In the final Moore v. Harper ruling, the United States Supreme Court struck down a fringe theory proposed by NC Republican legislators – the independent state legislature (ISL). This ruling prevented state legislatures from gaining unrestricted ability to control redistricting, and even election results, without any review by the courts, an important separation of powers, as shown by the efforts of former President Donald Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 election. How did NCLCV get involved in one of the most important democracy lawsuits?
On November 16, 2021, NCLCV joined a lawsuit challenging Republican lawmakers’ efforts to place voters in unrepresentative boundaries, allowing their Republican candidates to receive an unfair advantage in the election and limiting voters’ rights to have their voice heard. This was the start to a long process of the case reshaping into what became Moore v. Harper.
The Absurd “Independent State Legislature” Theory
On February 4, 2022 the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled the voting maps unconstitutional and a violation of state law and our state constitution. Intent on gaining power, a group of Republican state legislators–including Tim Moore, the Speaker of the NC House–appealed the state Supreme Court’s decision to the United States Supreme Court, arguing state legislatures have complete and absolute control over voting maps. The ISL theory of absolute control presumes that the state legislature, and only the state legislature, has the power to make the rules for voting. Donald Trump used this theory in an attempt to reverse the election that resulted in Joe Biden becoming President. While this theory is not unique to North Carolina, state courts across the country–even some most controlled by Republicans–adamantly opposed this theory recognizing the rollback of the checks and balances placed in our government. Additionally, many leading conservative current and former judges and legal scholars opposed this theory.
Before the US Supreme Court could choose to rule or not rule on the case, Republican justices took over the NC Supreme Court’s majority in November 2022 and reversed the earlier ruling in Harper v. Hall (the original state level case), giving NC’s legislature complete control and ordering new districts to be drawn. The legislature took advantage of this terrible ruling and enacted new highly gerrymandered districts. On June 27th, 2023, the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against the absurd “independent state legislature” theory put forward by Speaker Tim Moore, protecting voters and democracy by shutting down Moore’s case for absolute control.
The Status Of Democracy In North Carolina
While the US Supreme Court ruling protects democracy nationwide, unfortunately, North Carolina Republicans have continued to corrupt our electoral system. This year, they passed three bills to consolidate power in the legislature and take power away from the other branches of government.
S.B. 512: Greater Accountability for Boards/Commissions sounds great in title, but in reality it removes the power to appoint to important boards and commissions from the governor and consolidates it with the legislature. After his veto of the bill was overridden, Governor Cooper filed a lawsuit against Republican legislative leaders challenging this bill. The North Carolina Supreme Court previously ruled that no matter the political party controlling the legislature, they couldn’t destroy the checks and balances put forth in our constitution.
S.B. 747: Elections Law Changes will introduce a two-factor authentication process and signature verification for absentee ballots cast by mail, eliminate the three day grace period for mail-in ballots, and expand who can challenge the eligibility of another voter. All of these measures affect all voters, but are expected to affect minority voters the most.
S.B. 749: No Partisan Advantage in Elections, also sounds great in title, but restructures the boards of election by removing the governor’s power to appoint a majority of members, which risks ties that are broken by the legislature and limiting early voting locations. These bills diminish the power of both the voter and the executive branch, subverting constitutional checks and balances on government, and awarding more power to the Republican-controlled General Assembly.
It is imperative to allow voters to reflect their beliefs at the ballot without the unchecked power of the legislative branch controlling the voting process. If the last four years have shown us anything, it is that democracy is fragile, and the battle to maintain it demands our full attention.
This piece appeared in our 2023 Scorecard.
