Fulton County, Pennsylvania, et al. v. Dominion Voting Systems, Inc., et al.

Article I, § 4, cl. 1, the “Elections Clause” of the United States Constitution, delegates to the states, the Time, Manner, and Place of conducting national elections. The Pennsylvania Constitution delegates this power to the General Assembly, which has further delegated this power to County Boards of Elections (including the Petitioners). 25 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 2641(a). County Boards of Elections therefore have authority, inter alia, to purchase voting machines for voting in national elections. 25 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 2642(c). In 2019, the Petitioners signed a contract with Dominion for the provision of voting machines for the November 2020 General Election. The Petitioners filed suit against Dominion for breach of contract, when they discovered that the voting machines were defective and compromised. The District Court summarily dismissed, ruling that the Petitioners lacked standing and their suit had no merit. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. I. Did the District Court err in holding that the Petitioners failed to state a claim for breach of contract on the basis that they did not have standing to sue Dominion, vendors of a product that the Petitioners purchased by contract, where the Petitioners are constitutionally and statutorily delegated the authority to contract with vendors for the provision of voting machines to conduct national elections?