The News & Observer: Supreme Court’s ‘independent state legislature’ case: How we got here, and what’s next

The News & Observer: Supreme Court’s ‘independent state legislature’ case: How we got here, and what’s next

Kathay Feng, who leads anti-gerrymandering efforts for the national group Common Cause, calls it “the case of the century” — and not out of admiration. “It is a case that asserts a bizarre and fabricated reading of the United States Constitution ... to create a situation where elections are already rigged from the start,” she said.

North Carolina’s upcoming case at the U.S. Supreme Court has the potential to upend elections nationwide, in time for the 2024 presidential race.

Backed by Republican leaders at the N.C. General Assembly, the crux of the argument is that they and all other state legislators should have much broader power to write election laws, with courts mostly not allowed to stop them by ruling their actions unconstitutional. …

This case is technically an appeal of a gerrymandering ruling, which found state lawmakers violated the constitution with new Congressional maps drawn after the 2020 Census. However, it’s far from just that.

Kathay Feng, who leads anti-gerrymandering efforts for the national group Common Cause, calls it “the case of the century” — and not out of admiration.

“It is a case that asserts a bizarre and fabricated reading of the United States Constitution … to create a situation where elections are already rigged from the start,” she said.