Ray refused to certify Edmund Blair as an elector because, while Blair was qualified for the position in all other regards, he had refused to take a pledge that promised, in part, he would support "the nominees of the National Convention of the Democratic Party for President and Vice-President of the United States."

A writ of mandamus was issued to force Ray to certify Blair as an elector, despite the fact that he had not fulfilled the requirements the party had set forth.

The Supreme Court of Alabama upheld the writ, reasoning, on federal constitutional grounds – specifically the Twelfth Amendment – that the requirement improperly restricted the freedom of electors to vote their choice in state primaries.

Finally, the Supreme Court decided that the Twelfth Amendment doesn't prevent parties from requiring elector candidates to take a pledge of nominee support.

Justice Jackson wrote forcefully in his dissent "no one faithful to our history can deny that the plan originally contemplated what is implicit in its text – that electors would be free agents, to exercise an independent and nonpartisan judgment as to the men best qualified for the Nation's highest offices."