ELEC-009 — Direct Presidential Election Implementation Act¶

This proposed enabling legislation depends on ratification of the Direct Election of the President and Vice President Amendment, or a substantially similar constitutional amendment abolishing presidential electors and authorizing Congress to implement direct national election of the President and Vice President.

A BILL¶

To amend title 52, United States Code, to implement direct national election of the President and Vice President after ratification of a constitutional amendment abolishing presidential electors, and to make conforming amendments to title 3, United States Code.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.¶

This Act may be cited as the "Direct Presidential Election Implementation Act."

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.¶

The purposes of this Act are to--

implement the constitutional article providing for direct election of the President and Vice President;
preserve State administration of presidential voting subject to uniform Federal rules for a single national election;
establish national rules for joint tickets, State canvasses, State vote certificates, national aggregation, recounts, contests, ties, emergencies, and unresolved results;
provide a title 52 election-administration home for the new direct-election framework;
conform title 3 provisions that assume presidential electors, certificates of ascertainment, certificates of vote, electoral-vote transmission, or congressional counting; and
preserve the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, the law of presidential succession, voting-rights protections, and ordinary State election administration except where inconsistent with direct national election.

SEC. 3. CONSTITUTIONAL DEPENDENCY AND EFFECTIVE DATE.¶

(a) Constitutional dependency.¶

Except as provided in subsection (c), this Act shall take effect only upon certification of ratification of the Direct Election of the President and Vice President Amendment, or a substantially similar constitutional amendment abolishing presidential electors and authorizing Congress to implement direct national election of the President and Vice President.

(b) First covered presidential election.¶

This Act applies to the first presidential election to which the direct-election article applies and to each presidential election thereafter.

(c) Preparatory authority.¶

The Archivist of the United States, the Election Assistance Commission, the Attorney General, and State election officials may prepare model forms, secure-transmission standards, implementation guidance, State plans, grant materials, public notices, and technical assistance before the first covered presidential election. No presidential election occurring before the direct-election article takes effect may be invalidated under this Act.

(d) No alteration of current elector elections before effective date.¶

Until the first covered presidential election, title 3 and other laws governing presidential electors, certificates of ascertainment, certificates of vote, transmission of electoral votes, and congressional counting remain in force except to the extent otherwise amended by law.

SEC. 4. DIRECT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CHAPTER IN TITLE 52.¶

Subtitle II of title 52, United States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 209 the following:

CHAPTER 211--DIRECT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION¶

Sec.¶

Definitions.
State administration under uniform Federal rules.
Joint tickets, ballot access, and voter choice.
State canvass, certification, and transmission.
National canvass and certificate of election.
Recounts and corrected certificates.
Contests and expedited judicial review.
National plurality default and future majority mechanisms.
Candidate vacancy, death, incapacity, withdrawal, and substitution.
Emergencies, voting interruptions, and failure to certify.
Ties and unresolved national results.
Regulations, guidance, forms, and technical standards.
Relationship to other laws; enforcement.

Section 21101. Definitions.¶

In this chapter:

Archivist means the Archivist of the United States.
Chief State election officer means the State officer, board, or commission responsible under State law for certifying the statewide result for a presidential election.
Commission means the Election Assistance Commission established under section 20921.
Covered presidential election means an election for President and Vice President governed by the direct-election article and this chapter.
Direct-election article means the constitutional article providing for direct election of the President and Vice President and abolishing presidential electors.
Final State presidential vote certificate means the certificate transmitted under section 21104 after completion of any recount, contest, correction, or judicial order applicable to that State's presidential vote total.
Joint ticket means a candidate for President and a candidate for Vice President running together as a single presidential ticket.
Lawful vote means a vote for a joint ticket that is validly cast and counted under the Constitution, this chapter, other applicable Federal law, and State law not inconsistent with Federal law.
National canvass means the ministerial aggregation of final State presidential vote certificates under section 21105.
National margin means the difference between the nationwide lawful-vote total of the joint ticket receiving the greatest number of lawful votes and the nationwide lawful-vote total of the joint ticket receiving the second greatest number of lawful votes.
State means each State and the District of Columbia for purposes of administering a covered presidential election, unless a provision expressly states otherwise.

