So you know: Constitutional clauses about voting. There will be arguments coming up about whether certain ballots were legal or not in various states. So you can understand one of the arguments, you should know about the 2 clauses in the Constitution that are relevant. /1

The first is Art.II, Section 1, Clause 2. It says: “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress:” /2

The 2nd is Art.II, Section 1, Clause 4. It says: “The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.” /3

So, it is clear that the Constitution says 2 things: Congress controls WHEN the choosing of electors takes place, while the state legislatures controls HOW the choosing takes place. /4

Pursuant to these provisions, the Congress has passed statutes about when Election Day is (to choose Electors) & when the Electors must cast their votes, when those vote outcomes must be delivered to the federal govt, etc. /5

And the state legislatures have all passed statutes about how the voting takes place - in person, absentee, mail, etc. Arguments that challenge some state laws thus may focus on if the state’s rules on counting mail-in ballots change the time (day) that the voting takes place. /6

And therefore whether the state’s statute is unconstitutional because only Congress can say WHEN the vote is. /7

This is just one potential argument you may be hearing, but most folks don’t know that the Constitution itself actually specifically speaks to these issues. /8