The Supreme Court has declined to hear a case brought by Pennsylvania Republicans challenging executive actions that expanded voting access. The lawsuit was filed by 27 state legislators against a 2021 executive order by President Joe Biden and an edict by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. The executive order aimed to increase access to voting through various measures, while Governor Shapiro's edict established automatic voter registration statewide. The legislators asked the Supreme Court to bypass a federal appeals court and determine whether they have standing to bring the challenge after a district court dismissed the case. However, the justices declined to do so on Monday (October 7).
The Republican legislators based their request on the "independent state legislatures theory," which argues that only state legislatures have the authority to regulate federal elections. They cited the Constitution's Election Clause and the Electors Clause as the basis for their argument. However, the Supreme Court had previously declined to endorse this theory in 2023, ruling 6-3 against a bid to give state legislatures sweeping authority in drawing congressional maps and regulating federal elections. According to WTNH.com, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion in Moore v. Harper, "The Elections Clause does not insulate state legislatures from the ordinary exercise of state judicial review."