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The state of voting: June 27, 2022

State of voting - election law changes
The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumJun 27, 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 2,176 bills so far this session, with 579 bills that tighten the rules governing voter access or election administration and 1,035 bills that expand the rules.

In the final days of the legislative session, Arizona lawmakers passed a bill that would revive previously vetoed approaches to voter purges and another to ensure voters can track the status of their mail ballots online. Louisiana enacted legislation prohibiting stand-alone drop boxes as well as bills to provide voter registration opportunities in high schools and codifying an absentee ballot cure process.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire’s legislature sent the governor a bill that imposes harsh criminal penalties for election administrators. Delaware appears to be on the verge of enacting same-day registration. And the Safeguard Fair Elections Act, legislation that would provide a number of protections against election threats and intimidation, was introduced into the North Carolina Senate.

Looking ahead: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is likely to sign a bill creating in-person early voting and strengthening voter ID requirements on Wednesday.

Here are the details:

Arizona lawmakers pass flurry of bills as session ends. The Arizona Legislature spent several long days finishing up its work for the 2022 session last week. In addition to passing the state’s budget, the Legislature passed several election-related measures to cue them up for either the governor’s signature or their presentation to Arizona voters in the fall. Lawmakers added an amendment related to voter registration purgesto H.B. 2243 before it passed, very similar to that which Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed earlier this session. They also passed a bill ensuring voters can track the status of their mail ballots online. If the governor signs it, voters will be able to see when their ballots are received, verified and counted.

Missouri’s governor plans to sign legislation that would create in-person early voting, while also tightening the state’s voter ID law. This week, Parson plans to sign H.B. 1878, legislation that would create early voting for the first time in Missouri – but would also make the voter ID law in the state more strict. The bill would create two weeks of early voting via in-person absentee voting. It would also make the state’s ID law more restrictive by eliminating many of the ID types that Missouri voters are currently allowed to show. In Missouri, the governor has 45 days after a bill is passed and the General Assembly adjourns to sign or veto that bill.

Louisiana facilitates student voter registration and codifies a cure process, while restricting absentee ballot return. Gov. John Bel Edwards signed a bill that requires all public and charter high schools in the state to provide eligible 17-year-old seniors with an opportunity to register to vote on school computers or paper applications. Louisiana also codified an absentee ballot cure process. While the state already had regulations establishing a notice and cure process, the newly enacted legislation would bar future secretaries of state from eliminating the system.

Louisiana also enacted legislation that would limit the in-person return of absentee ballots to registrars’ offices and early voting sites, prohibiting stand-alone drop boxes. In 2020, the New Orleans City Council won a legal fight allowing local officials to establish alternative, staffed, ballot drop-off sites, which are prohibited under the new legislation.

The Delaware Senate passes legislation that will establish same-day registration on Election Day. H.B. 25, a carryover bill from last session, would establish Election Day registration by moving the registration deadline from the Saturday before Election Day to the close of polls on Election Day. The bill has been sent to Gov. Jay Carney’s desk.

New Hampshire sends legislation to the governor targeting election administrators. The New Hampshire legislature passed H.B. 1567, which would direct the attorney general to investigate allegations against local election officials, make election official misconduct the only misdemeanor for which a conviction results in disenfranchisement, and establish civil penalties of up to $1,000 for unintentional misconduct by election officials. If passed, this legislation could interfere with the retention of election officials and make it more difficult to administer elections. The bill is now eligible for the governor’s signature.

The Safeguard Fair Elections Act is introduced in North Carolina. A new bill introduced in North Carolina last week ( S.B. 916) would establish criminal penalties for intimidation, threats or coercion of voters and election officials. The bill would also safeguard election totals by establishing penalties for public officials who refused to certify election results, require political party observers to complete training designed by the State Board of Elections, and establish funding for the board to monitor and track threats to voters and election officials.


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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.
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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.
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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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