SCOTUSblog by Amy Howe 3/20/2023
Lawyers involved in a major election law case disagreed on Monday about whether the Supreme Court has the power to reach a decision in the case. In December, the justices heard argument in Moore v. Harper, in which a group of Republican legislators from North Carolina argued that the “independent state legislature theory” – the idea that the Constitution gives state legislatures nearly unfettered authority to regulate federal elections – barred the North Carolina Supreme Court from setting aside a congressional map adopted by the state’s legislature.
Lawyers for those legislators told the justices on Monday that although the North Carolina Supreme Court is reconsidering part of its 2022 ruling, the Supreme Court should nonetheless decide the case before it. Lawyers for one group of challengers, Common Cause, agreed, while other challengers urged the justices to dismiss the case.
The dispute dates back to November 2021, when the state’s Republican-controlled legislature adopted the new map. Democratic voters and non-profits went to court to challenge the map as a partisan gerrymander – that is, drawn to favor one party at another’s expense. The state supreme court (which at the time had a 4-3 Democratic majority) agreed that the new map violated a provision in the state constitution that guarantees free elections, and it barred the state from using the map in the 2022 elections.
More:
https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/03/supreme-court-moore-harper-parties-disagree-over-courts-power-to-reach-decision-in-election-law-case/
