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The Supreme Court and the 2022 Elections

Posted on in 2022 Midterms · 2022 Election Spark · 2022 Election

The Supreme Court had more influence over the 2022 election than the Supreme Court normally plays in an election for several reasons. First, on June 24, 2022 the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs v