DES MOINES, Iowa — On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the independent state legislature theory, a ruling that one legal expert is calling a bit of a surprise.
This theory, which gained national attention after the 2020 election, could theoretically give state legislatures power to decide election rules, including how people register to vote or where district lines are drawn.
However, in a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court left the power in the hands of state courts to act as a check on legislatures in redistricting and other issues affecting federal elections.
“[Independent state legislature theory] is a very radical idea, because it could mean all kinds of mischief," said Sally Frank, a law professor at Drake University. "You know, the legislature could say, 'we will only count the votes of Republicans, or only count the votes of Democrats, or only count the votes of whites are only counted'."
This doesn't necessarily mean that the Iowa Supreme Court is required to uphold these laws, but things would look very different if the states were making decisions regarding election laws.
“Well, the Iowa Supreme Court is different creature of course than the U.S. Supreme Court, it has different dynamics," said Mack Shelley, political science professor at Iowa State University. "It is purely a Republican-appointed court at this point, which of course isn't true at the federal level. Does that mean they're all going to vote a like in lockstep? Not necessarily, no."
Chief Justice John Roberts said in his opinion that while state legislatures clearly have the authority to enact election laws, state courts also can review those laws and decide if they are legal under the state constitution.
“If the statute of the court had ruled otherwise, then the Iowa legislature could say, 'we don't care what the redistricting commission says, we're just going to do redistricting ourselves', and the Iowa Supreme Court would not be able to enforce the Iowa constitution," Frank said.
Experts say that states can always give more rights, however they can't give fewer rights, so the Iowa Supreme Court will address the Iowa Constitution as they see fit.