QUESTION: I noticed on your 2001 practice exam in the question about a federal voting regulation where Congress was imposing a nationwide standard, that preemption wasn't an issue. I'm having trouble seeing where it is or isn't an issue. Does preemption only come into play in terms of commercial regulation rather than something like voting?
ANSWER: No. Preemption has nothing to do with the particular subject matter at issue. It is relevant when a party invokes state law, and the defendant claims that the state law is invalid or inapplicable because it is preempted (it conflicts with a validly enacted federal law). I'm not remembering exactly the facts of the hypo you reference, but my guess is that no one was invoking a state law, thus preemption was beside the point.