United States v. Classic
 | |
| United States v. Classic | |
| Docket number: 618 | |
| Term: 1941 | |
| Court: Supreme Court of the United States | |
| Important dates | |
| Argument: April 7, 1941 Decided: May 26, 1941 | |
| Court membership | |
| Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes • James C. McReynolds • Harlan F. Stone • Owen Roberts • Hugo Black • Stanley Reed • Felix Frankfurter • William O. Douglas • Frank Murphy | |
United States v. Classic was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1941. The case was brought by the federal government, which alleged that Louisiana election commissioners for the state's second congressional district deliberately miscounted and altered ballots cast in the Democratic Party primary. The election commissioners argued that primary elections were not subject to federal oversight to the same extent as general elections. On May 26, 1941, the high court ruled in favor of the federal government, finding that the United States Constitution authorizes the federal government to regulate primary elections to protect the constitutional rights of voters.[1]
Background
- See also: Primary election
Case history
On September 25, 1940, indictments against Louisiana election commissioners for the state's second congressional district were brought in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The federal government alleged that the commissioners deliberately miscounted and altered ballots cast in the Democratic Party primary for the office of United States Representative for Louisiana's Second Congressional District. The commissioners argued that primary elections were not subject to federal oversight to the same extent as general elections, citing the Supreme Court's ruling in Newberry v. United States. The district court ruled in favor of the election commissioners, and the case was appealed directly to the Supreme Court of the United States. Oral argument in the case was held on April 7, 1941.[1][2]
Decision
On May 26, 1941, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed the district court decision and ruled in favor of the federal government, finding that Article 1, Section 4, of the United States Constitution authorizes the federal government to regular primary elections in order to protect the constitutional rights of voters. Associate Justice Harlan F. Stone delivered the majority opinion, in which he wrote the following:[1][2]
| “ | The right to participate in the choice of representatives for Congress includes, as we have said, the right to cast a ballot and to have it counted at the general election, whether for the successful candidate or not. Where the state law has made the primary an integral part of the procedure of choice, or where, in fact, the primary effectively controls the choice, the right of the elector to have his ballot counted at the primary is likewise included in the right protected by Article I, § 2. And this right of participation is protected just as is the right to vote at the election, where the primary is by law made an integral part of the election machinery, whether the voter exercises his right in a party primary which invariably, sometimes, or never determines the ultimate choice of the representative.[3] | ” |
| —Associate Justice Harlan F. Stone | ||
Associate Justice William O. Douglas penned a dissenting opinion, in which he said that he agreed "with most of the views expressed in the opinion of the court," but disagreed with the majority's interpretation of Section 19 of the United States Criminal Code as it applied in this case.[1][2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Oyez, "United States v. Classic," accessed December 27, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Supreme Court of the United States, "United States v. Classic: Opinion," May 26, 1941
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
