Federalism

The United States was founded on the principle that power must be divided — not just horizontally among the three branches of the federal government, but vertically between the federal government and the states. As Madison wrote in Federalist 51, a federal system creates a “double security” for the rights of the people, ensuring that “the different governments will control each other.” This is one of the most important safeguards built into our constitutional design. 

Federalism cuts in both directions. States can be laboratories of democracy, pioneering reforms and acting as a check on federal overreach. But they can also become laboratories of backsliding — enabling voter suppression, partisan gerrymandering, and the erosion of rights when the federal government fails to set minimum floors. Understanding federalism means grappling with both possibilities, and working to ensure that the balance of power between the states and the federal government serves the people rather than entrenches those in power.

Federal overreach against the states

The Constitution reserves significant powers to the states — over elections, law enforcement, and their own governance. When the federal government attempts to override those powers without legal authority, it disrupts the constitutional order. Recent examples include attempts to commandeer state voter data to build a national voter surveillance database, the deployment of federal forces into cities over the objections of governors and local officials, and the withholding of congressionally appropriated funds from states as a means of coercion. 

States as a check on consolidated power

When the federal government overreaches, states are often the first and most effective line of defense. Since January 2025, nearly two dozen state attorneys general have filed lawsuits challenging unilateral executive actions on tariffs, National Guard deployments, cuts to federal research, education, food assistance, disaster recovery, health care, and housing. This kind of coordinated state resistance is not partisan opportunism — it is federalism functioning as designed. States have the standing, the legal tools, and the democratic mandate to oppose and roll back unlawful federal action.

When federalism enables backsliding

Federalism’s protective power has limits. Districting, election administration, police powers, and many other critical areas of policy are principally under the purview of state governments — with wide-ranging consequences for democracy. State legislatures can draw gerrymandered maps and pass laws that make it harder for eligible voters to participate in elections, while state and local officials might try to prevent certification of election results or otherwise disrupt the electoral process. Establishing federal baseline protections — while preserving genuine state autonomy — remains one of the central challenges of democratic governance in the United States.

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