Congressional Authority to Standardize National Election Procedures

Publication Date: February 2003

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Politics

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Abstract:

Events surrounding the 2000 Presidential election have led to increased scrutiny of voting procedures in the United States, including efforts to establish national standards for issues such as the administration of voter registration, balloting, tabulating and reporting election results. This report focuses on the constitutional authority and limitations relevant to Congress standardizing these and other election procedures. A policy evaluation of these different options is, however, beyond the scope of this report.

The Congress' authority to regulate a particular election may vary depending on whether that election is for the Presidency, the House, the Senate, or for state and local positions. Further, there may be variation in whether a particular aspect of elections, such as balloting procedures, is amenable to regulation. Consequently, evaluating the authority to establish uniform election procedures would appear to require an examination of a variety of different proposals and scenarios.

Although the Constitution is silent on various aspects of the voting process, the Constitution seems to anticipate that states would be primarily responsible for establishing election procedures. Federal authority to also regulate federal elections, however, is specifically provided for in the Constitution. There are two main provisions at issue - Article I, section 4, cl. 1, which provides Congress the authority to set the "Times, Places and Manner" of congressional elections, and Article II, section 1, cl. 4, which provides that Congress may designate the "Time" for the choosing of Presidential Electors.

Congress' power is at its most broad in the case of House elections, which have historically always been decided by a system of popular voting. Congressional power over Senate elections, while almost as broad as it is for House elections, contains one exception - that Congress may not regulate "the Places of chusing Senators." The power of Congress to regulate Presidential elections, is not, however, as clearly established as the power over House and Senate elections. As noted above, the text of the Constitution provides the Congress only the limited power to designate the "Time" of the choosing of Presidential Electors. The case law on this issue is, however, ambiguous, and Congress's regulatory authority over presidential elections seems to be more extensive than might appear based on the text of Article II, section 1, cl. 4.

The Constitution does not grant the Congress general legislative authority to regulate the manner and procedures used for elections at the state and local level. The Congress, however, does have authority under the Civil War Amendments, the 19th, 24th and the 26th Amendments to prevent discrimination in access to voting, and has exercised that power extensively over state and local elections, as well as federal elections. The Congress also has expansive authority to spend money for the general welfare, and allocation of such grant monies could be conditioned on compliance by state or local officials with national standards for election procedures.