Supreme Court Reinforces Role of State Courts in Protecting Voters

Washington, DC — This morning, the US Supreme Court rejected the dangerous “independent state legislature” theory presented in the Moore v. Harper case from North Carolina. The Court reinforced the long-held rule that state legislatures regulating federal elections are bound by the important checks and balances provided by state constitutions and enforced by state courts. 

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) represents the League of Women Voters of Utah (LWV Utah), Mormon Women for an Ethical Government (MWEG), and a bipartisan group of individual voters in a lawsuit challenging Utah’s gerrymandered congressional voting map and asking the court to reinstate Prop 4, a citizen-led initiative that prohibited partisan gerrymandering.  

CLC, LWV Utah, and MWEG issued the following joint statement after the US Supreme Court ruled in Moore v. Harper: 

“In the Moore v. Harper decision, the US Supreme Court reinforced the well-established role that state courts play in protecting voters' constitutional rights in federal elections, which is precisely what we are asking Utah’s Supreme Court to do. 

Through the passage of Prop 4, Utahns made it clear that they wanted to prohibit gerrymandering and assign an independent and nonpartisan commission the lead role in drawing Utah’s electoral districts. Utah politicians repealed these limits and then ignored both the will of voters and their own state Constitution by drawing an unfair voting map behind closed doors that divides communities and prioritizes their political party’s interests above the interests of voters.  

Utah voters have a right to choose their own politicians, not the other way around. We look forward to defending Utahns’ rights to free and fair elections at the Utah Supreme Court on July 11.”

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