Supreme Court Rejects Michigan GOP Lawsuit Over Voting Rights

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a lawsuit filed by nearly a dozen Michigan Republican lawmakers seeking to overturn voting rights measures passed by voters in 2018 and 2022 through ballot initiatives. The lawsuit argued that these citizen-led initiatives were unconstitutional under the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which grants state legislatures the authority to regulate federal elections. This refusal marked the third and final rejection after lower courts dismissed the case for lack of standing. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson praised the decision as a victory for voters, emphasizing that the court upheld the right of Michigan citizens to amend their state constitution to expand voting access, including measures such as early voting, same-day registration, and absentee voting. The lawsuit was sponsored by Michigan Fair Elections and the Great Lakes Justice Center, and its attorney has indicated plans to pursue challenges in state courts, where individual legislator standing has been recognized. The case highlights ongoing debates over the Independent State Legislature theory, which asserts that only state legislatures have authority over election laws, a notion courts have so far rejected in this context.