On June 27, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Moore v. Harper that the North Carolina Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning the state’s congressional district boundaries did not conflict with the Elections Clause in the U.S. Constitution. Although the state supreme court subsequently reversed its decision, SCOTUS upheld the state court’s authority to decide whether the district boundaries complied with North Carolina’s Constitution.
In a 6-3 decision, the court also ruled that it had jurisdiction to rule in the case, regardless of the state court’s subsequent reversal, saying, “This Court has jurisdiction to review the judgment of the North Carolina Supreme Court in Harper I that adjudicated the Federal Elections Clause issue.”
The case concerned whether state legislatures alone are empowered to regulate federal elections without oversight from state courts, known as the independent state legislature theory. This doctrine states that since the U.S. Constitution gives state legislatures the authority to regulate federal elections, oversight of that authority must come from federal courts and the U.S. Congress, not state courts or state constitutions.
