Independent State Legislature Doctrine

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I have a feeling we're going to be hearing a lot more about this in the future.

Former DHS official tears apart a crackpot legal theory that could 'have catastrophic effects for democracy'​

Story by Alex Henderson • 59m ago

In the case Moore v. Harper, the U.S. Supreme Court will not only examine congressional redistricting in North Carolina — it will also be examining a far-right legal idea known as the independent state legislature doctrine. In its most severe form, the ISL (or ISLT) argues that only state legislatures should govern elections at the state level; a state’s executive branch (the governor’s office) and its judicial branch (judges, state supreme courts), according to that line of thinking, should have no say in the matter.

The ISL has become increasingly popular on the MAGA far right. But the ISL is by no means embraced by all conservatives, and former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official Paul Rosenzweig makes a conservative argument against the ISL in an article published by The Bulwark on November 21.

Attorney Rosenzweig describes the ISL as an “attempt to create new rules about elections in the middle of the game” that could “have catastrophic effects” if the U.S. Supreme Court agrees with it in Moore v. Harper.

Read the rest here:

Former DHS official tears apart a crackpot legal theory that could 'have catastrophic effects for democracy'

 

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Congress should nip the independent state legislature theory in the bud​

Opinion by Jim Jones, Opinion Contributor • 32m a

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case with dangerous implications for American democracy on Dec. 7, the anniversary of a previous day of infamy. The case, Moore v. Harper, will give the GOP-appointed majority the opportunity to grant state legislatures the sole state authority to set rules for federal elections. In states where legislatures are controlled by one party, that party could gerrymander to its heart’s content without approval by the governor or oversight by the courts. The decision could also set the stage for a repeat of the scheme pursued by election deniers to snatch the presidency in 2020 with alternate or “fake” elector slates.

Congress should nip the independent state legislature theory in the bud

 

[OldGarandDad]

I guess all these people never studied Civics 101. The states bestowed power upon the Federal government, not the other way around.

As corrupt as some states are, like Arizona where one of the candidates is also responsible for counting the votes, it is their state and their rules.

 

[nickndfl]

*See also enumerated rights.

 

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Luttig: SCOTUS Appears To Have No Appetite For Independent Legislature Theory​

MSNBC
Dec 10, 2022


Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the monumental Moore v. Harper case. The plaintiffs - Republican state legislators from North Carolina - are using the extremely fringey Independent State Legislature Theory to ask the Supreme Court for unfettered authority to set the rules for voting and elections. Judge J. Michael Luttig, a former federal appeals court judge and a conservative, says it’s rare to be able to “devine what any justice, let alone the court, is thinking from their questions.” But after Wednesday’s arguments, he was left with “the clear impression that the Court as a whole has no appetite for the Independent State Legislature Theory.” 9:26