elections clause

noun

variants or Elections Clause

: a clause in Article 1, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution that provides state legislatures with the power to regulate the time, place, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives and reserves for the U.S. Congress the power to alter the regulations

Examples of elections clause in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Morley also noted that any constitutional dispute tied to the elections clause could ultimately reach the Supreme Court after review by the Virginia courts. — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 11 Mar. 2026

In drafting the elections clause in 1787, the Founders at the Constitutional Convention attempted to balance their distrust of state legislatures as the source of partisan factions with their desire to maintain state control over voting qualifications. — Jeffrey Rosen, The Atlantic, 16 Feb. 2026

But the elections clause only grants Congress authority to regulate election procedures, not voter qualifications. — John J. Martin, The Conversation, 12 Feb. 2026

And of course this is contrary to the Constitution, which specifically grants states the authority to run elections under Article 1, Section 4, the elections clause. — CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for elections clause

• magnetopause
• ahs
• baas
• cause
• claws
• coz
• daws
• draws
• flaws
• gauze
• gnaws
• haws