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24 

ARIZONA STATE LEGISLATURE v. ARIZONA 
INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMM’N
 
Opinion of the Court 

C 

In  accord  with  the  District  Court,  see  supra,  at  9,  we 

hold  that  the  Elections  Clause  permits  the  people  of  Ari­
zona  to  provide  for  redistricting  by  independent  commis­
sion.  To  restate  the  key  question  in  this  case,  the  issue
centrally  debated  by  the  parties:  Absent  congressional 
authorization,  does  the  Elections  Clause  preclude  the
people  of  Arizona  from  creating  a  commission  operating 
independently of the state legislature to establish congres­
sional  districts?  The  history  and  purpose  of  the  Clause
weigh heavily against such preclusion, as does the animat­
ing  principle  of  our  Constitution  that  the  people  them­
selves  are  the  originating  source  of  all  the  powers  of 
government. 

We  note,  preliminarily,  that  dictionaries,  even  those  in
circulation during the founding era, capaciously define the 
word  “legislature.”  Samuel  Johnson  defined  “legislature” 
simply  as  “[t]he  power  that  makes  laws.”    2  A  Dictionary
of  the  English  Language  (1st  ed.  1755);  ibid.  (6th  ed. 
1785); ibid. (10th ed. 1792); ibid. (12th ed. 1802).  Thomas 
Sheridan’s  dictionary  defined  “legislature”  exactly  as  Dr.
Johnson did: “The power that makes laws.”  2 A Complete
Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed. 1797).  Noah 
Webster  defined  the  term  precisely  that  way  as  well.
Compendious  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language  174 
(1806).  And Nathan Bailey similarly defined “legislature” 
as “the Authority of making Laws, or Power which makes 
them.”  An  Universal  Etymological  English  Dictionary
(20th ed. 1763).23 
—————— 

23 Illustrative  of  an  embracive  comprehension  of  the  word  “legisla­
ture,” Charles Pinckney explained at South Carolina’s ratifying conven­
tion  that  America  is  “[a]  republic,  where  the  people  at  large,  either
collectively  or  by  representation,  form  the  legislature.”    4  Debates  on 
the Federal Constitution 328 (J. Elliot 2d ed. 1863).  Participants in the
debates  over  the  Elections  Clause  used  the  word  “legislature”  inter­
changeably with “state” and “state government.”  See Brief for Brennan