Thomas, J., dissenting
sought to be imposed by the people of a State.” Leser v. Garnett, 258 U. S. 130, 137 (1922).
The second premise is that regulating the times, places, and manner of congressional elections “ ‘is no original prerogative of state power,’ ” so that “such power ‘had to be delegated to, rather than reserved by, the States.’ ” Cook v. Gralike, 531 U. S. 510, 522 (2001) (first quoting 1 J. Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States §627 (3d ed. 1858) (Story); then quoting U. S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U. S. 779, 804 (1995)). This premise is firmly supported by this Court’s precedents, which have also held that the Elections Clause is “the exclusive delegation of” such power, as “[n]o other constitutional provision gives the States authority over congressional elections.” Cook, 531 U. S., at 522–523; see also United States v. Classic, 313 U. S. 299, 315 (1941) (“While, in a loose sense, the right to vote for representatives in Congress is sometimes spoken of as a right derived from the states, this statement is true only in the sense that the states are authorized by the Constitution, to legislate on the subject as provided by [the Elections Clause]” (citations omitted)).
The third premise is that “the Legislature thereof” does not mean the people of the State or the State as an undifferentiated body politic, but, rather, the lawmaking power as it exists under the State Constitution. This premise comports with the usual constitutional meanings of the words “State” and “Legislature,” as well as this Court’s precedents. “A state, and the legislature of a state, are quite different political beings.” Story §628. “A state, in the ordinary sense of the Constitution, is a political community of free citizens … organized under a government sanctioned and limited by a written constitution.” Texas v. White, 7 Wall. 700, 721 (1869). “ ‘Legislature,’ ” on the other hand, generally means “ ‘the representative body which ma[kes] the laws of the people.’ ” Smiley v. Holm, 285 U. S. 355, 365 (1932) (quoting Hawke v. Smith, 253 U. S. 221, 227 (1920)).
