Supreme Court Rejects Legal Theory That Would Eviscerate Voting Rights - For Now

Source: HuffPost

Supreme Court Rejects Legal Theory That Would Eviscerate Voting Rights – For Now

Congressional district maps drawn by state courts will remain in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

By Paul Blumenthal
03/07/2022 06:36pm EST | Updated a day ago

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected emergency applications filed by Republicans in North Carolina and Pennsylvania asking the court to strike down congressional district maps approved by courts in both states.

Republicans in North Carolina had asked the court to strike down a map drawn by state courts after finding that the original map passed by the Republican legislature was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander under the state constitution. In Pennsylvania, Republicans wanted to strike down a state court-drawn map implemented after Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed the map passed by the Republican-majority legislature.

In doing so, the Supreme Court refused to accept a radical legal theory known as the independent state legislature doctrine that could have upended redistricting and voting rights across the country.

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At issue is whether state courts can continue to play any role in reviewing whether district maps or election laws passed by state legislatures are unlawful under their state constitutions. Supporters of the independent state legislature doctrine believe that the elections clause in the U.S. Constitution gives state legislatures the sole authority to set the “time, place, and manner” of elections.

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Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/supreme-court-independent-state-legislature-gerrymandering-case_n_62268dcbe4b047f85a3ef0ac