The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for December 6, 2022
As we approach the Dec. 7 oral arguments for Moore vs Harper, I’ve updated a report from October, revising the script and adding some new links. — Brian
Today’s Links
Articles:
Politico – Fraudulent Document Cited in Supreme Court Bid to Torch Election Law
Appellate Advocacy Blog – History Rewritten to Serve Selfish Ends – and Serve an Argument
Brennan Center for Justice – Moore v. Harper, Explained
American Redistricting Project – Timeline and Document Submissions for Moore v. Harper
Brennan Center – Annotated Guide to the Amicus Briefs in Moore v. Harper
Scotus Blog – Moore v. Harper
The Atlantic – Is Democracy Constitutional?
Groups Taking Action:
League of Conservation Voters NC, Common Cause NC, Democracy Docket, Campaign Legal Center
Today’s Script: (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time)
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
Yesterday we introduced you to Moore vs. Harper, the U.S. Supreme Court case testing the “Independent State Legislature” theory. But the theory is rooted in the argument of one man whose document even James Madison thought was sketchy.
Scholars from the Brennan Center for Justice wrote in Politico in September that the story begins at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Delegate Charles Pinckney of South Carolina had proposed that legislatures should elect federal representatives. His original plan was lost, but in 1818, he produced what he said was a copy. Problem was, James Madison and other delegates said that wasn’t his original proposal, and that his original proposals had been rejected. Their suspicions were backed up by the minutes of the Constitutional Convention.
Fast forward to 2022, where the North Carolina legislature cites Pickney’s apparently fraudulent document as evidence that the framers intended for legislatures to have power over all federal election matters. In fact, the Constitution only dictates that the “times, places, and manner” of congressional elections “shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof” unless Congress chooses to “make or alter” the rules.
Should the majority of our current U.S. Supreme Court buy into this shaky theory, it will have a sweeping impact on each state’s elections, voter eligibility and certification procedures. Oral arguments in the case are December 7th.
We have links to details on the case and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.
For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.