What statutory steps would Congress need to take to change the nationwide date for presidential and congressional elections?
Executive summary
Congress already sets the nationwide dates for federal elections by statute: 2 U.S.C. § 7 fixes the day for congressional elections and the 19th‑century statute codified at 3 U.S.C. § 1 fixes the day for choosing presidential electors; changing those dates would require Congress to enact new legislation that replaces or amends those provisions [1] [2] [3]. The power to do so rests squarely with Congress under the Elections Clause, but any statutory change would collide with constitutional timing rules (notably the Twentieth Amendment) and with practical, political and state‑implementation constraints that legal scholars and the CRS call “extraordinary” [4] [5] [6].
1. Legal authority Congress possesses to set Election Day
Article I’s Elections Clause and implementing federal statutes give Congress the authority to regulate the “times, places, and manner” of federal elections and to displace contrary state laws, a power the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized and Congress has exercised by fixing a uniform Election Day dating back to the 19th century [7] [8] [4]. The uniform November date for congressional contests is codified in 2 U.S.C. § 7 and the analogous law for presidential electors traces to Congress’s 1845 statute that later became reflected in 3 U.S.C. § 1; those statutory prescriptions are the legal hooks any change must address [1] [2].
2. The statutory mechanics: amend or replace the controlling statutes
To change the nationwide date, Congress must pass a new law that amends 2 U.S.C. § 7 (congressional elections) and the statute governing presidential electors (3 U.S.C. § 1 as reflected in historical law) to specify a different “day” for holding elections; the Library of Congress and CRS materials emphasize that timing of Election Day is set by statute and changing it requires enacting new law [1] [3]. That would be ordinary statutory drafting—identifying the existing codal language, striking or revising the “Tuesday after the first Monday in November” formulation, and inserting new calendar language or a framework for staggered or emergency dates [1] [3].
3. Constitutional and statutory caveats that complicate a simple swap of dates
Even if Congress enacts a new statute, complications arise: the Twentieth Amendment fixes term end and start dates for the President, Vice President, and Congress (January 20 and January 3 respectively), so moving Election Day without addressing the post‑election timetable, Electoral College processes, and contingencies could create mismatches between election results and fixed term expirations—an issue CRS and legal commentators flag as a practical constraint [5]. CRS and constitutional scholars also note that while Congress can change dates, doing so in an emergency is constitutionally and historically unprecedented and may require additional statutory provisions (for example, delegation of emergency authority or fallback mechanisms) to avoid constitutional disputes [6] [3].
4. The political and procedural route in Congress
Statutorily changing Election Day follows ordinary lawmaking: introduction of a bill in the House or Senate, committee consideration, passage by both chambers, and presentation to the President for signature—CRS and legal commentary explicitly state that enacting a new law is required and that the President’s role in signing would ordinarily apply [3] [5]. Practical feasibility, however, depends on political alignment, the timetable for implementation (states need time to adjust ballots, primaries, and administrative procedures), and the capacity of Congress to craft statutory safeguards for the Electoral College, vote canvassing, and cross‑state coordination [3] [4].
5. Alternative approaches, risks, and scholarly debate
Scholars and CRS reports outline alternatives Congress might use instead of a permanent date change—temporary delegations of authority for emergencies, statutory contingencies, or partial shifts applying only to certain offices—but they warn these steps are “extraordinary” and untested; the Constitution gives states and Congress shared roles in the process, and judicial review could follow any controversial move [6] [9]. Legal analysts stress that the President cannot unilaterally move federal Election Day and that any statutory architecture changing dates must carefully reconcile with constitutional term limits and the Electoral College timetable to avoid legal and political crises [2] [5].