REFERENCE TITLE: plenary legislative authority; elections

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-fifth Legislature

Second Regular Session

2022

SCR 1032

Introduced by

Senators Townsend: Borrelli, Gowan, Gray, Kerr, Leach, Livingston, Petersen, Rogers; Representatives Burges, Fillmore

A CONCURRENT resolution

reaffirming the legislature's plenary power with respect to elections.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Whereas, the Constitution of the United States vests power in the states to manage, control and administer each state's own election laws; and

Whereas, the power over elections was preserved explicitly for the states by the Constitution; and

Whereas, rare exceptions in the Constitution, such as the Elections Clause, the Fifteenth Amendment, the Nineteenth Amendment, the Twenty-fourth Amendment and the Twenty-sixth Amendment, do not extinguish the constitutional presumption that states have the constitutional power to set the terms of administering the election, designating electors and establishing other laws and protocols related to the election; and

Whereas, the Elections Clause of the Constitution was intended to prevent the states from suffocating the existence of the government of the United States, and no such contemplated effort has occurred; and

Whereas, the Elections Clause was to be sparingly used to intrude on state power to manage, control and administer state elections; and

Whereas, it is the constitutional and legal obligation of the Legislature of the State of Arizona to ensure that this state's presidential electors truly represent the will of Arizona voters; and

Whereas, the United States Supreme Court and other courts have explained that when a state legislature directs the manner of appointing electors, it does so pursuant to a grant of authority from the United States Constitution rather than by reason of any state constitutional or other legal provisions, that this authority may be exercised by the legislature alone without other aspects of the normal lawmaking process and that the state legislature's authority over the appointment of presidential electors is plenary.

Therefore

Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Arizona, the House of Representatives concurring:

That the Members of the Legislature reaffirm the Legislature's plenary power with respect to elections and oppose any attempt by the federal government to usurp or otherwise interfere with the state legislative sovereign authority over the management, control and administration of elections.