Eric Holder Statement on Moore v. Harper Victory

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Brooke Lillard

lillard@redistrictingfoundation.org

Eric Holder Statement on Moore v. Harper Victory

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of North Carolina voters in the case Moore v. Harper, an appeal filed by North Carolina Republicans that sought to give state legislatures near-total control over federal election laws, including but not limited to congressional redistricting. The National Redistricting Foundation, the 501 (c)(3) affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, supported the Harper respondents in this case. This is the second victory for the NRF this Supreme Court term following the win in the redistricting case, Allen v. Milligan.

Moore v. Harper was a federal appeal of Harper v. Hall, a landmark state court case initiated by the NRF in which the North Carolina Supreme Court originally determined that the congressional map enacted by Republicans in the state legislature was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. As a result of that ruling, a state court ultimately adopted a fair congressional map leading up to the 2022 election and upheld that map in December 2022. Since the start, the NRF has directed the legal strategy in the case and financially supported the Harper respondents and their legal team.

Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States, issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in Moore v. Harper: 

“By rejecting the independent state legislature theory, the Supreme Court preserved the vital role state courts play in protecting free elections and fair maps for the American people. This is a victory for our system of checks and balances, the cornerstone of American democracy. 

“Make no mistake, this appeal and the truly fringe, truly ideological theory it espouses should never have been brought before our nation’s highest tribunal in the first place, and it demonstrates the lengths to which too many in the Republican Party are willing to go in order to bend—even break—our democracy in order to hold onto illegitimate power. 

“As the North Carolina legislature revisits the redistricting maps, it should keep in mind that the purpose of a legislative body is to represent and make real the will of the people. Plain and simple. 

“For the past six years, we have been fighting in both state and federal court for fair maps that protect and strengthen the right to vote for all eligible Americans. Our success in front of justices and judges, in state and in federal court, has resulted in unequivocally fairer maps for voters around the country. But there is more work to be done. 

“We are committed to staying in this fight until we have fair maps in every state, for every American.”

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