Constitutional Amendment and Implementing Federal Statute

The one remaining legislative remedy would appear to be an amendment to the Constitution giving the Congress the power to enact implementing legislation. The 24th Amendment sets a precedent for some federal regulation of the conduct of primaries. This approach has historically received little attention because of the difficulty of amending the Constitution of the United States. While the procedure is certainly arduous, it presents less of a collective action problem than the coordinated state legislation approach. The constitutional amendment route would require passage by two-thirds of the Senate and the House of Representatives, then ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures (approximately 75 chambers).

However, in the event that an effort is mounted via this mechanism, a constitutional amendment giving Congress explicit authority to regulate the timing of the presidential nomination process would read to the effect:

The Congress shall have power to determine the time of choosing delegates to national conventions of political parties, convened for the purpose of choosing candidates for President and Vice-President, by each of the several States and the district constituting the seat of Government of the United States, and by citizens of the United States residing outside of the States and the said district.