The Constitution and the SAVE America Act

Key Ideas & Quote

Why It Matters

“Although the Elections Clause makes states primarily responsible for regulating congressional elections, it vests ultimate power in Congress. Congress may pass federal laws regulating congressional elections that automatically displace (“preempt”) any contrary state statutes, or enact its own regulations concerning those aspects of elections that states may not have addressed.”

This passage underscores Congress’ power to enact legislation shaping federal elections like the SAVE Act. It addresses why Congress has the authority to initiate such acts, and how the federal election process is a matter of federalism.

“The power to make the rules governing the electoral process is perhaps the most important power conferred by the Constitution. By drawing congressional district boundaries differently, enhancing or weakening measures to protect the integrity of the electoral process, changing the standards concerning vote counting, or modifying any of dozens of other rules concerning elections, it often is possible to systematically help candidates from one political party over the other. The government officials empowered to determine the rules governing an election therefore can exert a tremendous influence over the election’s outcome!”

Morley points out an important debate in the federal election process – who has the authority to set the rules for federal elections? He argues that the Elections Clause says the rules are set by each state’s “Legislature”, but Congress can override them. He emphasizes his disagreement with the Supreme Court over what the definition of “Legislature” is and stresses his viewpoint about legislatures needing to be defined as only the elected legislative body (like a state assembly). This would impact the structure of election power in the U.S and could shape how laws like the SAVE Act could be implemented, challenged, or limited.

“In the last century-and-a-half, . . . Congress became more aggressive in exercising its authority under the [Elections] Clause, imposing substantive requirements that states must follow in structuring federal elections. These requirements have included, for example, laying down minimum criteria for the states to follow regarding compactness, contiguity, and single member districting for U.S. House elections; instituting uniform voter registration standards for federal elections through the National Voter Registration Act; and modernizing state voting systems through the Help America Vote Act.”

Tolson focuses her argument on the power that the Elections Clause grants Congress to shape election rules nationwide. She details how Congress has set baseline standards for how federal elections must operate. Applied to something like the SAVE Act, this interpretation helps explain why Congress might believe it has the authority to act in the first place. To pass constitutional muster, federal legislation like the SAVE Act must also not conflict with other provisions of the Constitution.