In June 2023, the Supreme Court determined that states do not have independent and exclusive authority when it comes to federal election rules. By the time they issued the majority opinion, it no longer mattered in the state that started it all.

So what happened in Moore v Harper? What is (or was) the Independent State Legislature Theory, and what other powers did the court vest in itself in this opinion?

Carolyn Shapiro, founder and co-director of Chicago-Kent's Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States, is our guide.

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What Moore v Harper Means for Elections

Civics 101