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Supreme Court rules against GOP in North Carolina election law case

In its decision Tuesday, the high court declined to embrace the so-called "independent state legislature" theory, which Republicans argued limits state courts from being able to strike down some election laws. 

Published: June 27, 2023 10:49am

Updated: June 27, 2023 6:14pm

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against North Carolina Republicans, who were fighting for a congressional map that would be in their favor.

The justices ruled 6-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett siding with the court's three liberal members. 

The U.S. Supreme Court sided with the North Carolina Supreme Court, which had concluded that the district map constituted a partisan gerrymander. 

In its decision Tuesday, the high court declined to embrace the so-called "independent state legislature" theory, which Republicans argued limits state courts from being able to strike down some election laws. 

"At the end of the day, the U.S. Supreme Court said that the North Carolina courts could review our congressional maps," North Carolina Republican Party Chairman told the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show Tuesday. "Our North Carolina Supreme Court has reviewed our congressional maps. They have said that the courts cannot draw the maps themselves."

"We're actually in a really good place in North Carolina because last election cycle, we won the Supreme Court, and our court has reviewed the maps and said that we need to get new ones," he later said.

The Supreme Court has made decisions against state legislatures in two other cases involving congressional maps this year in Louisiana and Alabama. However, those cases involved minority voting districts, rather than the power of state courts.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.

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