Robert Reich warns of Supreme Court case that could give GOP-led states 'total power over our democracy'

13 September 2022

Former United States Labor Secretary Robert Reich released a new video on Tuesday warning of the danger to democracy posed by an upcoming Supreme Court case.

Arguments scheduled for this fall in Moore versus Harper will petition the Court to embrace the fringe Independent State Legislature Theory that grants state lawmakers the power to supersede the will of the voters in presidential elections.

The lawsuit is an extension of the Republican Party's embrace of ex-President Donald Trump's baseless allegations that the 2020 contest was stolen.

"In February 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court blocked the state's Republican-controlled general assembly from instituting a newly-drawn congressional district map, holding that the map violated the state constitutional ban on non-partisan gerrymandering," Reich explained.

State Representative Tim Moore (R-111th District), the Speaker of the North Carolina House, "appealed the decision to the US Supreme Court, advancing this theory – a theory that's circulated for years in right-wing circles – which argues that the US Constitution gives state legislatures alone the power to regulate federal elections in their states," Reich continued, noting that the Constitution "does grant state legislatures the authority to prescribe the 'times, places, and manner of holding elections.'"

The problem is that the Constitution does not give state legislatures "total power over our democracy," which is essentially what the plaintiffs in Moore versus Harper maintain, Reich said, adding that the Supreme Court has "repeatedly rejected the Independent State Legislature Theory" numerous times throughout the last century.

But the Court's right-wing majority – with three jurists that were nominated by Trump – "will rule about on just about anything that suits the far-right's agenda," Reich cautioned.

Reich then proposed three ways that the public can protect democracy.

First is expanding the Court. The second is imposing term limits and having Justices "rotate" with lower-appellate court judges. The third solution is for the federal government to "restore voting rights protections" and "expand access to the ballot box."

To achieve this, Reich concluded, voters must ensure that Democrats retain control of Congress in the November midterms.

Watch below or at this link.

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