[EL] Electoral college changes and section 5

[Derek Muller]

I'm not sure if it was simply prophylactic (which means it cannot answer
the theoretical question), but, as a matter of recent *practice*,
California did submit its enactment of the National Popular Vote to the
Department of Justice for preclearance:
http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/resources/CA-Herren-Letter-2012-1-13-DOJ-VRA-Preclearance.pdf

Derek

On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 6:01 PM, Justin Levitt <jml269 at connect.yale.edu>wrote:

>  Isn't it clear that the 14th and 15th Amendments would preclude a state
> legislature from using its "plenary" power to decide that it would hold a
> popular election for presidential electors with only white voters eligible
> to participate?  Those Amendments, written after Article II and a
> substantial shift in federal/state power, substantively modify the exercise
> of all the powers in the original constitution.
>
> By the same logic, a statute validly passed under Congress's power to
> enforce the 14th and 15th Amendments has to be a valid limitation on
> "plenary" power.
>
> It's the same logic as *Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer*, 427 U.S. 445 (1976),
> allowing valid exercise of 14th Amendment enforcement power to override
> 11th Amendment sovereign immunity.  No?
>
> --
> Justin Levitt
> Visting Associate Professor of Law
> Yale Law School 203-432-2366justin.levitt at yale.edussrn.com/author=698321
>
> On 1/23/2013 7:48 PM, Rick Hasen wrote:
>
> Someone asked me what would happen if Virginia changes its method for
> allocating electoral college votes. Would such a change be subject to
> preclearance under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act? Or, given the
> state legislature's plenary power to set the rules for the allocation of
> electoral college votes as provided for in Art. II of the Constitution,
> is the preclearance requirement not applicable or unconstitutional as
> applied to electoral college allocations?
>
>
>
>
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