Supreme Court continues defending voters' rights: Barack Obama

WASHINGTON: US former President Barack Obama, on Tuesday, said that the Supreme Court rejected the fringe independent state legislature theory that threatened to upend state election laws nationwide and made clear that the institution can continue defending voters' rights in North Carolina.

Taking to Twitter, Obama said, "Today, the Supreme Court rejected the fringe independent state legislature theory that threatened to upend our democracy and dismantle our system of checks and balances."

"This ruling rejects the far-right theory that threatened to undermine our democracy, and makes clear that courts can continue defending voters' rights--in North Carolina and in every state. Thanks to @RedistrictFdn and @EricHolder for helping make this happen," he said in a tweet. This tweet came after the Supreme Court ruled in a case where it rejected a legal theory that would have radically reshaped how federal elections are conducted by giving state legislatures largely unchecked power to set all sorts of rules for federal elections and to draw congressional maps warped by partisan gerrymandering, as per The New York Times.

The vote was 6 to 3, with Chief Justice John Roberts Jr writing the majority opinion. He said that the Constitution protects voting rights in federal elections and state courts can enforce those provisions. Chief Justice said that the Constitution "does not exempt state legislatures from the ordinary constraints imposed by state law."

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito Jr and Neil Gorsuch dissented. The case concerned the "independent state legislature" theory. The doctrine is based on a reading of the Constitution's Elections Clause, which says, "The times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof."

The Republicans, seeking to restore the legislative map last year, have urged the Supreme Court to immediately intervene and also appealed that the state court was not entitled to second-guess the Legislature, reported The New York Times. After their request, the justices rejected it for immediate intervention, and the election in November was conducted under a map drawn by experts appointed by a state court. That resulted in a 14-member congressional delegation that was evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, roughly mirroring the state's partisan divisions.

The composition of the North Carolina Supreme Court changed after elections in November, favouring Republicans by a 5-to-2 margin. In what a dissenting justice called a "shameful manipulation of fundamental principles of our democracy and the rule of law," the new majority reversed course, saying the Legislature was free to draw gerrymandered voting districts as it saw fit, according to The New York Times.