CCNM News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed today that state courts can hold lawmakers accountable to state laws and constitutions when it comes to election-related cases.
The ruling issued today in Moore v. Harper found the North Carolina Supreme Court was within its powers to strike down an unfair set of congressional maps that harmed Black voters in the eastern part of the state.
The decision is a big victory for voters, given the potential the case had to shatter the checks and balances that are the underpinnings of American democracy.
Representing Common Cause, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells told Supreme Court Justices during oral arguments that “a blast radius from their theory would sow election chaos” if adopted. The case had the potential to erase 200 years of legal precedent and upend the American system of democracy by handing partisan lawmakers the ability to manipulate election rules and voting maps to their benefit with little to no way of stopping them.
The Supreme Court’s decision is here.
Local Comment:
Heather Ferguson, former Executive Director Common Cause New Mexico, now Common Cause States Director: “Today’s Supreme Court decision in Harper v Moore, a case based on Common Cause’s successful case to overturn gerrymandering in North Carolina, is a victory for voters. The Supreme Court made clear that state courts and state constitutions serve as a critical check against abuses of power by legislators who seek to silence voters through gerrymandering or voter suppression for partisan purposes. This may seem relevant only to North Carolina but in New Mexico, the ruling gives our state courts the continued ability to rule on the constitutionality of redistricting maps created by the legislature. It is very relevant here as there is currently a Republican challenge to the maps drawn by the NM legislature pending in the NM Supreme Court, which would have been denied jurisdiction had the decision gone the other way.”
Background on Today’s Ruling on Moore v. Harper:
Dec. 7, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Moore v. Harper, an appeal of a victory Common Cause and its attorneys at Southern Coalition for Social Justice and Hogan Lovells secured in a N.C. Supreme Court redistricting case. In Moore v. Harper, North Carolina Republican lawmakers floated a flimsy legal argument suggesting lawmakers should be able to make election rules without facing the checks and balances of the state courts or governors.
But the N.C. Supreme Court — in a rare and unprecedented step after its partisan composition changed in 2023 reheard the underlying case Harper v. Hall and issued a ruling in late April overruling its prior decisions against partisan gerrymandering.
For more information, visit mooreharper.com.
About CCNM:
Common Cause is a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard as equals in the political process.