WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a Montana election law case that relied on a controversial legal theory with the potential to change the way elections are conducted across the country.
The Supreme Court declined to hear the case in a summary order without explaining its reasoning, as is customary.
Montana appealed a ruling that struck down two Republican Party-backed election laws. It relies on the theory of the independent state legislature, which holds that state judges should not hear election cases at all.
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Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen says only lawmakers have a say in state elections under the U.S. Constitution. She asked the justices to consider the case after the state’s highest court struck down laws that ended same-day voter registration and banned the collection of paid-for ballots.
The Democratic Party of Montana, joined by tribal organizations and youth groups, argued that the laws made it harder for Native Americans, new voters, the elderly and people with disabilities to vote.
Courts ruled that the laws violated voters’ rights as protected by the state constitution.
The Supreme Court largely rejected the independent state legislature theory in a 2023 case known as Moore v. Harper. That North Carolina case focused on a legal argument that election maps cannot be challenged in court.
Still, the opinion left the door open for even more legal wrangling by indicating there could be limits to state courts’ efforts to monitor elections.