Pennsylvania Voters Alliance, et al. v. Centre County, Pennsylvania, et al.

The Elections Clause is found in the beginning of the U.S. Constitution at Article I, section 4. The guarantee of federal elections for Congressional members is a “social contract” in which the federal government has a unique federal interest. In this case, a state’s local subdivisions have accepted millions from a private, non-profit corporation to pay for federal elections. In exchange for the private federal election grants, the local subdivisions agree to meet the requirements of the grant, to report back to the private, non-profit corporation and to claw-back provisions which are an ongoing liability for the political subdivision.

1. Whether the social contract of the Federal Elections Clause requires exclusivelypublicly-funded federal elections, thus prohibiting such private federal election grants.

2. Whether the federal common law under the Elections Clause recognizes such private financing as tortious interference with the social contract embedded in the Elections Clause.

3. Whether the federal common law under the Elections Clause recognizes Article III standing, an actual and concrete injury, for a resident within a political subdivision to challenge the political subdivision accepting private federal election grants interfering with the Elections Clause guarantee of exclusivelypublicly-funded federal elections—possibly invalidating the federal election.