Section 21102. State administration under uniform Federal rules.¶

(a) State administration preserved.¶

Each State shall administer voting for President and Vice President in a covered presidential election, subject to the Constitution, this chapter, other applicable Federal law, and State law not inconsistent with Federal law.

(b) Single national election.¶

Votes cast in every State for a joint ticket shall be aggregated into one national popular vote. No State may allocate, appoint, certify, transmit, or count presidential electors for a covered presidential election.

(c) Equal treatment of presidential votes.¶

A State shall apply uniform, public, neutral, and nondiscriminatory rules for casting, counting, canvassing, recounting, certifying, and correcting votes for joint tickets. A State may not give different legal weight to a lawful vote based on the State, county, municipality, precinct, method of lawful voting, or expected partisan effect of the vote.

(d) Late rule changes.¶

During the 180-day period before election day for a covered presidential election, a State may not materially change presidential ballot-access, vote-casting, vote-counting, recount, contest, certification, or emergency-voting rules unless the change is--

required by the Constitution or Federal law;
required by a final court order;
necessary to remedy a natural disaster, cyber incident, violence, equipment failure, or comparable emergency;
necessary to preserve or expand lawful access to the ballot without diluting or discarding lawful votes; or
approved under a State process that is public, written, nondiscriminatory, and not designed or likely to favor or disfavor a joint ticket.

(e) Public administration record.¶

Each State shall maintain a public presidential-election administration record that includes ballot forms, joint-ticket certifications, canvass schedules, recount standards, contest deadlines, emergency orders, vote-total files, audit records, and final certificates, subject to lawful protection for personal identifying information, ballot secrecy, cybersecurity, law-enforcement needs, and court orders.

Section 21103. Joint tickets, ballot access, and voter choice.¶

(a) One vote for one joint ticket.¶

Each voter in a covered presidential election shall cast one vote for one joint ticket for President and Vice President.

(b) Minimum Federal ballot-access floor.¶

A State shall place a joint ticket on the presidential ballot if the ticket--

qualifies under State law;
is nominated by a political party that qualified for the presidential ballot in that State in the preceding presidential election;
is nominated by a political party whose presidential candidate received not less than 1 percent of the lawful votes cast nationwide in the preceding presidential election; or
submits petitions, consents, and certifications satisfying a neutral State petition standard that does not require signatures exceeding the lesser of 1 percent of the lawful votes cast for President in that State in the preceding presidential election or 10,000 signatures.

(c) No discriminatory ballot-access design.¶

A State may not administer ballot access, party recognition, petition review, filing deadlines, candidate paperwork, ballot order, write-in eligibility, or substitution procedures in a manner that is designed to favor or disfavor a joint ticket in the national popular vote.

(d) Write-in votes.¶

A State may require advance filing for write-in recognition if the requirement is public, neutral, reasonable, and not inconsistent with this chapter. Lawful write-in votes for a joint ticket shall be included in State and national totals.

(e) Ballot presentation.¶

The name of each candidate for President and the name of the associated candidate for Vice President shall appear together as one joint ticket. A State may include party, independent, or other ballot labels permitted by State law if the labels are not false, misleading, discriminatory, or inconsistent with Federal law.

Section 21104. State canvass, certification, and transmission.¶

(a) Initial State canvass.¶

Not later than 28 days after election day, each chief State election officer shall complete the initial State canvass of lawful votes for joint tickets and publish the initial State presidential vote totals.

(b) State presidential vote certificate.¶

After completion of the canvass and any recount, correction, contest, or judicial order that must be reflected before the applicable deadline, the chief State election officer shall execute a State presidential vote certificate. The certificate shall state--

the total number of lawful votes cast in the State for each joint ticket;
the total number of recognized write-in votes for each joint ticket;
the total number of ballots cast for President and Vice President, including undervotes and overvotes if reported under State law;
whether a recount or contest is pending or completed;
whether any court order affects the totals;
the date and time of certification;
the name, title, signature, and official seal or electronic authentication of the certifying officer; and
any additional information required by regulation, guidance, or court order consistent with this chapter.

