After the 2020 election, several battleground states wisely enacted election reforms aimed at shoring up the integrity of their voting processes. Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, and North Carolina all passed laws that included tougher voter ID requirements and banned private money from influencing election administration. Sounds great, right? Well, these reforms might only be as strong as the state supreme courts allow them to be, which isn’t exactly reassuring given the current judicial landscape.
Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project, didn’t sugarcoat the situation. He pointed out that, in many of these key states, the state supreme courts have taken a turn for the worse. As if that wasn’t enough, you’ve got governors, attorneys general, and secretaries of state in some places who aren’t exactly known for defending election integrity. Let’s just say, when the people in charge don’t have your back, it’s not a good sign for those reforms.
Democrats have already made significant gains in some of these courts, particularly in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Republicans still hold the majority in Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina. But even with Republican majorities in some states, the overall control of these courts could heavily influence the outcomes of the 2024 presidential election and down-ballot races. As Hans von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation pointed out, state supreme courts have become just as politicized as federal courts, meaning if the election gets tight, expect a flood of litigation.
Right now, Republican-leaning justices hold a majority in 27 state supreme courts compared to the Democrats’ 17, but it’s those seven key battleground states that could decide the future president and Congress. It’s no secret that judicial elections are officially nonpartisan, but we all know the score—there’s no doubt which judges lean left or right. Ballotpedia has even created a “State Partisanship” index to measure each court’s political leanings.
The battle isn’t just in the courts, though. Democrats made big gains in 2022, snagging secretary of state positions in Arizona, Nevada, and Michigan. Georgia’s Brad Raffensperger is the only Republican left standing in a battleground state for that office. In Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro appointed a former Republican, Al Schmidt, as Secretary of State, though we all know how Schmidt’s election stance leaned. Meanwhile, states like North Carolina and Wisconsin have state boards overseeing elections, which further complicates the situation for anyone hoping for a fair and transparent election process.
So while election reforms may look solid on paper, the real question is whether these reforms will hold up when it comes down to the wire. With state courts becoming increasingly political, it’s anyone’s guess how the rule of law will be interpreted when the 2024 election rolls around. If you thought the legal battles in 2020 were bad, buckle up—it looks like we’re in for a bumpy ride.
