Washington — The Supreme Court dealt a new setback to the term-limits movement Wednesday, ruling that states cannot use election ballots to brand congressional candidates as opponents.
The justices unanimously threw out Missouri's labeling provision, saying it puts targeted candidates at a disadvantage and "attempts to dictate electoral outcomes."
Congressional candidates had to take specific steps to support term limits or risk being labeled, on the election ballot, as opponents of the idea.
"It seems clear that the adverse labels handicap candidates at the most crucial stage in the election process the instant before the vote is cast," Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the court.
Stevens said the Missouri labeling requirement, approved by state voters in 1996, fell outside the power the Constitution gives the states to set procedures for congressional elections.
Missouri was one of nine states that adopted such "scarlet letter" labeling laws.
Seven of them in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Nebraska and South Dakota have been thrown out by other courts. Alaska's law was declared unenforceable by the state attorney general.
Missouri Atty. Gen. Jay Nixon described the ruling as a "narrow loss" for states.
"It only affects federal candidates and it does not affect any other areas of state ballot control," said Nixon, who acknowledged he voted against the measure in 1996.
Paul Jacob of the advocacy group U.S. Term Limits said the organization abandoned the ballot-labeling strategy several years ago.
"It wasn't a viable approach politically or in the end, legally," he said.
"The strategy now is to put people on record: Do they want a political career or will they limit their time in power?" Jacob said.
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