North Carolina Republicans Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Disallow State Supreme Court Authority on Redistricting

Posted on by February 26, 2022
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On February 25, some North Carolina Republican members of Congress and legislators asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that the recent decision of the North Carolina Supreme Court on U.S. House redistricting violates Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Moore v Harper, 21A455.

The North Carolina Supreme Court had ruled recently that the legislature’s plan violates the state constitution. The state constitution says elections shall be “free and equal.” The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that means partisan gerrymandering is illegitimate. The new filing to the U.S. Supreme Court says that state courts cannot interfere; only state legislatures have authority to write election laws for Congress.

Here is the filing. Thanks to ElectionLawBlog for the link.
UPDATE: the response from the state board of elections is due March 2, Wednesday.

Arizona Bill to Require Initiatives to Pass with 60%

Posted on by February 25, 2022
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On February 22, the Arizona House passed HCR 2015. It is a proposed constitutional amendment, to require initiatives to receive at least 60% of the popular vote in order to pass. If the legislature approves the bill, then the voters will vote on it, because it amends the state constitution.

The vote in the House was 31-28. The only state that already requires initiatives to receive 60% is Florida.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Has Never Handled a Case Involving Minor Party or Independent Candidates

Posted on by February 25, 2022
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Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Biden choice for U.S. Supreme Court, has never handled a case involving voting rights of minor parties or independent candidates. That is not surprising, because federal judges in the District of Columbia almost never have such cases, except for campaign finance cases.