Constitutional Discussion over Supreme Court's Election Law and EPA rulings

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

I was asked to comment on a conversation at NPR regarding elections laws and the EPA.

A. Congress may only pass law adjusting rules regarding elections for congressional elections as per Article I, Section 4 and the Tenth Amendment.  There is no authority for the federal government to have any influence whatsoever regarding local elections (state and lower) and presidential elections.

B. The courts may not legislate; this is connected to the doctrine of a Separation of Powers.  While the courts operate believing they may legislate from the bench based on the unconstitutional concept of judicial review, from a strict constitutional textualist viewpoint the courts have no authority to strike down any law.  They may provide judicial opinion challenging the constitutionality of a law, be it federal or state, but they may not modify it or strike it down.  Only a legislature may perform that operation.  Article I, Section 1: All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress.  Only legislative bodies may practice legislative powers.

C. If the federal government has no authority over an issue no part of the federal government may address that issue, including the federal courts.  Except in cases where a law may have been made regarding elections for U.S. Senators and members of the House of Representatives, there is no federal authority regarding elections afforded to the federal government, therefore State legislatures are free to make the laws they believe to be necessary to carry out elections.

D. While establishing voting districts boundaries are a state function, if the boundaries are considered to be unfair the Congress may propose and pass legislation to solve the problem if those districts are regarding the House of Representatives, or the Senate (post Seventeenth Amendment, 1913).  As a law such a move would require approval by both Houses of Congress and a signature by the President.  Otherwise, such work regarding district boundaries belongs solely to the state legislature.  The governor, nor the state courts, have any authority to interfere unless the State Constitution stipulates otherwise.  Congress nor the federal courts may have any influence on voting district boundaries regarding state or local elections, nor electoral district boundaries in a presidential election.

E. State courts have no independent oversight over elections.  The manners and procedures of elections belong solely to the legislature.  Should the legislature's operations be improper, it is the role of the citizens and the county leadership (regarding State Senate prior to 1964's Reynolds v. Sims ruling) to remove the persons causing the problem, and replace them with other individuals.

F. The Environmental Protection Agency has no constitutional authority to even exist in the first place.  As per the Enumeration Doctrine and the Tenth Amendment all environmental legislation and execution of such legislative authorities lie with the States.

G. Federal regulatory agencies creating regulatory rules that are not supported by legislation are unconstitutional.  Only legislative bodies may make law, modify law, or repeal law.  The word "vested" in Article I, Section 1 tells Congress that they may not give away such power, their legislative powers are irrevocable.  Only Congress may legislate at the federal level, and only the state legislators may legislate at the state level.  Regulations must be tied directly to an existing law, and may not create a new rule without having gone through the legislative process in Congress.  The legislative body has no authority to pass on such a power to a regulatory body, once again because such an authority is irrevocable since the word "vested" is used when referring to those powers in Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution and in every State Constitution when establishing their legislative bodies.

H. The EPA should be dismantled since it is an unconstitutional department.  If the federal government believes it should have environmental protection powers an amendment should be proposed by Congress to ask the States for permission to be authorized to have that power, of which it would take 3/4s of the States to ratify such an amendment.  Otherwise, the EPA has no constitutional authority to exist.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary