Blue state judges and liberal bureaucrats caught flak for littering their states with drop-boxes and accepting mail-in ballots during the 2020 election without permission from lawmakers. The Supreme Court is poised to stop them from doing it again in 2024.
The justices announced Thursday that they will hear a case later this year involving the “independent state legislature theory,” which holds that state lawmakers alone control election procedures and redistricting. The news invigorated conservative groups who say bureaucratic tinkering with district lines and election laws is destroying public confidence in the political process.
“Dark money-fueled left-wing lawyers have misused the courts to manipulate election laws and undermine commonsense voting safeguards for political gain,” the Honest Election Project’s Jason Snead said. “The Supreme Court now has the chance to uphold the Constitution and ensure that future elections have safeguards that make it easier to vote and harder to cheat.”
The justices stepped into a heated debate by taking the case. Late-breaking changes to election procedures helped fuel former president Donald Trump’s narrative that Democrats stole the 2020 election. For their part, Democrats see the case as yet another attack on voting rights, and a bid to insulate pro-gerrymandering lawmakers from judicial scrutiny.
The Constitution provides that the “time, place, and manner” of elections shall be “prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.” A second rule with similar language governs selection of presidential electors. On that basis, Republican lawyers say each state legislature has the final say on election rules, such as voter ID laws or absentee balloting, as well as the decennial redistricting process. Neither state courts nor state agencies can interfere.
via joemiller