A member of the Arizona House of Representatives has proposed a bill granting the legislature the power to override a certified slate of presidential electors. Arizona House Bill 2720 contains a number of proposed amendments to the state’s Elections code, including the following:

The legislature retains its legislative authority regarding the office of presidential elector and by majority vote at any time before the presidential inauguration may revoke the secretary of state’s issuance or certification of a presidential elector’s certificate of election. The legislature may take action pursuant to this subsection without regard to whether the legislature is in regular or special session or has held committee or other hearings on the matter.

Whether or not House Bill 2720 is politically viable, it does serve as an object lesson in the antiquated constitutional power of state legislatures to determine how electors for president and vice-president are chosen. According to Article II, section 1 of the Constitution:

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.

As the United States Supreme Court recently noted:

Article II, § 1’s appointments power gives the States far-reaching authority over presidential electors, absent some other constitutional constraint. As noted earlier, each State may appoint electors “in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct.” This Court has described that clause as “conveying the broadest power of determination” over who becomes an elector.

Chiafalo v. Washington, 140 S. Ct. 2316, 2324 (2020). See also Baten v. McMaster, 967 F.3d 345, 355 (4th Cir. 2020) (stating, “it cannot be disputed that each State has plenary authority to determine through its legislature how to appoint Electors”). Indeed, as late as 1876, the newly admitted state of Colorado permitted its legislature to appoint presidential electors.

The anti-democratic nature of the Arizona bill is clear and highlights the need for constitutional reform or abandonment of the Electoral College.