States are growing in power. This fact has never been clearer than after last week's Supreme Court decisions. Most obviously, Dobbs overturned Roe v. Wade and returned abortion laws back to the states. But now we also have decisions in Castro-Huerta, ruling that states can prosecute crimes on tribal land, which will shift prosecutions from federal to state governments, and West Virginia v. EPA, which will shift the frontlines of the climate battle back to the states.
Looking forward, just before the Fourth of July holiday the court announced it would take up the Independent State Legislature theory in the fall. The court may have the votes to endorse this theory, which would hand state legislatures complete and unfettered control over election administration. That could be a near-certain checkmate for Democrats in the 2024 election, given Republicans' gerrymandered control of state legislatures in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and elsewhere.
