In recent years, the Supreme Court of the United States has expressed profound skepticism of congressional action that risks intruding upon the operation of state governments. Simultaneously, the Court has taken a dim view of federal efforts to protect the right to vote. Th is Comment argues that both doctrinal shift s are in tension with the Constitution’s requirement that the federal government guarantee a “Republican Form of Government” to every state in the Union.
Since 1849, the Supreme Court has held that the Republican Guarantee Clause is enforceable only by Congress. Congress invoked the clause to enact a program of sweeping political reform in the American South during Reconstruction. Led by Senator Charles Sumner, Congress mandated new state constitutions and amended state suff rage laws on that authority. Presented with the opportunity to invalidate these efforts, the Supreme Court declined to reach the question. In the more than one hundred years since, the Court has continued to recognize congressional primacy regarding the Republican Guarantee Clause.
This Comment argues that Congress has more power to act with respect to state government structure than it or the Court currently recognizes. Th e clause’s historic concern with voting rights, in particular, makes it an underutilized source of constitutional authority for congressional protection of the right to vote.
