On June 27, the US Supreme Court decided to reject “independent state legislature theory” in the Moore v. Harper case. In a six to three ruling, several conservative justices sided with the more centrist justices to reject the notion that state legislatures have unchecked power to organize and decide the outcome of federal elections however they see fit. If the Court had accepted this legal theory, this could have meant the virtual elimination of the popular vote, especially Black voting rights, as conservative state legislatures would ensure that their favored federal candidates won each time regardless of who the people chose.
This decision comes as a pleasant surprise to those who worried that the ultra-conservative Supreme Court, which ruthlessly overturned abortion rights in a shocking reversal last year, would just as easily strip the people of the US of the power to choose their national representatives.
The ultra-right had a strong motive to uphold independent state legislature theory, as the increasing diversity and leftward-shift of the emerging voter base have made it harder and harder for conservatives to win elections the democratic way. “The ultra-right feels that a highly urbanized part of the population that’s very multiracial will not embrace the program of the ultra-right. So what the ultra-right is trying to do is use the Supreme Court to eliminate democratic rights and to change the way government is formed,” Brian Becker, author of “The Supreme Court vs. Democracy,” a booklet on Moore v. Harper, told Peoples Dispatch last year.
Walter Smolarek, editor-in-chief of Liberation News, tells Peoples Dispatch regarding the latest rejection of the theory, “The ruling last year, shredding abortion rights along with a host of other horrendous decisions that were completely out of step with public opinion, called into question the legitimacy of the court itself, and the court’s image has also been severely damaged by corruption scandals.”
The right-wing’s attack on abortion rights seemed to cost them several victories in the 2022 midterm elections, according to some analysis.
Smolarek added, “Even several of the right-wing justices appear to have made the calculation that they are not in a strong enough position to push ahead with a frontal attack on the democratic form of government.”
Other attacks on democratic voting rights may follow as the right regroups and re-strategizes on how to keep winning elections.