Texas Election Lawsuit Against Four States Outside Scope of Representation Amendment

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit in the Supreme Court against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Paxton alleges irregularities in the handling of the presidential election in those states harmed Texas. The Representation Amendment converts the Senate into a forum in which the states may find agreement on the issues relevant to them. This suit falls outside the scope of the Representation Amendment.

The Representation Amendment allows the states a say in the formation of the laws by which they must abide, but the states will still find reasons to disagree. Disagreements between the states are settled in the Supreme Court. The Representation Amendment defines how states come to agreement before legislation is passed and the Supreme Court makes judgements based upon that legislation once it becomes law.

The state legislature handles elections within that state. Even the presidential elections are run by the states. Congress gets involved in an election only in the case of a tie in the Electoral College or other extreme situations. To date, the 2020 election has not met the criteria for Congressional involvement.

Ratification of the Representation Amendment would have had no effect on whether the suit would have been filed or the outcome.