Federalism as the strength of the United States: 12th Amendment "Election of President and Vice President"

Abstract

Therefore, the procedure like one of 3 USC Ch. 1 § 15 - which defines the manner for choosing by the US Congress the correct set of Electors from the given State - must be either established as an amendment to the US Constitution OR must be authorised by the State Legislature of each State separately. It is quite clear that, pursuant to Article II Section 1 and XII Amendment of the US Constitution, the procedure like one of 3 USC Ch. 1 § 15 - in order to be used in the US Congress during the joint session for choosing the US President - would require the consent of the State Legislature of each State thereto. In fact, the rules of 3 USC Ch. 1 § 15 might differ from State to State, depending on the directions that the State Legislature of the specific State agrees to provide to the US Congress. In my view, pursuant to the US Constitution, the rules like those of 3 USC Ch. 1 § 15 would be unconstitutional without an approval by each State Legislature. Each State Legislature, in its turn, might require a specific procedure to be followed - during the joint session of the US Congress - for choosing the set of Electors from that State in case of dual Electors. For example, the State might require the voting per State, where each State has one vote, when choosing the set of Electors from that State in the US Congress [that is, no individual voting by Congressmen].