Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/21-1271_3f14.pdf
Page Number: 1.0

(Slip Opinion) 

OCTOBER  TERM,  2022 

1 

Syllabus 

NOTE:  Where  it  is  feasible,  a  syllabus  (headnote)  will  be  released,  as  is 
being  done  in  connection  with  this  case,  at  the  time  the  opinion  is  issued. 
The  syllabus  constitutes  no  part  of  the  opinion  of  the  Court  but  has  been 
prepared  by  the  Reporter  of  Decisions  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader. 
See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Syllabus 

MOORE, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SPEAKER OF THE 
NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 
ET AL. v. HARPER ET AL. 

CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF NORTH CAROLINA 

No. 21–1271.  Argued December 7, 2022—Decided June 27, 2023 

The Elections Clause of the Federal Constitution requires “the Legisla-
ture” of each State to prescribe the rules governing federal elections. 
Art.  I,  §4,  cl.  1.    This  case  concerns  the  claim  that  the  Clause  vests 
state  legislatures  with  authority  to  set  rules  governing  federal  elec-
tions  free  from  restrictions  imposed  under  state  law.    Following  the
2020 decennial census, North Carolina’s General Assembly drafted a 
new federal congressional map, which several groups of plaintiffs chal-
lenged as an impermissible partisan gerrymander in violation of the 
North  Carolina  Constitution.    The  trial  court  found  partisan  gerry-
mandering claims nonjusticiable under the State Constitution, but the
North  Carolina  Supreme  Court  reversed.  Harper  v.  Hall,  380  N. C. 
317, 868 S. E. 2d 499 (Harper I).  While acknowledging that partisan 
gerrymandering  claims  are  outside  the  reach  of  federal  courts,  see 
Rucho v. Common Cause, 588 U. S. ___, ___, the State Supreme Court
held that such questions were not beyond the reach of North Carolina 
courts.  The court  also  rejected  the  argument  that  the  Federal  Elec-
tions Clause vests exclusive and independent authority in state legis-
latures  to  draw  federal  congressional  maps.    The  court  enjoined  the 
use of the maps and remanded the case to the trial court for remedial 
proceedings.  The legislative defendants then filed an emergency ap-
plication  in  this  Court,  citing  the  Elections  Clause  and  requesting  a 
stay of the North Carolina Supreme Court’s decision.  This Court de-
clined to issue a stay, but later granted certiorari.  

After  this  Court  granted  certiorari,  the  North  Carolina  Supreme 
Court issued a decision addressing a remedial map adopted by the trial 
court.  Harper v. Hall, 383 N. C. 89, 125, 881 S. E. 2d 156, 181 (Harper 
II).  The North Carolina Supreme Court then granted the legislative