Central Bucks Today

The Supreme Court recently decided the case Berger v. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP.

The court ruled that Republican lawmakers had a right to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a voter ID measure passed by the North Carolina legislature. 

Tom Spencer, vice president of the Lawyers Democracy Fund, praised the Supreme Court's decision. He said the ruling would ensure that the people's representatives across the nation would have a chance to defend their duly enacted laws against interference from potentially partisan attorneys general or secretaries of state.

The Supreme Court issued its opinion on the case on Thursday, according to an opinion piece published by SCOTUS Blog. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion in an 8-1 decision. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the lone dissenter.

"Today is a great day for all litigants who seek to intervene in a lawsuit to defend a state law," Spencer told Old North News. "This decision thwarts opportunities in the future for the state attorney general to work with plaintiffs to overturn laws the attorney general does not agree with for political reasons by not defending them. Now, the legislature can intervene and make sure their duly enacted laws are vigorously defended. 

"This will have an acute effect in elections cases, as partisan attorneys general and secretaries of state will have a harder time colluding with plaintiffs to sue and settle. This is not only a big win for the North Carolina legislature; this is a major win for democracy and fair elections."

Reuters reported that Republican legislators sought to intervene in the lawsuit because they did not have confidence in Josh Stein (D), North Carolina's attorney general, to defend the law.

Gorsuch wrote that it was not proper to assume that Stein had "adequately represented the state's interests" and the state lawmakers did "bring a distinct state interest," according to SCOTUS Blog.

The measure, which required voters to present photo identification at the polls, was passed in 2018, according to Reuters. Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) vetoed the bill. It has been on hold, pending the outcome of this Supreme Court decision, after being blocked by state court judges in September 2021.

Gina Swoboda, executive director of the Voter Reference Foundation, praised the Supreme Court's ruling on the group's website. 

"This ruling by the Supreme Court ensures that the government closest to the people, their legislative branch, is able to protect and defend the election integrity measures enacted by their states," she said. 

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives in December 2021 took action on a series of bills that aimed to amend the state's Constitution, according to the Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus' website. The proposed bills would overhaul the Commonwealth's election laws by requiring voter ID and ensuring regular election audits.