Supreme Court Weighs Voting Rights Case Based on Fringe Theory That Could Upend Democracy

This clip is from the Dec. 8, 2022 broadcast.

The Supreme Court is considering a North Carolina redistricting case that could have far-reaching implications for voting rights in the 2024 election and beyond. At stake in Moore v. Harper is whether North Carolina Republican lawmakers had the authority to overturn a state Supreme Court ruling that redrew the state's congressional map due to partisan gerrymandering. The plaintiffs want the Supreme Court to embrace the notion of "independent state legislature theory," a radical conservative reading of the Constitution that claims state lawmakers have sweeping authority to override courts, governors and state constitutions. "The stakes are really, really high," says law professor Franita Tolson, who teaches at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.