''Cook v. Gralike'', 531 U.S. 510 (2001), was a
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case in which the Court held that an attempt by the state of
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
to influence Congressional elections in favor of candidates who supported
term limits
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...
was unconstitutional.
Opinion of the Court
Missouri had adopted a state constitutional amendment with a change that, during primary general elections, warnings would be affixed to the voting ballots of candidates that did not support term limits.
The Court held that the powers delegated to the states by the Elections Clause related only to the power over the procedural mechanisms of elections. Because this amendment sought to influence the outcome of elections, it exceeded state powers over national elections.
[Varat, p. 104]
See also
* ''
U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton
''U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton'', 514 U.S. 779 (1995), is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that states cannot impose qualifications for prospective members of the U.S. Congress stricter than those the Constituti ...
'' (1995)
References
External links
*
{{USArticleI
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court
2001 in United States case law
United States elections case law