The Elections Clause provides, “The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.”

Here, the (hypothetical) Symmetrical Elections Act of 2022:

Except where otherwise inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States or with Federal law, the times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be the same as for the most numerous branch of the state legislature, including the times, places, and manner set forth in the Constitution, laws, and regulations of the state, as authoritatively interpreted by the courts of the state.

Three caveats to this otherwise simple solution.

First, it excludes presidential elections. The Supreme Court has said in the past that the power of Congress over presidential elections is broad. But there does remain a formal textual constitutional difference between the two (even if some laws do extend to regulation of both presidential and congressional elections), and there are additional tricky things about presidential elections (for instance, holding at-large winner-take-all elections for presidential electors; and how primaries interact with the general election, as presidential primaries are different in kind than other primary elections). This proposed statute could still lead to remaining disputes about presidential elections under the Presidential Electors Clause. It would, of course, exert significant pressure on states to conform their presidential elections to match everything else, but exerting power in one area of elections and hoping states follow along elsewhere hasn’t always worked out as expected. But, it would end all redistricting disputes arising under the doctrine, among other things.

Second, while a simple solution, it would entirely upend the election codes of all 50 states. I don’t know any state that has perfect symmetry between congressional and state elections (e.g., signature petition requirements, filing requirements and deadlines, etc.). From Nebraska’s nonpartisan state legislature to Vermont’s primary petition signature requirements, some rules everywhere would change. While there’s a large amount of existing symmetry, it would really require every state to revisit its election code quickly.

Third, it might invite federal courts (including the United States Supreme Court) to review questions of state law. I’m not sure how to puzzle through the jurisdictional questions, and it might need some refining. A rule like this would seem to incorporate state law into federal law, and maybe federal courts would simply Erie-guess their way through these problems.