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Legislative Process Keyed to Mikva, 5th Ed.
United States Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton
Citation:
514 U.S. 779 (1995)Facts
In November 1992, Arkansas voters adopted Amendment 73 to the Arkansas Constitution, which included term limits for state officials and members of the Arkansas congressional delegation. Section 3 of the amendment provided that persons who had served three or more terms in the U.S. House of Representatives or two or more terms in the U.S. Senate from Arkansas “shall not be certified as a candidate and shall not be eligible to have his/her name placed on the ballot” for those offices. The amendment’s preamble stated that “elected officials who remain in office too long become preoccupied with reelection and ignore their duties as representatives of the people.” The amendment did not prevent candidates from running as write-in candidates. Bobbie Hill, on behalf of herself and other Arkansas citizens, filed a complaint seeking a declaratory judgment that Section 3 of Amendment 73 violated the U.S. Constitution. The case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court after the Arkansas Supreme Court found the amendment unconstitutional.
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