CONSTITUTIONAL LAW-EQUAL PROTECTION-STATE RESTRICTIONS IN NOMINATIONS OF CANDIDATES

Authors

David H. Armstrong S.Ed., University of Michigan Law SchoolFollow

Abstract

The Progressive Party, unable to qualify as a political party for purposes of the Illinois primary election, sought to nominate candidates for state and national offices by petition. The Illinois Election Code provides that such nominating petitions shall include the signatures of at least 200 qualified voters from each of at least 50 counties in the state. Of the state's registered voters, 87 per cent reside in the 49 most populous counties. The State Officers Electoral Board found that the petitions were insufficient, and the Illinois Supreme Court denied a motion for leave to file a petition of mandamus to compel certification of the party's nominees. An injunction against the enforcement of the statute was denied by a three-judge federal district court. Upon appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, held, affirmed by a per curiam opinion. Justice Rutledge concurred; Justices Douglas, Black, and Murphy dissented. MacDougall v. Green, (U.S. 1948) 69 S.Ct. 1.

Recommended Citation

David H. Armstrong S.Ed., CONSTITUTIONAL LAW-EQUAL PROTECTION-STATE RESTRICTIONS IN NOMINATIONS OF CANDIDATES, 47 Mich. L. Rev. 406 (1949).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol47/iss3/11