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In this episode Eli and Sonia provide you with an overview of state governments. We couldn\\u2019t do every single state individually, but we give a broad sketch of what most state governments look like. We also describe federalism and how it works, with a couple of examples to provide some clarity.

Notes

A quick clarification: in this episode we unintentionally implied that the U.S. Postal Service is not an agency. This is incorrect! The USPS is an independent agency under the Executive branch. However, the Constitution also explicitly gives the Federal Government the power to establish post offices and post roads, which is why it\\u2019s a federal agency rather than run by states.

Links & Resources

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• Find your local state\\u2019s election office.
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• Here is a list of every state governor.
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• Nebraska has helpfully provided us with some info on their weird state government.
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• Here is New York\\u2019s attempt at helping you understand their weird court system. We\\u2019re still judging you, New York.
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• A few lists of which states elect judges, hold partisan or nonpartisan elections for judges, have retention elections, or do not elect judges.
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• An annotated version of the U.S. Constitution, with notes to provide clarity. Articles IV and VI are particularly relevant to this episode, as is the Tenth Amendment.
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• Some background reading on the Commerce Clause, including links to further info.
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• Some analysis and background on the Tenth Amendment.
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• Helpful background reading on Federalism and how it works.
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• Just in case you wanted the stats to prove that Thomas writes a lot of dissents.
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• Two maps comparing U.S. states to European countries by size and population.
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• Background reading on state police powers.
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• Here are the EPA\\u2019s regulations for emissions from onroad vehicles. (There are separate regulations for greenhouse gases and offroad vehicles, also linked on this page.)
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• Here are some articles about cannabis legalisation and Federalism.
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• Here\\u2019s a solid background on the Supremacy Clause.
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• Should you go to law school? Probably not, tbh.
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Homework

Your homework this week is to look up your state representatives.

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• Find out who they are!
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• Maybe check out their voting history on some issues you care about.
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• Consider going to a town hall or public event where one of them will be present.
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