Wed Jun 28, 2023 – 11:16 am EDT
WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled Tuesday that state legislatures do not have complete power over elections in a challenge brought by North Carolina legislators.
“The Elections Clause does not vest exclusive and independent authority in state legislatures to set the rules regarding federal elections,” SCOTUS ruled in a 6-3 majority decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts. The legal theory is called the “independent state legislatures theory.”
Liberal Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Jackson joined the opinion, along with Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Barrett.
Conservative groups sided with North Carolina Speaker of the House Timothy Moore who challenged the state judiciary’s ability to intervene against new congressional maps. The North Carolina Supreme Court itself eventually reversed its ruling against the new legislative maps.
“We are asked to decide whether the Elections Clause carves out an exception to this basic principle [of judicial review],” Chief Justice Roberts wrote. “We hold that it does not. The Elections Clause does not insulate state legislatures from the ordinary exercise of state judicial review.”
“State courts retain the authority to apply state
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