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In Electoral Disputes, State Justices Are Less Reliable GOP Allies than the U.S. Supreme Court—That’s the “Problem†the Independent State Legislature Claim Hopes to Solve

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  • Rebecca L. Brown
  • Lee Epstein
  • Michael J. Nelson

Abstract

Scholars have identified serious drawbacks to the independent state legislature (ISL) claim, which precludes state-court review of election laws, thus preventing state guarantees like “free and fair elections†from being enforced. Considering its flaws, we ask why ISL would be pursued so fervently and why the Supreme Court, in Moore v. Harper , adopted a version of it. Examining data that compare election-law outcomes in federal and state supreme courts, we found that state supreme court justices, even if Republican, are not reliable supporters of the GOP electoral agenda. The Roberts court, by contrast, has voted in the GOP-supported direction in most election-law cases it has decided. This, we argue, is why ISL is promoted so vigorously: it takes electoral disputes—such as who can vote, what the rules for counting are, and such—out of the hands of state courts and places them squarely into the hands of the Supreme Court, a reliable partisan ally.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca L. Brown & Lee Epstein & Michael J. Nelson, 2023. "In Electoral Disputes, State Justices Are Less Reliable GOP Allies than the U.S. Supreme Court—That’s the “Problem†the Independent State Legislature Claim Hopes to Solve," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 708(1), pages 208-226, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:708:y:2023:i:1:p:208-226
    DOI: 10.1177/00027162241231137
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Brady, Henry E. & Mcnulty, John E., 2011. "Turning Out to Vote: The Costs of Finding and Getting to the Polling Place," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 105(1), pages 115-134, February.
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