I'm John Bachelor. This is the new John B John Bachelor show represented by CBS News Radio and

Richard Epstein, Professor Richard Epstein, senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, he teaches

law at the University of Chicago and NYU, is here to comment on a new piece of legislation that's much in the news.

It's shorthand HR1. The formal name is For the People Act.

This is about voting, voting in the future in the United States for Congress, for the presidency.

Really, it's also about the Constitution and the history of the country.

Richard, I begin with a story from my memory of reading the 19th century newspapers.

It was the spring, it was the fall of 1860, and early results from rural, then understood to be rural or distant estates, were critical

for the argument about the election coming up in November of 1860.

And I mentioned my memory is that the vote would be coming in

from rural Maine or rural Vermont and they would talk about the results not about

the presidency but about about about the Congress about local elections

and that was seen as a harbinger. Now that occurs to me might be an example of

what you've identified in the Constitution.

Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 states that, quote,

in the Constitution, times, places, and manners of the election

is what the Congress can set.

Have I understood that correctly?

Why they had different voting times in the 19th century because of distances.

Good evening to you, Richard.

Yeah, hi, well, I mean, the provision you quoted says is the first instance of the

states that have control over time, place, in manner of election, but the federal government

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