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18 CHIAFALO v. WASHINGTON Opinion of the Court its electors that they have no ground for reversing the vote of millions of its citizens. That direction accords with the Constitution—as well as with the trust of a Nation that here, We the People rule. The judgment of the Supreme Court of Washington is Affirmed.

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Chiafalo v. Washington

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether a pledge requirement and sanction violates the Electors Constitutional right to pledge electoral votes regardless of voter preference?

Alleged Acts: The state of Washington fined voters Electors for breaking their pledges to support the same candidates the voters of their constituency had. Washington subsequently fined the Electors $1,000 each for violating their pledges.

Procedural history: The Electors challenged the fine in state court where they argued that that the Constitution grants them the right to vote however they pleased. In Ray v. Blair the Supreme Court upheld a pledge requirement, but it notably did not have the same sanction requirement. The Washington Supreme Court upheld the sanction and pledge relying on Ray v. Blair. The parties then appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

Summary: The Supreme Court held that a State may penalize an elector that breaks a pledge to vote for a particular candidate. In reaching this conclusion, the Court determined that neither history or the plain language of the Constitution protected the rights of Electors. States have several legitimate avenues to ensuring that Electors may not reverse the rights of millions of citizens, one of which are pledge laws and penalties linked to those laws.

Conclusion: The Court determined that the sanctions and the laws were valid and in accordance with the Constitution.

Legal Issue(s)

Elections as a Fundamental Right

Region: Americas

Country: United States of America

Language of Decision

English

Court: Supreme Court

Election Type: Review of law

Date of decision: Jul 6, 2020

Geolocation

Latitude: 47.03203097530896

Longitude: -122.9014938751761

: Geolocation

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Chiafalo v. Washington.pdf
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Election Judgments - IFES

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Chiafalo v. Washington

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