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The state of voting: June 21, 2022

State of voting - election law changes
The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumJun 21, 2022
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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This weekly update summarizing legislative activity affecting voting and elections is powered by the Voting Rights Lab. Sign up for VRL’s weekly newsletter here.

The Voting Rights Lab is tracking 2,166 bills so far this session, with 577 bills that tighten the rules governing voter access or election administration and 1,028 bills that expand the rules.

In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, landmark legislation designed to prevent race- and language-based discriminatory election laws and procedures. But in nearby New Hampshire, Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill that creates a stricter voter ID law and establishes a new system of provisional ballots.

Meanwhile, a New Mexico county narrowly avoided an election crisis after a county commission initially refused to certify 2022 primary results, citing distrust of voting machines. And an Arizona court upheld the applicability of the latest version of the Election Procedures manual to give clarity to voters and election officials for the state's upcoming elections.

Here are the details:

New York enacts its John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. On Monday June 20, Governor Hochul signed the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York into law. It creates legal protections to prevent race- and language-based discriminatory election laws, rules and practices. In certain instances, it will require that changes to election rules be pre-approved – or precleared – before going into effect, to ensure they will not have a discriminatory impact. The bill also creates private rights of action to facilitate injunctive relief when a law is discriminatory, as well as require all key voting materials to be provided in various languages.

Sununu signs New Hampshire’s strict voter ID bill. Previously, New Hampshire law allowed voters without physical ID to cast a regular ballot if they completed an affidavit affirming their identity, under penalty of perjury. S.B. 418, which was signed into law last week, eliminates that alternative, and instead rescinds their vote from the count if they are unable to show an ID within 10 days of the election. Most states with voter ID laws offer an alternative to ensure the identity of voters without ID can be verified through other means. This new bill puts New Hampshire in the minority.

Arizona judge affirms that the 2019 Election Procedures Manual will apply in 2022. On Friday, a trial court judge ruled against a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Mark Brnovich attempting to either rewrite the 2019 version of the EPM, which governs many aspects of Arizona elections including drop box security and signature verification, or to have it ruled inapplicable to elections in 2022. Brnovich brought the suit against Secretary of State Katie Hobbs several months after the two were unable to agree on the 2021 version of the EPM Hobbs proposed in the fall of last year. The court cited Brnovich’s delay in filing the suit and the approaching primary elections (Arizona’s state primary is on Aug. 2) among the considerations in ruling against the attorney general.

New Mexico narrowly avoids an election crisis. Otero County chose to certify its election results on the state deadline after initially refusing to do so out of distrust for the Dominion voting equipment used to tabulate the ballots. After the New Mexico Supreme Court ordered the county to certify and Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver asked the attorney general to launch a criminal investigation into the commission, the commission voted 2-1 to certify. County Commissioner Couy Griffin, who is also awaiting sentencing for his Jan. 6, 2021, trespassing conviction, voted against certification. Although all 33 counties voted to certify their results, activists berated officials in some counties, seeking to block certification.


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What Is No Longer Legal After the Supreme Court Ruling

  • Presidents may not impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Court held that IEEPA’s authority to “regulate … importation” does not include the power to levy tariffs. Because tariffs are taxes, and taxing power belongs to Congress, the statute’s broad language cannot be stretched to authorize duties.
  • Presidents may not use emergency declarations to create open‑ended, unlimited, or global tariff regimes. The administration’s claim that IEEPA permitted tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope was rejected outright. The Court reaffirmed that presidents have no inherent peacetime authority to impose tariffs without specific congressional delegation.
  • Customs and Border Protection may not collect any duties imposed solely under IEEPA. Any tariff justified only by IEEPA must cease immediately. CBP cannot apply or enforce duties that lack a valid statutory basis.
  • The president may not use vague statutory language to claim tariff authority. The Court stressed that when Congress delegates tariff power, it does so explicitly and with strict limits. Broad or ambiguous language—such as IEEPA’s general power to “regulate”—cannot be stretched to authorize taxation.
  • Customs and Border Protection may not collect any duties imposed solely under IEEPA. Any tariff justified only by IEEPA must cease immediately. CBP cannot apply or enforce duties that lack a valid statutory basis.
  • Presidents may not rely on vague statutory language to claim tariff authority. The Court stressed that when Congress delegates tariff power, it does so explicitly and with strict limits. Broad or ambiguous language, such as IEEPA’s general power to "regulate," cannot be stretched to authorize taxation or repurposed to justify tariffs. The decision in United States v. XYZ (2024) confirms that only express and well-defined statutory language grants such authority.

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  • Congress retains exclusive constitutional authority over tariffs. Tariffs are taxes, and the Constitution vests taxing power in Congress. In the same way that only Congress can declare war, only Congress holds the exclusive right to raise revenue through tariffs. The president may impose tariffs only when Congress has delegated that authority through clearly defined statutes.
  • Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Balance‑of‑Payments Tariffs). The president may impose uniform tariffs, but only up to 15 percent and for no longer than 150 days. Congress must take action to extend tariffs beyond the 150-day period. These caps are strictly defined. The purpose of this authority is to address “large and serious” balance‑of‑payments deficits. No investigation is mandatory. This is the authority invoked immediately after the ruling.
  • Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (National Security Tariffs). Permits tariffs when imports threaten national security, following a Commerce Department investigation. Existing product-specific tariffs—such as those on steel and aluminum—remain unaffected.
  • Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Unfair Trade Practices). Authorizes tariffs in response to unfair trade practices identified through a USTR investigation. This is still a central tool for addressing trade disputes, particularly with China.
  • Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Safeguard Tariffs). The U.S. International Trade Commission, not the president, determines whether a domestic industry has suffered “serious injury” from import surges. Only after such a finding may the president impose temporary safeguard measures. The Supreme Court ruling did not alter this structure.
  • Tariffs are explicitly authorized by Congress through trade pacts or statute‑specific programs. Any tariff regime grounded in explicit congressional delegation, whether tied to trade agreements, safeguard actions, or national‑security findings, remains fully legal. The ruling affects only IEEPA‑based tariffs.

The Bottom Line

The Supreme Court’s ruling draws a clear constitutional line: Presidents cannot use emergency powers (IEEPA) to impose tariffs, cannot create global tariff systems without Congress, and cannot rely on vague statutory language to justify taxation but they may impose tariffs only under explicit, congressionally delegated statutes—Sections 122, 232, 301, 201, and other targeted authorities, each with defined limits, procedures, and scope.

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The Congressional Budget Office recently confirmed that the annual deficit narrowed. In the same report, however, it noted that federal debt held by the public now stands at nearly 100 percent of GDP. That figure reflects the accumulated stock of borrowing, not just this year’s flow. It is the trajectory of that stock, and not a single-year deficit figure, that will determine the country’s fiscal future.

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Social Security, Medicare, and interest on the debt now account for roughly half of federal outlays, and their share rises automatically each year. These commitments do not pause for election cycles. They grow with demographics, health costs, and compounding interest.

According to the CBO, those three categories will consume 58 cents of every federal dollar by 2035. Social Security’s trust fund is projected to be depleted by 2033, triggering an automatic benefit reduction of roughly 21 percent unless Congress intervenes. Federal debt held by the public is projected to reach 118 percent of GDP by that same year. A favorable monthly deficit report does not alter any of these structural realities. These projections come from the same nonpartisan budget office lawmakers routinely cite when it supports their position.

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