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We the People

The Supreme Court Rejects the Independent State Legislature Theory

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.61.1K Ratings

🗓️ 29 June 2023

⏱️ 60 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, the Supreme Court handed down a major decision relating to elections in America in the Moore v. Harper case. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court rejected the independent state legislature theory, finding that the Elections Clause does not give state legislatures exclusive power over elections, and upholding the power of judicial review in electoral cases, including redistricting decisions. In this episode of We the People, guests Judge Michael Luttig and Professor Evan Bernick join to break down the Moore decision – including why the Court decided to reject the independent state legislature theory; why conservative Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissented; and what this means for the future of judicial review of election laws. Host Jeffrey Rosen moderates. Resources: Moore v. Harper (2023) Judge Michael Luttig, “The Court Is Likely to Reject the Independent State Legislature Theory: And that offers hope for American democracy”, The Atlantic, April 13, 2023 Judge Michael Luttig, “There Is Absolutely Nothing to Support the ‘Independent State Legislature’ Theory”, The Atlantic, October 3, 2022 J. Michael Luttig, et al, Brief for Non-State Respondents, Moore v. Harper  Brief of Professor Evan Bernick in support of respondents in Harper v. Moore Check out previous We the People episodes on the Moore v. Harper case: Part 1 (March 2022) and Part 2 from (July 2022), and Part 3 (Dec. 2022) Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.    Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.    Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.    You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Transcript

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0:00.0

This week the Supreme Court handed down Moore versus Harper a significant decision regarding elections in America.

0:07.5

In a six to three ruling, the court rejected the independent state legislature theory and found that the election clause does not give state

0:14.5

legislatures exclusive power over elections.

0:17.6

Hello friends, I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center and welcome to We The

0:24.0

Weekly Show of Constitutional Debate.

0:27.3

The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress to increase awareness and understanding of the

0:35.3

Constitution among the American people. Joining us to discuss the more decision

0:41.6

and what it means for the future of elections are Judge

0:45.8

Michael Ludig and Professor Evan Bernick.

0:48.8

Judge Michael Ludig served on the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

0:52.6

He is a trustee of the National Constitution Center,

0:55.9

and he served as co-counsel for the respondents

0:58.4

in Moore versus Harper and has written extensively

1:01.2

about the case.

1:02.2

Judge Ludig, welcome back to We The People.

1:05.0

Thank you, Jeff.

1:05.7

It's a pleasure to be on with you today.

1:09.2

And Evan Bernick is assistant professor of law

1:11.2

at Northern Illinois University College of Law.

1:14.3

He filed a brief in the case in support of Harper and is the co-author of the original meaning

1:19.1

of the 14th Amendment, its letter and spirit, which he co-wrote with Randy Barnett.

1:24.7

Evan, it's great to welcome you back to We The People.

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