The Founding Fathers' Vision: Voting Dates And The Constitution

The United States Constitution outlines the rules and regulations for federal elections, including the election of the President and Vice President. The Constitution grants each level of government the authority to establish laws and regulations for elections, such as voter registration, voter protection, and vote counting. While the Constitution does not specify a date for Election Day, it empowers Congress to determine the timing of elections and the day on which electors vote, ensuring it is the same throughout the country. The current statute sets the date for electors to meet and vote on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, with states sending in their electoral votes to Congress by the fourth Wednesday in December. The Constitution also addresses scenarios where there is no clear winner in a presidential election, outlining procedures for Congress to select the President and Vice President.

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Voting deadlines

At the federal level, the Constitution grants Congress the authority to determine the timing of choosing electors and the day on which they cast their votes. This is done to reduce the risk of manipulation and ensure a fair selection process for the President. The current statute states that electors of the President and Vice President shall meet and vote on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, with the votes being sent to Congress by the fourth Wednesday in December. This deadline is crucial, as it ensures that the electoral votes are received and counted in a timely manner.

Additionally, the Constitution sets a hard deadline for the end of the President's and Vice President's terms, which is January 20 of the year following a general election. This deadline is non-negotiable and applies regardless of any term limits. In the absence of a clear winner by this date, the Speaker of the House would serve as the Acting President until a decision is made.

While states have some flexibility in setting their voting deadlines, they must operate within the framework provided by federal law. By 1792, federal law permitted state legislatures to choose presidential electors within a 34-day period before the first Wednesday in December. This timeline was chosen to accommodate travel considerations and align with the new year. Over time, states have gradually converged on a similar election date, with Election Day typically falling between November 2 and 8.

To increase voter turnout and accessibility, some states have declared Election Day a civic holiday or mandated that employees be given time off to vote. Early voting is also permitted in many states, allowing voters to cast their ballots in person or by postal voting before the official Election Day. These measures aim to address the challenges of voter participation and ensure that all eligible citizens have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

Who can vote

While the sources I found focus on the US Constitution, they do not explicitly state who can vote. However, there are some implicit indications. For example, the Constitution specifies that anyone who is eligible to vote for the larger house of a state legislature can vote for the US House and US Senate as well. The Elections Clause does not allow states or Congress to override these provisions by establishing additional qualifications for voting for Congress.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution protects the fundamental right to vote, barring states from imposing substantial burdens on that right. When a law requires certain procedures or qualifications for voting, a court must determine whether it is a reasonable regulation of the electoral process or an infringement on the right to vote. For example, laws requiring people to register to vote in advance or to vote at their assigned polling places are permitted.

The US Constitution also specifies that only natural-born citizens or citizens at the time of the Constitution's adoption are eligible for the office of the President.

Choosing the president

The process of electing the President of the United States is outlined in Article II of the Constitution and was influenced by the belief that political parties were detrimental to the long-term prosperity of republics. The Twelfth Amendment, ratified on June 15, 1804, revised the procedure for electing the President and Vice President, specifically so that they would be elected together.

The U.S. employs the "Electoral College" system, which means that 538 Electors drawn from the states and the District of Columbia speak for the rest of the population. Each state gets a certain number of electors based on its representation in Congress, and each elector casts one vote following the general election. The candidate who gets more than half (270) wins.

The process of choosing the president begins with primaries and caucuses, where candidates from each political party campaign through the country to win the favour of their party members. Primaries and caucuses lead to a selection of delegates who will represent the people at the upcoming conventions. Party members then vote for the best candidate to represent them in the general election. Each party holds a national convention to select a final presidential nominee, and the presidential candidate chooses a running mate (Vice Presidential candidate).

The Electors meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, and they must make distinct lists of all persons voted for and the number of votes for each. These lists are then sent to the President of the Senate, who opens the certificates in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives. If no candidate has a majority vote, or if there is a tie, the House of Representatives chooses who will be the president.

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Voting process

The original US Constitution does not have much to say about the right to vote. It does not explicitly state that citizens have the right to vote in elections. Instead, it states that anyone eligible to vote for the largest house of a state legislature is also eligible to vote for members of the House of Representatives from that state. This left individual states with the power to decide who qualified to vote, leading to considerable variation in the nation's early years.

The Elections Clause gives Congress and the federal government the power to determine the "times, places, and manner" of congressional elections. Congress has used this power to establish a single national Election Day and mandate single-member congressional districts. The Constitution also requires all states to have a representative form of government with elections and majority rule, but this is rarely invoked by Congress or the federal courts.

The federal government and the states share responsibility for conducting general elections. While the federal government technically has the power to protect voting rights and regulate elections, it currently lacks the tools to do so effectively. As a result, it is up to the states to take action to protect voting rights by removing barriers to voter registration, making it as easy as possible to cast a ballot, and passing state-level voting rights acts.

Federal laws, such as the Civil Rights Acts, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984, have been passed to protect Americans' right to vote and make it easier for citizens to exercise that right. The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 created new ways to register to vote and called for states to maintain more accurate voter registration lists. The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 authorized federal funding of elections and created the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to help states adopt minimum standards on voter education, registration, and ballots.

To vote in US elections, individuals must meet certain eligibility requirements. Voter-age eligibility is set by the 26th Amendment, which requires voters to be 18 years of age on or before Election Day. States also have residency requirements, and only citizens can vote in elections. States have different rules about when people convicted of felonies have their voting rights restored, but 13 states can permanently bar convicted felons from voting under certain conditions.

Voting dates

In 1792, federal law allowed state legislatures to choose presidential electors any time within a 34-day period before the first Wednesday in December. Tuesday was chosen as Election Day so that voters could attend church on Sunday, travel to the polling location on Monday, and vote before Wednesday, which was market day for farmers.

The Twentieth Amendment, passed in 1933, changed the beginning and end dates for the terms of the President, Vice President, Congressmen, and Senators, but it did not affect the timing of Election Day. Today, Election Day is constrained to the week between November 2 and 8, with the majority of states allowing early voting.

The Constitution's text requires that a group of electors, commonly called the Electoral College, chooses the next president. Congress determines the time of choosing the electors and the day on which they shall give their votes, which shall be the same throughout the United States. This day is typically the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, following the general election.

If there is no clear winner of the presidential election by January 20, the Speaker of the House would serve as Acting President under the current succession law.

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