Thursday, the United States Supreme Court granted North Carolina Republicans a significant victory.
Berger v. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP was the case in question.
As reported by SCOTUSblog, the court ruled 8-1 that North Carolina Republican lawmakers have the power to “intervene in litigation to defend a state voter-ID law.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the sole justice who dissented.
The Supreme Court rules 8-1 that GOP lawmakers in North Carolina can intervene in litigation to defend a state voter-ID law. The NAACP is challenging the law, and the NC attorney general (a Democrat) is defending it. GOP legislators want to intervene anyway. SCOTUS says they can.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 23, 2022
“The NAACP is challenging the law, and the NC attorney general (a Democrat) is defending it. GOP legislators want to intervene anyway. SCOTUS says they can,” the SCOTUSblog tweeted.
The court’s opinion was delivered by Justice Neil Gorsuch and issued early Thursday morning.
“Within wide constitutional bounds, States are free to structure themselves as they wish. Often, they choose to conduct their affairs through a variety of branches, agencies and elected and appointed officials,” stated Gorsuch.
More on this story via The Western Journal:
“These constituent pieces sometimes work together to achieve shared goals; other times they reach very different judgments about important policy questions and act accordingly. This diffusion of governmental powers within and across institutions may be an everyday feature of American life. But it can also pose its difficulties when a State’s laws or policies are challenged in federal court.”
According to an analysis of the case from Cornell Law School, in 2018, North Carolina passed a bill requiring voters to “present one of ten forms of authorized photographic identification” if they wish to vote. Read more…