Source: United States Senator for Minnesota Amy Klobuchar
Senator attended oral arguments at the Supreme Court today
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration with oversight over federal elections, released the statement below as the U.S. Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments in the Moore v. Harper case regarding the independent state legislature theory. This extreme theory claims that the federal Constitution allows state legislatures to make rules for federal elections – in this case Congressional redistricting – without the usual checks and balances provided by state constitutions. Klobuchar attended oral arguments at the Court this morning.
“The fringe arguments advanced in Moore v. Harper represent an unconstitutional power grab by state legislatures seeking to undermine our free and fair elections, ” said Klobuchar. “That’s why legal scholars and judges from across the political spectrum, including leaders within the conservative legal movement, are speaking out against this dangerous theory. At a time when the freedom to vote is under attack across the country, the Supreme Court must reject this extreme theory and protect the constitutional checks and balances, such as judicial review, that have long been at the cornerstone of our democracy.”
Moore v. Harper was appealed to the Supreme Court by the Speaker of the North Carolina General Assembly and other state legislative leaders who argue that the North Carolina state supreme court lacked authority under the federal Constitution to review and invalidate the Congressional map drawn by the state legislature.
Last month, Klobuchar led 19 of her colleagues in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court highlighting their opposition to the independent state legislature theory. The senators argued that the federal Constitution requires state legislatures to follow the same constitutional procedures when making rules for federal elections that they use to make other state laws.
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