(c) Transmission.¶

The chief State election officer shall transmit the State presidential vote certificate to the Archivist and the Commission in secure human-readable and machine-readable form not later than 35 days after election day, except as modified by section 21106, section 21107, section 21110, or court order.

(d) Public posting.¶

The State, the Archivist, and the Commission shall make each State presidential vote certificate publicly available promptly upon receipt, subject to lawful protection for security features, personal identifying information, ballot secrecy, and court orders.

(e) Corrected certificate.¶

If a recount, contest, clerical correction, or court order changes the lawful vote total for a joint ticket, the chief State election officer shall execute and transmit a corrected certificate. A corrected certificate supersedes an earlier certificate to the extent of the correction.

Section 21105. National canvass and certificate of election.¶

(a) Ministerial aggregation.¶

The Archivist, in consultation with the Commission, shall conduct the national canvass by aggregating the lawful vote totals stated in final State presidential vote certificates.

(b) No discretionary exclusion.¶

The Archivist and the Commission may not exclude, alter, discount, or reweigh a State's lawful vote total except as required by this chapter, a corrected State certificate, or a final court order. A facial defect in form shall be resolved through prompt notice and correction if the lawful vote total can be reliably identified.

(c) Preliminary national canvass.¶

Not later than 48 hours after the deadline for State presidential vote certificates, the Archivist shall publish a preliminary national canvass identifying--

each State's certified vote totals by joint ticket;
the nationwide lawful-vote total for each joint ticket;
the national margin;
any pending recount, contest, emergency order, or corrected-certificate proceeding known to the Archivist or Commission; and
the date on which the final national certificate is expected to issue.

(d) Final national certificate.¶

After completion of required recounts, contests, corrections, and judicial review, the Archivist shall issue a final national certificate of election identifying the joint ticket elected President and Vice President under the direct-election article and this chapter.

(e) Public effect.¶

The final national certificate is conclusive evidence of election for purposes of Federal transition administration, executive-branch preparation, and public notice, subject only to a final judgment of a court with jurisdiction under section 21107 or the Constitution.

Section 21106. Recounts and corrected certificates.¶

(a) Automatic recount.¶

An automatic recount shall occur if the preliminary national canvass shows a national margin of not more than 0.25 percent of the total lawful votes cast nationwide for President and Vice President.

(b) Candidate-requested recount.¶

A joint ticket among the three highest nationwide vote recipients may request a recount in one or more States not later than 48 hours after publication of the preliminary national canvass if the request identifies specific grounds showing that a recount could alter the national result or materially affect the lawful national margin.

(c) State procedures; Federal floor.¶

A recount shall be conducted under State recount procedures to the extent those procedures are public, neutral, timely, auditable, and not inconsistent with this chapter. A State recount procedure may not be applied to prevent completion of a recount required by subsection (a), a recount ordered under subsection (b), or a recount ordered by a court with jurisdiction under section 21107.

(d) National recount scope.¶

An automatic recount under subsection (a) shall include every State unless a court with jurisdiction under section 21107 finds that recounting a particular State is impossible, unnecessary to resolve the national result, or inconsistent with the Constitution.

(e) Corrected certificate after recount.¶

After completing a recount, the chief State election officer shall issue a corrected State presidential vote certificate reflecting the recount result and transmit it to the Archivist and the Commission.

(f) Costs.¶

Congress may appropriate funds to reimburse States for recounts required by subsection (a) and for recounts ordered by a Federal court under section 21107. A State may require a requesting joint ticket to pay reasonable recount costs for a recount requested under subsection (b), subject to refund if the recount changes the State result, changes the national winner, or identifies material error.

Section 21107. Contests and expedited judicial review.¶

(a) State-certificate contest.¶

A joint ticket, a candidate on a joint ticket, a State, or the Attorney General may bring a civil action contesting a State presidential vote certificate if the alleged error, unlawful exclusion, unlawful inclusion, failure to count, failure to certify, emergency procedure, recount ruling, or correction could affect the national result or the lawful national margin.

(b) National-certificate contest.¶

A joint ticket, a candidate on a joint ticket, a State, or the Attorney General may bring a civil action contesting the preliminary national canvass or final national certificate if the alleged error could affect the national result or the lawful national margin.

