MOORE V. HARPER

What is Moore v. Harper?

Moore v. Harper is a U.S. Supreme Court case posing the question whether the North Carolina court system violated the federal constitution’s Elections Clause when it struck down and then replaced the legislature’s congressional map for violating the state’s constitution.

What is independent state legislature theory?

This case was brought by North Carolina legislative leaders and invokes the radical “Independent State Legislature” Theory, or ISL Theory, which argues that the word “Legislature” in the Elections Clause empower state legislatures to exclusively control federal elections without any accountability from the other branches of state government, without the checks and balances codified in the state laws, or in defiance of the principles enshrined in state constitutions.

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NRF’s Involvement in North Carolina Maps

  • November 2018

    The NRF partners with Common Cause to file Common Cause v. Lewis, the first partisan gerrymandering case in North Carolina that challenged any of the state’s maps as unconstitutional under state constitutional provisions.

  • SEPTEMBER 2019:

    A three-judge panel for the Wake County Superior Court sides with the NRF-backed plaintiffs in Common Cause v. Lewis, striking down the state’s legislative plans.

  • September 2019:

    NRF-supported plaintiffs challenges the state’s remedial congressional map from 2016 in Harper v. Lewis, arguing that the map violated several provisions of North Carolina’s constitution. That fall, a state panel enjoins the 2016 remedial map, ultimately requiring the 2020 elections to proceed under a new plan passed by the General Assembly.

  • 2020:

    The NRF’s successful litigation in Harper v. Lewis against North Carolina’s gerrymandered 2016 map leads to the first congressional election under a fair map in a decade.

  • November 2021:

    Republicans in the legislature enact heavily gerrymandered congressional and state legislative maps.

  • February 2022:

    The North Carolina Supreme Court issues a decision in Harper v. Hall, striking down the state’s 2021 congressional and state legislative districts – holding that partisan gerrymandering violates the state Constitution.

  • March 2022:

    After losing in state court, the North Carolina Republican-controlled legislature appeals the state court’s decisions to the Supreme Court of the United States, in the case we now know as Moore v. Harper.

ABOUT NRF

The National Redistricting Foundation was formed in 2017 to pursue legal challenges to gerrymandered congressional and state legislative districts and to engage in work that affects the redistricting process.

When elected officials abuse their power to advance partisan interests, our judicial system is the last defense in restoring a more equitable electoral process, making the NRF’s litigation a crucial tool for creating new, fair maps that foster competitive elections.

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