{"id":1958278,"date":"2023-06-27T14:55:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T18:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-decides-state-legislators-do-not-have-unchecked-power-to-set-election-rules\/"},"modified":"2023-06-27T14:57:04","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T18:57:04","slug":"supreme-court-decides-state-legislators-do-not-have-unchecked-power-to-set-election-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-decides-state-legislators-do-not-have-unchecked-power-to-set-election-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court limits state legislators&#8217; authority over election rules."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsupreme-court-decides-state-legislators-do-not-have-unchecked-power-to-set-election-rules%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1958278&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"entry-content\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Photo by JIM WATSON\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>OAN\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/tag\/brooke-mallory\">Brooke Mallory<\/a><br \/>11:32 AM \u2013 Monday, June 27, 2023<\/p>\n<h2>The Supreme Court Rejects Legal Theory on State Legislatures&#8217; Power to Alter Election Laws<\/h2>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-1\" style=\"min-width: 320px; min-height: 50px;  text-align: center;\">  \t<script>  \t\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-1'); });  \t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-slot__ad-label\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>In a dispute involving North Carolina\u2019s congressional map, the court rejected the \u201cindependent state legislature\u201d notion by a 6-3 majority. The once-controversial legal theory maintained that state courts had little, if any, jurisdiction to examine state legislators under federal election rules.<\/p>\n<p>The Moore v. Harper court decision slams the door on what could have been a major revision of America\u2019s voting rules.<\/p>\n<p>A particularly robust interpretation of the theory, which the court rejected, would have empowered state legislatures to make decisions on all aspects of elections, from congressional lines to how people register to vote and cast ballots, with no opportunity for challengers to dispute those decisions in state courts under state laws or constitutions.<\/p>\n<p>Opponents of the idea contended that it may have resulted in unfettered party gerrymandering and regulations, making it more difficult for individuals to vote.<\/p>\n<p>The court\u2019s ruling was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, who was joined by three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, as well as two other conservatives, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.<\/p>\n<p>Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch voted no.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court upheld state courts\u2019 authority to evaluate election rules under state constitutions while urging federal courts to \u201cnot abandon their own duty to exercise judicial review.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Conservative legal activists, supported by some GOP officials, had pushed the Supreme Court to expand the power of state legislatures, which have frequently been under Republican control in recent years. A Supreme Court decision adopting the theory would have upended legislative elections and perhaps the presidential election as 2024 approaches.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Supreme Court determined that the United States Constitution authorizes state courts to continue to interpret state constitutions in order to limit legislators\u2019 authority.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cThe Elections Clause does not insulate state legislatures from the ordinary exercise of state judicial review,\u201d Roberts wrote.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The majority opinion written by Roberts does not provide state courts unfettered reign to impose constraints on legislative action. The top justice issued a type of caution to state courts not to go too far, but the decision issued on Tuesday left open the question of when such a state court judgment would be excessive.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cThe questions presented in this area are complex and context-specific,\u201d Roberts wrote. \u201cWe hold only that state courts may not transgress the ordinary bounds of judicial review such that they arrogate to themselves the power vested in state legislatures to regulate federal elections.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Despite that Disclaimer, the ruling signals a significant loss for supporters of the autonomous state legislative theory, in part since Roberts won a six-justice majority for his argument, essentially sidelining three of the court\u2019s more conservative justices on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Some court observers were surprised by the court\u2019s decision to issue a definite judgment. The case began with Republican lawmakers disputing a verdict given by the North Carolina state Supreme Court, which concluded that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-decides-state-legislators-do-not-have-unchecked-power-to-set-election-rules\/\" title=\"Supreme Court limits state legislators' authority over election rules.\">legislatively drawn lines constituted unconstitutional political gerrymandering<\/a>. For the 2020 elections, a court-drawn map was ultimately utilized.<\/p>\n<p>In December, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in the federal lawsuit. Following those arguments, however, the state Supreme Court said that it would rehear its own recently issued judgment, which came after the state court flipped from 4-3 Democrat justices to 5-2 Republican justices in the November elections. The state court eventually overturned its prior decision, stating that it would not rule on political gerrymandering. In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal courts could not monitor political gerrymandering.<\/p>\n<p>The state court\u2019s move to rehear and eventually overturn its own finding may have undermined the basis for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the federal Moore case, however, several parties asked the justices to issue a ruling regardless.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas contended in his dissenting opinion, which was supported in part by Alito and in whole by Gorsuch, that the issue was rendered moot by the North Carolina Supreme Court\u2019s machinations.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cThe issue on which it opines, a federal defense to claims already dismissed on other grounds, can no longer affect the judgment in this litigation in any way,\u201d Thomas wrote. \u201cAs such, the question is indisputably moot.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Thomas also said that Roberts\u2019 decision was too broad and would be difficult to implement in federal court.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cIn many cases, it is difficult to imagine what this inquiry could mean in theory, let alone in practice,\u201d wrote the court\u2019s senior justice.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The dissenters, however, did not propose a clear alternative criterion, nor did they proclaim that legislators should be completely exempt from state judicial review.<\/p>\n<p>In a concurring opinion filed on Tuesday, Kavanaugh stated that he would have established a particular criterion to evaluate when state court orders exceeded their legal boundaries. He stated that he would have used a criterion outlined by then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist in the Bush v. Gore presidential election decision in 2000, permitting federal courts to overturn state court verdicts that \u201cimpermissibly distorted\u201d state law \u201cbeyond what a fair reading required.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At least four justices on the United States Supreme Court, the three dissenters and Kavanaugh, have previously expressed some interest in the autonomous state legislative theory in their writings. However, a majority of the court appeared hesitant to embrace a robust version of the idea during oral arguments.<\/p>\n<p>All parties appeared to agree that, regardless of the case\u2019s outcome, federal courts would retain the authority to examine state election law changes that violate federal law or the federal Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/alerts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.oann.com\/alerts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>The president of the Crime Prevention Research Center is speaking out about recent statements by President Biden about pistol braces. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>with Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>with Ron Vitiello<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>After the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida extended the time law enforcement must complete background checks. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Zalando, Europe\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-minute-with-john-krasinski-and-jack-ryan-cast-on-saying-goodbye-to-show\/\" title=\"John Krasinski and the 'Jack Ryan' cast reflect on bidding farewell to the show.\">biggest online fashion retailer<\/a>, on Tuesday sued the European Commission for putting it in\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>By Promit Mukherjee and Toby Sterling JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -Dutch-listed technology investor Prosus NV said on Tuesday it would end a cross-holding structure\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>(Reuters) \u2013 Meta Platforms\u2019 WhatsApp Business application is now catering to more than 200 million users on its platform, a four-fold jump\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>By Josh Ye HONG KONG (Reuters) \u2013 Baidu Inc, China\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/futures-edge-higher-ahead-of-economic-data\/\" title=\"Stock futures rise ahead of economic data.\">leading search engine provider<\/a>, said the latest iteration of its ChatGPT-style service\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court dismissed a legal theory stating that state legislatures could change election laws without state court oversight. This decision came during a case concerning North Carolina&#8217;s congressional map.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1866,"featured_media":1958279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1958278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oann"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1958278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1866"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1958278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1958278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1958279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1958278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1958278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1958278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}