The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the independent state legislature theory this term.
Here’s Where Each Conservative Justice Stands On The Theory That Could Upend Democracy
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the independent state legislature theory this term.
By Kate Riga
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October 1, 2022 9:02 a.m.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/supreme-court-independent-state-legislature-theory
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The Supreme Court will hear a case this term that could give state legislatures unprecedented power over federal elections and the laws that govern them.
In Moore v. Harper, North Carolina Republicans argue that the state Supreme Court overstepped its constitutional power when it struck down the legislature’s gerrymandered congressional districts as a violation of the state constitution.
The legislators are arguing that a reading of the federal Constitution — a once-fringe idea called the independent state legislature theory — empowers state legislatures to govern federal elections to the exclusion of state courts, neatly eradicating a critical check on the lawmakers’ power. The state judiciary is particularly indispensable in redistricting disputes, since the Supreme Court barred partisan gerrymandering cases from being heard in federal courts.
But the independent state legislature theory, if accepted by the right-wing majority, would not be confined to redistricting. It rests on a super literal reading of two clauses of the Constitution: The Elections Clause giving state legislatures the power to dictate the “times, places and manner” of holding elections, and the Electors Clause giving state legislatures the power to appoint presidential electors in the “manner” they choose.
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