future, as public elections are located in private sites such as shopping centers, banks, and grocery stores.