A case that the U.S. Supreme Court will take up next term could decide whether state lawmakers have the power to draw Congressional maps without oversight from the courts. The map of Ohio鈥檚 Congressional districts in use this year still hasn鈥檛 been ruled constitutional, however, a Supreme Court ruling ext year could be critical if Ohio's map is rejected.
In the case that will go before the Supreme Court, North Carolina Republican lawmakers want to bring back a Congressional map that the courts struck down. The case can really affect states with the tension between the highest court and the legislature, said Suzanne Almeida, who serves as the redistricting counsel for Common Cause.
鈥淥hio is one of those states. North Carolina is one of those states. Pennsylvania is one of those states. But it's coming up in places where the courts and the legislature are not on the same page, particularly as it comes to voting rights. Or redistricting,鈥� Almeida said.
The claim comes from what鈥檚 called the independent state legislatures theory, which Republicans have said derives from the constitution鈥檚 elections clause. But Almeida said that isn鈥檛 in law nor supported by precedent.
And while the case only deals with Congressional maps, Almeida said the ruling could have implications beyond redistricting. Almeida said there鈥檚 a long history of state constitutions going further than the U.S. Constitution when it comes to certain rights, and she鈥檚 worried about the future of that.
鈥淒epending on the United States Supreme Court's decision in this case, it could restrict a lot of that ability to uphold the will of the voters," Almeida said