Richmond Leader

Washington, D.C. – On June 27, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) issued the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in Moore v. Harper, which opposed the independent state legislature (ISL) theory:

“Today’s Supreme Court decision protects the integrity of our electoral process and preserves a proper system of checks-and-balances on state’s roles in regulating federal elections. The right-wing ISL theory is a dangerous fringe perspective that would upend American elections and shatter our checks-and-balances that exist to protect our democracy.

“The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 opinion, ruled in favor of North Carolina voters and declined to invoke the ISL theory, ensuring state legislatures can be checked by governors, state courts, and citizen-led ballot measures. As a key witness in Golden Bethune-Hill v. Virginia House of Delegates, brought by Virginia voters to challenge our Commonwealth’s state legislative maps from the 2011 redistricting session, I know how critically important such action can be to ensure free and fair elections. Today’s decision is a major victory for voting rights in our nation.

“While in the Virginia General Assembly, I championed passage of the Voting Rights Act of Virginia to curb voter intimidation or discrimination and empower the Attorney General or affected individuals to initiate civil action in court if their voting protections are violated. If the Supreme Court had supported ISL theory, it would have undermined these safeguards in Virginia and undone our progress as the first Southern state with a state-level Voting Rights Act.

“In order for our democratic processes to truly be democratic, we must maintain the necessary protections to curb hyper-partisan attempts to undermine the impartiality of our elections. Today, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of democracy and rejected this extreme constitutional perspective.”

Original source can be found here.