(c) Venue.¶

An action under subsection (a) shall be filed in the United States district court for the district in which the State capital is located, or in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia if the action concerns the District of Columbia. An action under subsection (b) shall be filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

(d) Three-judge court and direct appeal.¶

An action under this section shall be heard and determined by a district court of three judges convened under section 2284 of title 28. An appeal shall lie directly to the Supreme Court under section 1253 of title 28.

(e) Expedited handling.¶

The court shall expedite proceedings to the greatest practicable extent. The court may enter orders governing evidence, discovery, recount supervision, ballot preservation, cybersecurity protection, public access, correction of certificates, and deadlines necessary to determine the national result before the presidential term begins.

(f) Relief.¶

Relief may include declaratory relief, injunctive relief, recount orders, counting orders, exclusion or inclusion of ballots where required by law, correction of a State certificate, correction of the national canvass, appointment of a special master, preservation orders, fee awards where otherwise authorized by law, and any other relief necessary to enforce the direct-election article and this chapter.

(g) No collateral congressional count.¶

No objection, debate, vote, certificate, paper, or proceeding in Congress may substitute for the judicial review provided by this section or for the national canvass required by section 21105 in a covered presidential election.

Section 21108. National plurality default and future majority mechanisms.¶

(a) Plurality default.¶

Unless Congress by law establishes a uniform national runoff, ranked-choice tabulation, or other uniform majority mechanism for a covered presidential election, the joint ticket receiving the greatest number of lawful votes cast nationwide is elected President and Vice President.

(b) Uniformity and timing.¶

A majority mechanism enacted after this chapter shall apply only if it is uniform nationwide and takes effect not later than 270 days before election day for the covered presidential election to which it applies, unless the law expressly provides an emergency effective date consistent with the Constitution.

(c) No State-specific presidential runoff.¶

A State may not conduct a separate presidential runoff, alternate presidential tabulation, or State-specific majority procedure for a covered presidential election unless required by a uniform Federal majority mechanism.

(d) Study and recommendations.¶

Not later than 18 months after ratification of the direct-election article, the Commission shall submit to Congress a public report evaluating national plurality, national runoff, ranked-choice tabulation, approval voting, and other uniform majority mechanisms for direct presidential election. The report shall address voter understanding, ballot design, recountability, disability access, language access, cybersecurity, election-administration burden, litigation risk, timing, transition effects, and effects on independent and minor-party candidacies.

Section 21109. Candidate vacancy, death, incapacity, withdrawal, and substitution.¶

(a) Joint-ticket continuity.¶

A joint ticket shall remain a single ticket for all ballot, canvass, recount, certification, and national-canvass purposes unless a lawful substitution is made under this section.

(b) Pre-election substitution.¶

Before election day, a political party, independent nominating body, or candidate committee may substitute a candidate for President or Vice President on a joint ticket if the substitution is made under public, neutral, and preexisting rules and is certified to each affected State, the Archivist, and the Commission.

(c) Ballot impracticability.¶

If a lawful substitution occurs after ballots have been printed or after voting has begun, votes cast for the original joint ticket shall be counted for the substituted joint ticket if public notice of the substitution is provided in the manner required by State law and guidance issued under section 21112.

(d) Post-election vacancy.¶

If a candidate on the apparent winning joint ticket dies, becomes incapacitated, withdraws, or becomes constitutionally ineligible after election day, votes lawfully cast for that joint ticket shall remain votes for that joint ticket unless the Constitution, the direct-election article, or a final court order requires otherwise. Presidential and vice-presidential vacancies after election shall be resolved under the Constitution and laws governing presidential succession and disability.

(e) No strategic cancellation.¶

A State may not cancel, discard, reassign, or refuse to count lawful votes for a joint ticket because of candidate death, incapacity, withdrawal, or substitution unless required by the Constitution, this chapter, or a final court order.

Section 21110. Emergencies, voting interruptions, and failure to certify.¶

(a) Emergency voting order.¶

If a natural disaster, public emergency, cyber incident, violence, equipment failure, court order, or comparable event prevents a substantial number of eligible voters from voting or prevents lawful votes from being counted in part of a State, the chief State election officer may issue a public emergency voting order that is narrowly tailored to the affected voters, places, ballots, systems, or time period.

