Supreme Court rejects bid to give lawmakers unchecked power over elections

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to give politicians at the state level more power over federal elections by limiting the ability of state courts to review their actions, handing a defeat to Republican lawmakers in North Carolina.

The 6-3 decision, authored by conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, upheld a 2022 ruling by the North Carolina Supreme Court against the Republican legislators. In doing so, the high court declined to embrace a once-marginal legal theory now favored by many conservatives that would remove any role of state courts and state constitutions in regulating presidential and congressional elections.

The legal theory, called "independent state legislature" doctrine, is based in part on the U.S. Constitution's statement that the "times, places and manner" of federal elections "shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof."

https://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/national/supreme-court-rejects-bid-to-give-lawmakers-unchecked-power-over-elections