The U.S. Supreme Court is moving closer to deciding if it will issue an opinion in a high-profile case in which Republicans want the court to recognize state legislatures’ power to regulate federal elections without interference from state courts, which they say the U.S. Constitution requires…
Republican Tim Moore, speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, is asking the nation’s highest court to recognize that state legislatures have preeminent authority under the Constitution to make the rules for presidential and congressional elections without state courts getting involved in the process.
The Elections Clause in Article I of the U.S. Constitution states in part: “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof[.]”…
But while the justices in Washington were deliberating the case, on Feb. 3, the Supreme Court of North Carolina, which now has a Republican majority, decided to rehear the underlying case, known in that forum as Harper v. Hall…
The state supreme court reheard Harper v. Hall and then overruled itself on April 28, finding 5-2 that the General Assembly—not judges—have sole authority over the redistricting process...
The U.S. Supreme Court could decide to dismiss Moore v. Harper as moot because the underlying controversy that gave rise to the appeal no longer exists.
The court could also move forward with issuing a formal opinion in the case if the justices believe the issues at hand are too important to ignore.