Washington Post editorial board warns SCOTUS’ next move 'might cripple our democracy'

The Washington Post's editorial board has issued a warning to the American people suggesting that the U.S. Supreme Court's next major ruling “might cripple our democracy.”

In a new piece published on Wednesday, July 6, the editorial board expressed concern about the conservative-led high court's decision to to hear Moore v. Harper, a controversial North Carolina case that could greatly impact the voting rights of many Americans and destroy the current protections in place that are combatting aggressive Republican-driven gerrymandering.

“Our democracy’s path rests mostly with the Supreme Court. If five justices overturn the North Carolina decision, they will know what they are doing, which is writing a recipe for election tampering,” the Post editorial board wrote. “They will also know why they are doing it: not because the Constitution demands it, but because they can.”

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The case focuses on problematic congressional maps that have been drawn by Republican legislators in the state following the 2020 census. Back in February, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the maps exhibited unfair, partisan gerrymandering and violated the state constitution.

Now, Republicans in North Carolina are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes that it will endorse an aggressive measure that would block state officials from enforcing the state constitution's election clauses. A ruling of this kind would decimate one of the last protocols in place to combat extreme partisan gerrymandering which could greatly impact the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

“Should the Supreme Court buy into this radical doctrine, governors and other state and local officials responsible for running elections might also end up with their hands tied,” the editorial board warned.

The board also warned that the "radical doctrine" could subsequently lead to a small minority of state legislators overruling the majority.

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“It could also create manifold opportunities for mischief of the sort then-President Donald Trump and his allies attempted in 2020: Legislatures might remain restrained from deciding to ignore the popular vote and appoint their own slates of electors after the fact of a lost presidential race," the board wrote, "but they could plausibly pass laws ahead of time establishing a process that allows them to do just that."