On Tuesday morning the Supreme Court released its decision on a North Carolina redistricting dispute, rejecting the claim that only state legislatures have the power to facilitate election laws.
The question at hand in the case, Moore v. Harper, is who has the final say in congressional redistricting and election rules?
A group of Republican legislators from North Carolina argued that the state courts do not have the power to strike down congressional redistricting maps, as they did after the 2020 Census gave North Carolina one additional seat. The group claimed that the Constitution’s elections clause gives state legislatures unfettered power to regulate federal elections, without interference from state courts.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied the claim, holding the idea that the judicial branch has the power to review election laws.
"A state legislature may not 'create congressional districts independently of' requirements imposed 'by the state constitution with respect to the enactment of laws,'" wrote Justice John Roberts.
The 6-3 ruling held that the elections clause "does not insulate state legislatures from the ordinary exercise of state judicial review." The decision comes as the North Carolina Supreme Court, with a new 5-2 Republican majority, reversed its earlier ruling, holding that it lacked the power to review the challenges to the map.
"This opinion shows that we live in a Juristocracy not a democracy. Or a constitutional republic. It reinforces Marbury’s overbreadth (and actually cites to it)," wrote constitutional law expert Jenna Ellis. "That’s not a maxim that a free people in a constitutional republic should simply accept with a nod to "judicial review.""
The Supreme Court is expected to release additional rulings this week relating to the legality of affirmative action, Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, and a religious wedding website owner who declined to work with a same-sex couple.
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