Federalism Archives

17th Amendment weakened balance of power between states, federal government

By Hans von Spakovsky|2023-03-06T11:35:44-05:00October 13th, 2022|

As we head toward the 2022 elections, it is a safe bet that few Americans can identify the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, even though it’s one of the most significant amendments. Ratified on April 8, 1913, it completely changed the balance of power in our federal system.The amendment provided for the direct popular election of U.S. senators. That sounds non-controversial now, but it meant taking the power away from state legislatures that were originally given the authority to choose the senators representing their state in Section 3 of Article I of the Constitution.

Good Government Groups Ask States To Stop Biden’s Elections Takeover

By ACRU Staff|2023-03-06T11:36:13-05:00July 8th, 2022|

Governors and other state officials don’t have to stand idly by as the Biden administration plots a federal takeover of elections. That’s the message being sent by the heads of two good government groups in a new memo to state officials.

ACRU’s Blackwell: American Exceptionalism in Crosshairs of Radical Left

By J. Kenneth Blackwell|2023-03-06T12:06:38-05:00April 13th, 2021|

ACRU'S Amb. Ken Blackwell is the face of today's battle for liberty and the very essence of our rights -- which are being chipped away by the left and their political allies. As Amb. Blackwell notes in this brilliant piece, "Democrats’ Corrupt Politicians Act (aka "For the People Act") pending in the Senate is a frontal assault on our Constitution’s federalist recipe for freedom, putting Congress in complete control of its own elections."

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