Cite as: 600 U. S. ____ (2023)
23
Opinion of the Court
drew no distinction between “procedural” and “substantive”
restraints on lawmaking. It turned on the view that state
constitutional provisions apply to a legislature’s exercise of
lawmaking authority under the Elections Clause, with no
concern about how those provisions might be categorized.
285 U. S., at 367–368; see also Hildebrant, 241 U. S., at
569–570.
The same goes for the Court’s decision in Arizona State
Legislature. The defendants attempt to cabin that case by
arguing that the Court did not address substantive limits
on the regulation of federal elections. But as in Smiley, the
Court’s decision in Arizona State Legislature discussed no
difference between procedure and substance.
The dissent reads Smiley and Arizona State Legislature
in a different light. JUSTICE THOMAS thinks those cases say
nothing about whether a State can impose “substantive limits” on the legislature’s exercise of power under the Elections Clause. Post, at 21. But in Smiley, we addressed
whether “the conditions which attach to the making of state
laws” apply to legislatures exercising authority under the
Elections Clause. 285 U. S., at 365. We held that they do.
“Much that is urged in argument with regard to the meaning of the term ‘Legislature,’ ” we explained, “is beside the
point.” Ibid. And we concluded in straightforward terms
that legislatures must abide by “restriction[s] imposed by
state constitutions . . . when exercising the lawmaking
power” under the Elections Clause. Id., at 369. Arizona
State Legislature said much the same, emphasizing that, by
its text, nothing in the Elections Clause offers state legislatures carte blanche to act “in defiance of provisions of the
State’s constitution.” 576 U. S., at 818.
The defendants and JUSTICE THOMAS do not in any event
offer a defensible line between procedure and substance in
this context. “The line between procedural and substantive
law is hazy.” Erie R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U. S. 64, 92
(1938) (Reed, J., concurring in part); see also Shady Grove
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents