Ray v. Blair
E209913
Ray v. Blair is a 1952 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld a state's authority to require presidential electors to pledge support for their party's nominees as a condition of appointment.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Ray v. Blair canonical | 1 |
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
ⓘ
constitutional law case ⓘ election law case ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
U.S. constitutional law
ⓘ
U.S. election law ⓘ |
| bindingAuthorityIn |
federal judiciary of the United States
ⓘ
surface form:
federal courts of the United States
state courts on questions of federal constitutional law ⓘ |
| citation | 343 U.S. 214 ⓘ |
| concerns |
authority of states over selection of presidential electors
ⓘ
party primary procedures for choosing electors ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvisionInterpreted |
Article II of the United States Constitution
ⓘ
Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1952-04-01 ⓘ |
| dissentingOpinionBy |
Felix Frankfurter
ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Felix Frankfurter
Hugo L. Black ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Hugo L. Black
Robert H. Jackson ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Robert H. Jackson
William O. Douglas ⓘ
surface form:
Justice William O. Douglas
|
| finding | States have broad power to appoint electors and may condition appointment on a pledge ⓘ |
| holding |
A state may require presidential electors to pledge to support their party’s nominees as a condition of appointment
ⓘ
Such a pledge requirement does not violate the U.S. Constitution ⓘ Electoral College ⓘ
surface form:
The Twelfth Amendment does not prohibit states from requiring elector pledges
|
| impact | Strengthened state and party control over presidential electors ⓘ |
| issue |
Whether a state can require party loyalty pledges from presidential electors
ⓘ
Whether elector pledge requirements violate the Twelfth Amendment ⓘ |
| jurisdiction |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| languageOfDecision | English ⓘ |
| legalSubject |
Electoral College
ⓘ
political parties ⓘ presidential elections ⓘ state election law ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy |
Justice Stanley Reed
ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Stanley Forman Reed
|
| opinionType | majority opinion ⓘ |
| originatingJurisdiction |
Alabama
ⓘ
surface form:
State of Alabama
|
| pageInUnitedStatesReports | 214 ⓘ |
| petitioner | Ray ⓘ |
| relatedCase |
Chiafalo v. Washington
ⓘ
McPherson v. Blacker ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
faithless electors
ⓘ
party loyalty pledge ⓘ |
| respondent | Blair ⓘ |
| stateActionUpheld | Democratic Party of Alabama’s requirement that elector candidates pledge to support the party’s nominees ⓘ |
| volumeInUnitedStatesReports | 343 ⓘ |
| voteSplit | 5–4 ⓘ |
| yearDecided | 1952 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.