(b) Limits.¶

An emergency voting order under subsection (a) may extend voting, authorize replacement ballots, change polling places, adjust ballot-return procedures, preserve ballots, secure systems, or order comparable relief, but only to the extent necessary to preserve lawful voting and counting. No emergency order may be designed or administered to favor or disfavor a joint ticket.

(c) Extension limit.¶

An emergency extension of voting may not exceed 7 days after the ordinary election day unless a Federal court with jurisdiction under section 21107 finds that a longer period is required by the Constitution.

(d) Failure to certify.¶

If a State fails to transmit a State presidential vote certificate by the applicable deadline, the Archivist shall notify the State, the Commission, the Attorney General, and the public. The Attorney General, a joint ticket, a candidate on a joint ticket, or the State may seek immediate relief under section 21107.

(e) Use of best lawful record.¶

If a State fails to certify after judicial relief, the court may order certification, appoint a special master to determine the lawful vote total from the best available lawful record, or order other relief necessary to include lawful votes in the national canvass.

Section 21111. Ties and unresolved national results.¶

(a) Exact tie.¶

If the final national canvass shows that two or more joint tickets are tied for the greatest number of lawful votes nationwide, a special national runoff election shall be held between the tied joint tickets not later than 35 days after the final national canvass, unless Congress by law has established a different uniform tie-resolution mechanism.

(b) Runoff administration.¶

A special national runoff under subsection (a) shall be administered by the States under this chapter, with deadlines adjusted by the Commission and the Archivist to the minimum extent necessary to conduct the runoff, certify State results, complete the national canvass, and identify the elected joint ticket.

(c) Unresolved result before commencement of term.¶

If no joint ticket has been finally certified as elected before the commencement of the presidential term, the Constitution and laws governing acting Presidents, presidential succession, and presidential disability shall govern until a joint ticket is finally certified.

(d) No contingent election by State delegation.¶

The House of Representatives shall not choose the President by State delegation, and the Senate shall not choose the Vice President, for a covered presidential election except to the extent a later constitutional amendment expressly authorizes that procedure.

Section 21112. Regulations, guidance, forms, and technical standards.¶

(a) Joint guidance.¶

The Archivist and the Commission, in consultation with the Attorney General and chief State election officers, shall publish model forms, certificate templates, secure-transmission standards, machine-readable data standards, public-posting guidance, recount guidance, emergency-order guidance, and substitution notice guidance necessary to implement this chapter.

(b) Commission technical standards.¶

The Commission shall publish voluntary voting-system, ballot-design, audit, accessibility, language-access, cybersecurity, and data-format guidance for covered presidential elections. Guidance under this subsection may not narrow any statutory right or duty.

(c) State implementation plans.¶

Each State shall publish a direct-presidential-election implementation plan not later than 18 months before the first covered presidential election. The plan shall identify ballot-access rules, ballot-design rules, canvass schedules, recount procedures, contest procedures, certificate officials, emergency-order procedures, public data formats, and voter-information procedures.

(d) Public comment.¶

Before publishing final guidance of general applicability under this section, the Archivist and the Commission shall provide notice and a reasonable opportunity for public comment, except for emergency guidance that must be issued more quickly to protect lawful voting, counting, certification, or judicial review.

Section 21113. Relationship to other laws; enforcement.¶

(a) Voting-rights and election-administration laws preserved.¶

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the Help America Vote Act of 2002, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or any other Federal voting-rights or election-administration protection, except to the extent a provision is inconsistent with the direct-election article.

(b) Stronger State protections preserved.¶

A State may provide greater ballot access, voter access, accessibility, language access, auditability, transparency, recount protection, or contest protection than the minimum required by this chapter if the State rule is consistent with the Constitution, this chapter, and equal treatment of lawful votes in a national election.

(c) Civil enforcement by Attorney General.¶

The Attorney General may bring a civil action for declaratory, injunctive, or other appropriate relief to enforce the direct-election article and this chapter.

