Cite as: 502 U. S. 279 (1992)
Scalia, J., dissenting
I find neither response persuasive. As to the first: We did not say in Socialist Workers Party that the constitutionally permissible number for qualification in the various political subdivisions of the State had to be some fraction (presumably based on population) of the statewide 25,000 figure; to the contrary, we permitted the State to require in political subdivisions any number up to 25,000. Illinois has simply taken us at our word. Nor does this amount to an irrational failure to "apportion." Illinois' genuine minimum, we must recall, is a percentage (5%) of the votes in the prior election, which of course automatically adjusts for the size of the electoral unit. The 25,000 figure is simply a cap upon that minimum, and it is not at all reasonable to think an "apportionment" of that cap will assure serious voter support. As to the second argument: The fact that Illinois does not require geographic distribution of support for statewide office is irrelevant. Neither does it require geographic distribution, as such, in these Cook County elections. It does not care if all of the support for the Harold Washington Party, in each districtwide election, comes from a single ward—just as it does not care, in statewide elections, if all of a new party's support comes from a single county. What the law under challenge here reflects is not concern for geographically distributed support, but concern for serious support in each election; and when some of the elections are not at large but by district, the support must exist within each district.
Perhaps there are reasons why Illinois' "complete slate" requirement for political subdivisions is constitutionally invalid. The point might be made, for example, that the absence of any such requirement in statewide elections demonstrates (to take the Court's language erroneously addressed to a different point) that Illinois "deems [the requirement] unimportant," and has no "serious state interest" in it. Ante, at 294. But as American political scientists have known since James Madison pointed it out, see The Federalist No. 10, pp. 62-64 (H. Dawson ed. 1876), the dangers of
299
Page: Index Previous 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007