Chiafalo v. Washington
E6561
Chiafalo v. Washington is a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case that unanimously upheld states’ authority to penalize or replace “faithless electors” who do not vote in line with their state’s popular vote in presidential elections.
Aliases (1)
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
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constitutional law case → election law case → legal case → |
| affirms |
judgment of the Washington Supreme Court
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|
| aroseFrom |
State of Washington
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|
| concerns |
enforcement of elector pledges
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presidential elections in the United States → state authority over presidential electors → |
| hasAreaOfLaw |
constitutional law
→
election law → public law → |
| hasChiefJusticeAtDecision |
John G. Roberts, Jr.
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|
| hasCitation |
591 U.S. ___ (2020)
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|
| hasCountry |
United States
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|
| hasCourt |
Supreme Court of the United States
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|
| hasDecisionDate |
2020-07-06
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|
| hasDecisionType |
unanimous decision
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|
| hasDocketNumber |
No. 19-465
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|
| hasFullCaseName |
Peter B. Chiafalo, et al. v. State of Washington
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|
| hasHolding |
States may penalize or replace presidential electors who fail to vote in accordance with their state’s popular vote
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The Constitution does not prohibit states from enforcing an elector’s pledge to support the state’s popular-vote winner → |
| hasImpact |
clarified that states may enforce elector pledges in presidential elections
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limited discretion of individual presidential electors to vote contrary to the state popular vote → |
| hasJurisdiction |
federal question jurisdiction
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|
| hasKeyPhrase |
faithless electors
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pledged electors → state authority to bind electors → |
| hasLegalIssue |
Electoral College
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constitutionality of penalties for faithless electors → faithless electors → state power to regulate presidential electors → |
| hasLowerCourt |
Washington Supreme Court
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|
| hasMajorityOpinionBy |
Elena Kagan
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|
| hasOutcome |
Washington’s fines on faithless electors were upheld
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|
| hasPetitioner |
Peter B. Chiafalo
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|
| hasRespondent |
State of Washington
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|
| hasSubjectMatter |
scope of state power under the Electors Clause
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|
| hasTimePeriod |
post-2016 U.S. presidential election era
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|
| hasVote |
9-0
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|
| hasYearOfDecision |
2020
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|
| interprets |
Article II of the U.S. Constitution
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Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution → U.S. Constitution → |
| isRelatedCaseTo |
Colorado Department of State v. Baca
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|
| relatesTo |
Electoral College system in the United States
→
democratic accountability of electors → state election laws → |
| wasArguedIn |
2020
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|
Referenced by (4)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Chiafalo v. Washington
("Peter B. Chiafalo, et al. v. State of Washington")
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|
hasFullCaseName |
|
Peter B. Chiafalo
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|
legalCase |
|
Electoral College
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|
notableSupremeCourtCase |
|
Colorado Department of State v. Baca
→
|
relatedCase |