The Constitution (the "Guarantee Clause" says it is the responsibility of the United States to guarantee a "republican form of government." The Constitution is silent on whether this is up to the Executive, the Legislature, or the Courts. But the Federal government is specifically charged, by the Constitution, to ensure that states have …
The Constitution (the "Guarantee Clause" says it is the responsibility of the United States to guarantee a "republican form of government." The Constitution is silent on whether this is up to the Executive, the Legislature, or the Courts. But the Federal government is specifically charged, by the Constitution, to ensure that states have a "republican form of government." What the heck that means is anyone's guess. But my point is not how that would be interpreted, but that the Constitution explicitly (if very vaguely) gives the Federal Government the power to redress state government issues.
All these comments made me think about how the Federal government intervened to end the laws passed by Southern states during Jim Crow to prevent African Americans from voting; most notably the 1965 Voting Rights Act which outlawed these state laws.
I would think that if a state is blatantly preventing equal representation of voters of different political beliefs, as seems to be happening in Wisconsin, there would be an argument that the federal government should intervene. Which branch of the government should intervene is something I am not sure of.
The Constitution (the "Guarantee Clause" says it is the responsibility of the United States to guarantee a "republican form of government." The Constitution is silent on whether this is up to the Executive, the Legislature, or the Courts. But the Federal government is specifically charged, by the Constitution, to ensure that states have a "republican form of government." What the heck that means is anyone's guess. But my point is not how that would be interpreted, but that the Constitution explicitly (if very vaguely) gives the Federal Government the power to redress state government issues.
All these comments made me think about how the Federal government intervened to end the laws passed by Southern states during Jim Crow to prevent African Americans from voting; most notably the 1965 Voting Rights Act which outlawed these state laws.
I would think that if a state is blatantly preventing equal representation of voters of different political beliefs, as seems to be happening in Wisconsin, there would be an argument that the federal government should intervene. Which branch of the government should intervene is something I am not sure of.