United States Elections Clause

The Elections Clause divides responsibility for regulating elections to the United States Congress between state governments and Congress. Under Article I, Section 4, Clause 1, state legislatures initially prescribe election rules, but Congress may make or alter most of those rules through federal law.

Constitutional allocation of authority

The Clause creates a system of state administration subject to federal supervision, rather than an exclusively national election machinery.

• Each state legislature determines the times, places and manner of elections for Senators and Representatives.
• Congress may make or alter these regulations at any time, so a conflicting federal election law prevails over state law.
• Congress cannot alter state regulations concerning the places of choosing Senators, an exception expressly retained in the constitutional text.

Meaning and operation

The word "manner" broadly covers the procedural mechanics of congressional elections, including matters such as registration, voting methods, districting and vote counting. In Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (2013), the Supreme Court described Congress's Elections Clause power as broad enough to displace contrary state rules.

• States and their local authorities ordinarily conduct elections, but they do so within applicable federal statutory requirements.
• In Moore v. Harper (2023), the Supreme Court held that state legislatures exercising Elections Clause authority remain subject to their state constitutions and state judicial review.
• The Clause regulates election procedures; it does not authorize states or Congress to add qualifications for membership of Congress beyond those fixed by the Constitution.

Limits of the Clause's coverage

The Elections Clause applies specifically to elections for the House of Representatives and Senate. Presidential elections are governed separately by Article II and the Twelfth Amendment, under which states appoint presidential electors in the manner directed by their legislatures, while Congress determines the timing specified by the Constitution.