Gray Television (VIDEO): U.S. Supreme Court will hear North Carolina redistricting case on Wednesday

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case out of North Carolina on Wednesday. Congressional maps, tossed out by state courts for partisan gerrymandering, are under the microscope. The repercussions of this case may go well beyond just North Carolina though, and impact how much power state legislatures have to manage federal elections.

Moore v. Harper started as a case about partisan gerrymandering. At the U.S. Supreme Court this case will focus on part of the Constitution called the Elections Clause, which says, “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof;”

The two sides in this case each argue that “Legislature” refers to different things. The respondents say it means the state’s government as a whole, while petitioner say it just means the elected lawmakers in each state’s statehouse.

Kathay Feng from Common Cause, one of the groups leading the respondents, said, “It’s so much bigger than just the conversation about redistricting or gerrymandering.”