(d) Private and candidate enforcement.¶

A joint ticket, candidate on a joint ticket, voter, political party, State, or organization directly injured by a violation of this chapter may bring a civil action for declaratory or injunctive relief if the violation could affect ballot access, vote casting, vote counting, certification, recounts, contests, the national canvass, or the national result.

(e) No authorization to discard lawful votes.¶

This chapter shall be construed to include every lawful vote in the national canvass and shall not be construed to authorize the rejection, dilution, or cancellation of lawful votes because of administrative delay, official misconduct, litigation strategy, or disagreement with the apparent national result.

SEC. 5. TITLE 3 CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.¶

(a) Elector provisions inapplicable to covered presidential elections.¶

Chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

Section 23. Application to direct presidential elections.¶

(a) Elector procedures superseded.¶

Sections 1 through 18 of this title apply only to presidential elections conducted through appointment of electors. Those sections do not apply to a covered presidential election governed by chapter 211 of title 52, except to the extent expressly incorporated by Act of Congress.

(b) Certificates of ascertainment and vote.¶

For a covered presidential election governed by chapter 211 of title 52, the State presidential vote certificates and final national certificate required by that chapter replace certificates of ascertainment, certificates of vote, transmission of electoral votes, and congressional counting procedures otherwise used for presidential electors.

(c) Succession and vacancy laws preserved.¶

Nothing in this section or chapter 211 of title 52 alters sections 19 or 20 of this title, the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, or any other law governing presidential succession, acting officers, resignation, or inability, except where a provision is expressly made applicable to a direct national presidential election.

(b) Clerical amendment.¶

The table of sections for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

Application to direct presidential elections.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.¶

There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act, including secure certificate transmission, State implementation planning, recount reimbursement, public data publication, accessibility, language access, cybersecurity, and emergency election administration for covered presidential elections.

SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY.¶

If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the application of such provision or amendment to any person, State, election, or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made by this Act, and the application of such provisions to any other person, State, election, or circumstance shall not be affected.

Budgetary Impact Statement¶

This Act would require federal and state implementation spending for secure national vote-certificate transmission, state implementation planning, public data systems, recount administration, expedited litigation, emergency election administration, accessibility, language access, cybersecurity, and voter education. No CBO, OMB, EAC, GAO, or state fiscal estimate has been identified in this draft.

Note: Preliminary ARRP assessment only; not a CBO, OMB, agency, or legislative-counsel score.

Drafting Notes¶

This is a first working draft of enabling legislation for ELEC-009, not final legislative-counsel language.
The principal codification vehicle is title 52 because the proposal creates a federal election-administration framework. Title 3 is used only for conforming amendments to elector-based presidential-election machinery.
The draft uses a proposed new chapter 211 after title 52 chapter 209. Legislative counsel should verify chapter and section numbering before circulation.
The draft preserves state administration but creates uniform federal rules for the national canvass, certification, recounts, contests, emergency orders, ties, candidate substitution, and result finality.
The draft keeps the constitutional amendment's plurality default. It does not select a runoff or ranked-choice mechanism, but it requires any future majority mechanism to be uniform nationally and timely enacted.
The draft uses a three-judge district court and direct Supreme Court appeal model for contests that could affect the national result. Constitutional, procedural, workload, and timing concerns require expert review.
The draft treats the Archivist's national canvass role as ministerial. Publication-ready review should test whether another federal officer, board, or court-supervised mechanism would be more durable.
The draft includes a narrow special national runoff for exact ties. Publication-ready review should test whether this is administrable before January 20 and whether an alternate tie mechanism is preferable.
The draft does not resolve whether citizens in territories should participate in a direct presidential election. That question should be handled expressly in the constitutional amendment or a separate implementation section after constitutional review.

Source Notes¶

The title 52 vehicle is based on the current structure of Federal voting and election-administration law, including the Help America Vote Act framework in 52 U.S.C. chapter 209.
Existing presidential-election timing, certification, expedited review, and elector machinery are currently housed in 3 U.S.C. chapter 1. This draft uses that chapter as a conforming-amendment target rather than the affirmative home for direct election.
The contest procedure adapts the three-judge/direct-review model reflected in 3 U.S.C. section 5, 28 U.S.C. section 2284, and 28 U.S.C. section 1253.