Foster v. Love

522 U.S. 67 (1997) · Souter, J., for a unanimous Court

Did Louisiana's Open Primary Violate Federal Election Day?

Did Louisiana's open primary system, under which a candidate who receives a majority in the primary is declared elected before the federal Election Day, violate the federal Election Day statute (2 U.S.C. § 7)?

Yes. Louisiana Violated the Federal Statute.

Souter, J., for a unanimous Court: Louisiana's "election" (the primary result conclusively selecting a winner) was occurring before the statutory Election Day, violating Congress's authority to fix a uniform federal Election Day.

The Court held that if a "general election" is held at all, it must occur on the date designated by federal statute. An election is "the combined actions of voters and officials meant to make a final selection of an officeholder" and cannot be concluded as a matter of law before the date Congress chose.

The Elections Clause as Default Provision

"The Clause is a default provision; it invests the States with responsibility for the mechanics of congressional elections, but only so far as Congress declines to pre-empt state legislative choices."

Souter, J., 522 U.S. at 69.

"A contested selection of candidates for a congressional office that is concluded as a matter of law before the federal election day, with no act in law or in fact to take place on the date chosen by Congress, clearly violates § 7."

Why It Matters: The Watson Foundation

This is the foundational statutory precedent for Watson v. Republican National Committee. Both cases turn on the same hook: 2 U.S.C. § 7's requirement that federal elections occur on a single, uniform day. Foster establishes that "election" means a final selection of an officeholder, and that any state system concluding that selection before the federal date violates the statute.

Bryan encountered this case via his Law of Democracy book (p. 149), cited alongside the Watson context.