Question for all of you legal scholars.....

[clarice]

I've been searching on the web for the answer to thid question, but I'm not sure if
I'm even asking the question correctly...I'll try to spell it out.

A. A city or a State has a referendum or a bill on which the voters of that
City/State vote either yes or no. In this case, let's assume the voters overwhelming voted
"yes".

B. At this point, a Federal Judge? or SOME KIND of Judge slaps his/her gavel down
and say's "NO" and discounts the voting results.

C. My question....does anyone know the statute.....or rule that allows this?
Where can I find the document or "rule book" ..lol. that grants this authority to over rule
the voice of The People?

[elleng]

1. No!

Joke answer, but there are not enough facts presented in your hypothetical to arrive at a decent response.

Federal/State, Referendum/Bill are among the variables that make it difficult/impossible to respond.

[clarice]

3. Like I said....

I am not sure how to pose the question. The only case I can think of is Ca.'s was it prop 13?
I can't remember..... anyway.... I'm not questioning the "rightness or wrongness" of that decision, I'm using it as an example
where a vote was overturned. What I'm looking for is the legal precedent that allows the negation of any
voting decision.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Not enough information for an answer,

but the "rules" governing elections and referendums would most likely be found in the statutes of the state, or the ordinances of the city. If a judge struck the results down it could have been because a required procedure under that statute or ordinance was not followedproperly, or the statute/rule voted upon was unconstitutional. But without more information that's the best I can do.

[clarice]

4. Thanks VO...read my preceding post. Thanks. nt

[Orangepeel]

5. Well, suppose people voted to prohibit a particular religious group from holding elected office

Or to deny citizenship to the children born in the U.S. to undocumented parents. There are likely areas of the country where such ridiculous referendums would get on the ballot and pass. Hell, more than one GOP candidate for president is on record in favor of each of them.

In each of those cases, a federal judge would likely put down his gavel and say no because they are both unconstitutional.

[2naSalit]

7. that's the best example

and it would also apply at the various levels of government for which a vote might be cast. The court system requires that it pass through the "lower courts" - say state or county and if resolution is not achieved it can often move up to higher level courts should those courts permit the case to be heard in their court. When it is an item on a ballot, it often rises to higher courts and the ultimate would be if it worked its way to SCOTUS, once a case hits the federal level the question is usually whether the ballot item was constitutional or not. It's a long process and a costly one as well but if a plaintiff (person or group) has the backing, the can/will move forward until a judge or panel decide to kill it.

[CBGLuthier]

6. You can find it right here

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution



I can think of a few times when people voted yes to prohibit gay marriage. Well, we all know how that turned out.