The United States of America uses a federal form of government, which can be seen in the way it conducts elections.

But wait... what even IS federalism?

Let's zoom out a bit.

When describing the geographic division of authority.

All nations use one of three general systems of government.

There is the unitary system, the federal system, and the confederal system.

Unitary nations like China, Japan or the UK have systems in which a central government holds most of, if not ALL of the power.

Their elections, are uniform with rules and regulations that apply evenly to all citizens.

In contrast, federal nations like the United States and Canada have systems in which power is split between a central or federal authority and regional authorities like states or provinces.

Their elections are more complex, with rules and regulations often coming from both central and regional governments.

Lastly, and federal leaning entities like the European Union have systems in which power almost entirely remains with regional governments with little to no central authority over them.

Elections in the EU are wildly more complex, with each member state determining their own electoral laws, campaign rules and voting procedures.

While the US started its life as a confederacy, today it is a federal nation, which is reflected in the electoral process.

In the Constitution, it reads... “The times, places and manner of holding elections... shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.” Meaning, when it comes to how they conduct elections, the states call the shots.

BUT the Constitution also says that “Congress may at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations.” This is how the federal government can legally change the nature of how state elections are run.

Over the years, Congress has passed several laws and constitutional amendments that affect state elections.

There have been numerous amendments that serve to expand and protect the voting rights of Americans, as well as legislation like the Help America Vote Act and the Voting Rights Act that help to prevent discrimination and improve voter accessibility.

So while the federal government can establish some ground rules and develop a framework, it's the individual states that ultimately conduct the elections that decide our representatives, from the county school board to the nation's highest office.

Simple Civics.

Brought to you in part by the Indiana State Teachers Association.