elections clause

noun

variants or Elections Clause

: a clause in Article 1, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution that provides state legislatures with the power to regulate the time, place, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives and reserves for the U.S. Congress the power to alter the regulations

Examples of elections clause in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Supreme Court allowed the new maps to go into effect but also agreed to review the case to determine if the independent state legislature theory’s reading of the elections clause was correct. —Matt Ford, The New Republic, 27 June 2023

The decision was an indictment of the independent state legislature theory, a radical interpretation of the US Constitution’s elections clause that claims state legislatures should have unilateral control over elections. —Scott Nover, Quartz, 27 June 2023

Supporters of the doctrine, which hasn't been embraced by the high court in any previous decisions, have suggested the U.S. Constitution's elections clause intended for legislatures to have the ultimate say over federal election rules and could override limits imposed by state constitutions. —Kaelan Deese, Washington Examiner, 2 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above