name was on the ballot is not a plaintiff in this case.
Other circuit courts to reach the issue have cited the Carson decision with disapproval, noting that there was no precedent for expanding standing in the way that it did.[1] See Bognet v. Sec’y of Commonwealth of Pa., 980 F.3d 336, 351 n.6 (3d Cir. 2020) (“Our conclusion departs from the recent decision of an Eighth Circuit panel which, over a dissent, concluded that candidates for the position of presidential elector had standing under Bond [v. United States, 564 U.S. 211 (2011)] to challenge a Minnesota state-court consent decree that effectively extended the receipt deadline for mailed ballots…. The Carson court appears to have cited language from Bond without considering the context—specifically, the Tenth Amendment and the reserved police powers—in which the U.S. Supreme Court employed that language. There is no precedent for expanding Bond beyond this context, and the Carson court cited none.”). Indeed, as numerous other courts have held, where, as here, the injury alleged by plaintiffs is that defendants failed to follow the Elections Clause, the Supreme Court has stated that the “injury is precisely the kind of undifferentiated, generalized grievance about the conduct of government that [courts] have refused to countenance.” Lance, 549 U.S. at 442.
Elector Plaintiffs have not established they can personally bring suit, and therefore, they do not have standing to bring Count One.[2] Therefore, the Court will dismiss Count
- ↑ See also Carson, 78 F.3d at 1063 (Kelly, J., dissenting) (“I am not convinced the Electors have Article III standing to assert claims under the Electors Clause. Although Minnesota law at times refers to them as ‘candidates,’ see, e.g., Minn. Stat. § 204B.03 (2020), the Electors are not candidates for public office as that term is commonly understood. Whether they ultimately assume the office of elector depends entirely on the outcome of the state popular vote for president. Id. § 208.04 subdiv. 1 (‘[A] vote cast for the party candidates for president and vice president shall be deemed a vote for that party’s electors.’). They are not presented to and chosen by the voting public for their office, but instead automatically assume that office based on the public’s selection of entirely different individuals.”).
- ↑ The Court notes that Count One of the Complaint makes passing references to the “VRA and HAVA,” (the Voting Rights Act and the Help America Vote Act of 2002) but does not bring any claims under these statutes. (Doc. 1 ¶ 106).
of the presidential candidate and vice-presidential candidate who is seeking election jointly with the presidential candidate shall be listed directly below the name of the presidential candidate. The indicator for the selection of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates shall be directly next to the surname of the presidential candidate, and one mark directly next to a presidential candidate’s surname shall be counted as a vote for each elector in the bracketed list next to the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.”
- 8 -
