Source: http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/90/1026/593897/
Timestamp: 2013-12-07 19:21:45
Document Index: 767709914

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1983', '§ 4', '§ 7', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 8']

90 F.3d 1026: G. Scott Love, Paul S. Bergeron, Kathleen B. Balhoff, Andbennie Baker-bourgeois, Plaintiffs-appellants, v. Michael J. Foster, Jr., Governor of State of Louisiana, Andfox Mckeithen, Secretary of State of Louisiana,defendants-appellees :: US Court of Appeals Cases :: Justia
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90 F.3d 1026: G. Scott Love, Paul S. Bergeron, Kathleen B. Balhoff, Andbennie Baker-bourgeois, Plaintiffs-appellants, v. Michael J. Foster, Jr., Governor of State of Louisiana, Andfox Mckeithen, Secretary of State of Louisiana,defendants-appelleesUnited States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. - 90 F.3d 1026
Thomas E. Balhoff, Judith R. Atkinson, Roedel, Parsons, Hill & Koch, Baton Rouge, LA, Daniel Joseph Balhoff, John S. Baker, Baton Rouge, LA, M. Miller Baker, Carr, Goodson & Lee, Washington, DC, for plaintiffs-appellants.
Roy A. Mongrue, Jr., Asst. Atty. General, Angie Rogers LaPlace, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, LA, for defendants-appellees.
Before DAVIS and DENNIS, Circuit Judges, and FALLON*, District Judge.
Appellants, four Louisiana voters, appeal from the district court's order granting defendants' motion for summary judgment and dismissing plaintiffs' suit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief on grounds that Louisiana's method of conducting congressional elections violates the Constitution and laws of the United States. We reverse.
In August 1995 four Louisiana citizens, who are registered to vote in Louisiana and who have a history of voting in congressional elections, filed this action for declaratory and injunctive relief. They seek this relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and pursuant to our federal question jurisdiction to resolve a Constitutional claim. Their core allegation is that the Louisiana open primary system violates the federal statutes that establish a uniform federal election day for members of Congress and must yield under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. After cross-motions for summary judgment were filed, the district court granted summary judgment for the defendants. The appellants filed a timely appeal.
We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Mozeke v. International Paper Co., 856 F.2d 722, 724 (5th Cir.1988). In deciding this appeal, we address only the pre-emption claim. See Shaw v. Delta Air Lines, 463 U.S. 85, 96 n. 14, 103 S.Ct. 2890, 2899 n. 14, 77 L.Ed.2d 490 (1983).
In Louisiana Public Service Comm. v. FCC, 476 U.S. 355, 106 S.Ct. 1890, 90 L.Ed.2d 369 (1986), the Supreme Court summarized the theories under which state laws are pre-empted as follows:
Id. at 368-69, 106 S.Ct. at 1898-99 (internal citations omitted).
We start our pre-emption analysis from the bedrock premise that Congress has authority to enact the requirements for federal elections. Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 of the Constitution states:
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as the Places of choosing Senators.
In Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355, 52 S.Ct. 397, 76 L.Ed. 795 (1932), the Court, interpreting Art. I, § 4, Cl. 1, stated that "[i]t cannot be doubted that these comprehensive words embrace authority to provide a complete code for congressional elections, not only as to times and places, but in relation to notices, registration,...." Id. at 366, 52 S.Ct. at 399.
In 1872, Congress established a uniform election day for elections for U.S. Representatives by enacting 2 U.S.C. § 7, which states:
This same election day was later adopted for elections for U.S. Senators in 2 U.S.C. § 1:
Congress also set this day for the election of presidential electors. 3 U.S.C. § 1.1
Congress in 2 U.S.C. §§ 1, 7 therefore declared that all elections for Congress should be held on the same date, the Tuesday following the first Monday in November (federal election day). This declaration was subject to only two exceptions: (1) in states that required a majority vote for election, a runoff could be held between federal election day and January when officials take office; and (2) an election could be held on a different date if a vacancy occurred in the office. 2 U.S.C. § 8.2 In adopting this scheme, Congress precluded a state from holding an election in which members of Congress could be elected before the federal election date.
This interpretation is supported by the legislative history. This history indicates that Congress wanted a uniform election day to prevent earlier elections in some states unduly influencing the later voters, to prevent fraudulent voting in multiple state elections, and to remove the burden of voting in more than one federal election in a given year. Cong.Globe, 42d Cong., 2d Sess. 112 (1871).3
The legislative history of 2 U.S.C. § 8 also supports the conclusion that Congress intended any outcome determinative election to be held on federal election day unless it fell within the exception in § 8 During the consideration of § 8, Senator Thurman explained that Section 8
relates only to the case of a special election to fill a vacancy, or where there is a failure to elect. It does not touch the general elections for members of the House of Representatives. The cases, therefore, to which it will apply are very rare indeed. It is very seldom that there is an election to fill a vacancy, and still more seldom that there is a failure to elect. In all those States in which a plurality elects, no such thing as failure to elect can occur unless there should be a tie, and in those cases I think in every State the right then is determined by lot....
I think, therefore, there can be no failure to elect except in those States in which a majority of all the votes is necessary to elect a member, and they are very few in number. Then there is no probability of there being a failure to elect so as to make this section necessary in many cases, and the vacancies that happen are very few indeed. The section itself, therefore, is rather inserted out of abundant caution than for