Independent State Legislature Theory, May 31, 2023
The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide the monumental voting rights case Moore v. Harper. The case concerns a legal doctrine known as the independent state legislature, which asserts that state legislatures have exclusive power--not subject to federal or state courts--to govern all aspects of elections, electors, and voting registration and procedures. The theory is rooted in the Elections and Electors Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. It first appeared in legal arguments during the 2000 Presidential Election, when votes in Florida were in dispute. In the current case, it's about Congressional redistricting following the 2020 Census.