Greg Sargent: Why the Trumpist threat in 2024 just got more dangerous

[Nevilledog]

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Greg Sargent
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To grasp how radical a threat Independent State Legislature Theory poses, note this: Some election subversion bills that Republicans have *already* pushed in states might be unreviewable by state courts, legal experts tell me.

SCOTUS may greenlight this.

washingtonpost.com
Opinion | Why the Trumpist threat in 2024 just got more dangerous
If the Supreme Court embraces a radical legal theory, election subversion becomes more likely.
8:27 AM · Jul 6, 2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/06/independent-state-legislative-theory-trump-2024-supreme-court/

No paywall
https://archive.ph/WlWbN

*snip*

The case, Moore v. Harper, concerns whether the North Carolina state legislature is precluded from executing an extreme partisan gerrymander by state courts’ interpretation of the state constitution. If the Supreme Court rules in the legislature’s favor, the court could endorse some version of the theory, which holds that state legislatures have near-plenary control over election rules.

This is supposedly grounded in “originalist” readings of the Constitution. But recent scholarship has debunked this, documenting that founding-era understandings gave a central role to state constitutions and courts in overseeing states’ setting of election rules.

Regardless, what if the court blesses the theory anyway? At least four justices have potentially signaled openness to doing so.

Most obviously, state legislatures could go hog wild with gerrymanders and possibly with restrictions on voting, though federal checks might limit the latter. As elections expert Richard L. Hasen notes, state legislative power to set basic election rules would be unchecked by “the state constitution as interpreted by the state supreme court.”

But supercharged election subversion would also become a very live possibility.

*snip*

[Bluethroughu]

1. It's all part of their plan.

[Fiendish Thingy]

2. The only thin line of defense that would remain would be the ECA

Electoral Count Act, which states congress shall only accept slates of electors certified by the Governor.

[duckworth969]

3. Didn't know about the Electoral Count Act

Thanks for that info.

[duckworth969]

4. Constitutional Crisis maybe?

Could it lead to that?

[AZLD4Candidate]

6. "Don't wave the Constitution in my face. It's just a damned piece of paper" - AWOL McFlightsuit

We all laughed when he said that and called him a complete moron.

Well. . .

[bullwinkle428]

5. Oh, Clarence Thomas WILL green-light it!