CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against North Carolina Republicans Tuesday and said state legislatures don't have absolute power over election laws, and that state courts are constitutionally allowed to weigh in on those laws.
At issue in Moore v. Harper, a fringe legal argument called Independent State Legislature theory.
"I think the court felt that they were going to have to decide this question sooner or later. It had been raised in a number of cases during the 2020 election, and the majority of the court never directly addressed it. There are cases from other states where it's percolating," said Professor Richard Briffault.
Briffault teaches constitutional law at Columbia University and appeared on WCNC's Flashpoint. He said the courts will likely have to revisit the issue again.
"My guess is we're going to see more litigation on this. But the most extreme version of the theory, which was what the North Carolina legislature was pushing, that has been rejected," said Briffault.
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