Morse v. Republican Party of Va., 517 U.S. 186, 93 (1996)

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278

MORSE v. REPUBLICAN PARTY OF VA.

Thomas, J., dissenting

include conventions, the most natural (and logical) inference is that Congress did not intend to include voting at conventions within the definition of "voting."

The omission of conventions from the list of elections covered in § 14 is especially revealing when compared to and contrasted with other federal election laws. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 defines "election" to mean "(A) a general, special, primary, or runoff election; [and] (B) a convention or caucus of a political party which has authority to nominate a candidate." 86 Stat. 11, as amended, 2 U. S. C. § 431(1) (emphasis added). Similarly, § 600 of Title 18 criminalizes the promising of employment in exchange for political support "in connection with any general or special election to any political office, or in connection with any primary election or political convention or caucus held to select candidates for any political office." 18 U. S. C. § 600 (emphasis added). See also § 601(b)(2) (defining "election" as, inter alia, "a convention or caucus of a political party held to nominate a candidate") (emphasis added). Congress obviously knows how to cover nominating conventions when it wants to. After all, if there is a field in which Congress has expertise, it is elections.

Justice Stevens maintains that the fee relates to "voting" because, even though it was not imposed at one of the three types of elections listed in § 14, it diminished the effectiveness of appellants' votes at the general election. See ante, at 205-206. As I explained in Holder v. Hall, 512 U. S. 874 (1994), my view is that "as far as the Act is concerned, an 'effective' vote is merely one that has been cast and fairly counted." Id., at 919 (Thomas, J., concurring in judgment). Appellants do not contend that they were unable to submit a ballot in the general election or that their votes in that election were not properly registered and counted. I thus would not strain to hold, as do Justices Stevens and Breyer, that appellants' votes at the general election lacked

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