Beware the Black Robes

They’ve taken away a woman’s power over her own body. They’ve allowed just about anyone to carry a concealed weapon in public making us all less safe. They’ve restricted the EPA’s ability to go after carbon emissions and fight climate change. Now, they may be going after the heart of the democracy, our vote. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case in the fall that could continue to lead us down the very dark path that we began walking over the last few weeks. It’s a North Carolina case, Moore v Harper, that could change how elections are run and who has the power over your vote. It’s being brought by the Republican controlled state legislature. If the court finds in their favor, state legislatures would have independent power over federal elections, which state courts could not review.

State legislatures would be able to make new rules and districts on federal elections with no way to challenge them. State legislatures could gerrymander congressional districts to favor which ever party controls the legislature without any court oversight. Right now, Republicans control 30 state legislatures. Democrats control 17. Among the Republican legislatures are battleground states Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. The North Carolina Republicans argue the Election Clause in the Constitution gives the state legislature the power to control federal elections in their state. That means everything. Striking down new elections laws they don’t like. They could restrict polling hours on Election Day. They could refuse to certify results they claim are faulty and select their own slate of electors. Sound familiar. That’s what Trump and his thugs were trying to pull off in 2020. Fortunately, the courts and some state election officials with some guts stood up and prevented the first coup in American history.

Many of these Republicans that control these legislatures are still buying into the Trump fantasy about the stolen 2020 election. They want revenge. In addition, Republicans are nominating right wing extremists for Secretary of State all over the country. These are the state officials who over see elections. The most famous one is Republican Brad Raffensperger in Georgia. He stood up to mob boss Trump when he called Raffensburger and asked him to “find 11,780 votes. Raffensperger said no even as Trump threatened he could find himself in legal trouble if he didn’t cooperate. Guess who got into legal trouble? Georgia Republican legislators got back at Raffensperger. They passed a law last year that removes the Secretary of State as chair of the State Elections Board.

The conservative justices on the Supreme Court have indicated they want to clarify what’s called the independent state legislature doctrine. This conservative court has shown their out of touch extreme views will haunt the country for decades. The three conservatives Trump put on the court Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Amy Barrett are in their early and mid-50s. They could be determining our future for 30 more years. Thomas and Alito are in their early and mid-70s. They could easily be around for ten more years. We are living in dangerous times. If we lose our vote, all is lost. We will know who is responsible. Beware the black robes.