Supreme Court to review state legislatures' power in federal elections
Source: Washington Post
COURTS & LAW
Supreme Court to review state legislatures’ power in federal elections
The justices will look next term at a case from North Carolina, where Republicans want to restore a redistricting map rejected by the state’s supreme court.
By Robert Barnes
June 30, 2022 at 10:48 a.m. EDT
The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will consider what would be a radical change in the way federal elections are conducted, giving state legislatures sole authority to set the rules for contests even if their actions violated state constitutions and resulted in extreme partisan gerrymandering for congressional seats. ... The court will look next term at a case from North Carolina, where Republicans want to restore a redistricting map that was drawn by the GOP-led legislature but rejected as a violation of the state constitution by the state’s supreme court.
The Supreme Court in March let the North Carolina high court ruling stand for the upcoming fall elections. But three of the court’s conservative justices at the time said they were skeptical state courts had a role in refereeing the rules for federal elections, and a fourth said the issue was ripe for consideration.
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State courts have played an influential role in the congressional redistricting battles following the 2020 Census. Judges have reined in Republican gerrymanders in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, for instance, and rejected maps drawn by Democratic-led legislatures in New York and Maryland. ... But the effort to have the Supreme Court examine what is called the independent state legislature doctrine has been a Republican-led effort. The GOP controls both houses of the legislature in 30 states.
The doctrine comes from the U.S. Constitution’s election clause, which says that the “Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof.” While most often invoked in the redistricting process, the independent state legislature doctrine would also give lawmakers control over issues such as voter qualification, voting by mail and other election procedures.
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The case is Moore v. Harper. It will be heard in the term that begins in October. ... Ann E. Marimow contributed to this report.
By Robert Barnes
Robert Barnes has been a Washington Post reporter and editor since 1987. He joined The Post to cover Maryland politics, and he has served in various editing positions, including metropolitan editor and national political editor. He has covered the Supreme Court since November 2006. Twitter https://twitter.com/scotusreporter
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/30/supreme-court-federal-elections-state-legislatures/
You thought it was over, didn't you?
Sorry, I'm all out of gift articles.
Hat tip to DU'er "In It to Win It" for bringing Mark Joseph Stern's Twitter account to my attention.
Here's the original post.
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BREAKING: The Supreme Court takes up a case about the independent state legislature doctrine for next term, which could give state legislatures far greater power over all manner of election laws. https://supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/063022zor_5he6.pdf
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The case in Moore v. Harper, and it's a challenge to the North Carolina Supreme Court's authority to strike down the legislature's extreme partisan gerrymanders under the state constitution. We already know there are four likely votes for the legislature.
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They are going on a " Smash and Grab" run. Like when a store is robbed...
