SCOTUS has spoken and said that “mere inconvenience” and “some [racial] disparity” is not enough for **courts** to invalidate laws.
But you know what, **Congress** is a co-equal branch & has broad power under the Elections Clause to set a floor for what is acceptable.
But you know what, **Congress** is a co-equal branch & has broad power under the Elections Clause to set a floor for what is acceptable.
Congress has used this power many times: to require use of single-member districts (1842), to set a uniform national election day (1844), the Absentee Voter Act (1986), the National Voter Registration Act (1993), the Help America Vote Act (2002) - to name just a few. 2/
And lest there be any doubt that this power is broad, none other than Justice Scalia wrote in 2013 that Congress’ power under the Elections Clause was “comprehensive” and included the power to adopt “a complete code for congressional elections” if it wanted. 3/
And let’s go back further - to the history of the Elections Clause, which, as Madison explained, was needed in case state legislatures abused their power to “mould their [election] regulations as to favor the candidates they wished to succeed.” 4/
In short, although SCOTUS may have abstained, Congress is fully empowered to respond - and to make today a blip and not a roadblock. 5/
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