Kenneth Schneyer <[log in to unmask]> writes:
 
>It occurs to me that there are probably extant cases involving campaign
promises.
 
A quick Westlaw search: (campaign /4 promise) /5 breach found only one
case.  The court held that minority school board members did not
have a federal cause of action challenging Mississippi recall
procedures, but for the GOP contract problem the dictum is interesting:
 
> Given the sanctity of the secret ballot process in our Republic,
> individual votes cannot be traced from minority members' ballots
> into the public office.... For instance, if minority members
> vote for a candidate on the basis of a campaign promise and
> the candidate later breaches that promise with
> discriminatory effects, the minority voters could claim their
> rights to vote have been rendered ineffective so as to give
> rise to claims under the Voting Rights Act.  Obviously, the
> right to vote cannot be read so broadly.
 
_Smith v. Winter_, 717 F.2d 191, 198 (5th. Cir. 1984).
 
 
--
Robert J. Van Der Velde  | Internet: [log in to unmask]
10307 Wilbert Drive      | Phone:    (216) 256-9262
Kirtland, OH  44094-9511 |