‘A major victory for voting rights in our nation’: Supreme Court rules in favor of N.C. voters

Today the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of North Carolina voters in Moore v. Harper.

The case opposed the independent state legislature (ISL) theory, which ensures state legislatures can be checked by governors, state courts and citizen-led ballot measures.

Fourth District Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan was a key witness in Golden Bethune-Hill v. Virginia House of Delegates, a case which Virginia voters brought against the Commonwealth’s state legislative maps from the 2011 redistricting session.

“I know how critically important such action can be to ensure free and fair elections. Today’s decision is a major victory for voting rights in our nation,” McClellan said.

The Supreme Court’s decision today in Moore v. Harper protects the integrity of the U.S. electoral process, according to McClellan, as well as preserves a proper system of checks-and-balances on state’s roles in regulating federal elections.

“The right-wing ISL theory is a dangerous fringe perspective that would upend American elections and shatter our checks-and-balances that exist to protect our democracy,” McClellan said.

She pushed for passage of the Voting Rights Act of Virginia to curb voter intimidation or discrimination and empower the Attorney General or affected individuals to initiate civil action in court if their voting protections are violated. “If the Supreme Court had supported ISL theory, it would have undermined these safeguards in Virginia and undone our progress as the first Southern state with a state-level Voting Rights Act,” she said.

“In order for our democratic processes to truly be democratic, we must maintain the necessary protections to curb hyper-partisan attempts to undermine the impartiality of our elections. Today, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of democracy and rejected this extreme constitutional perspective,” McClellan said.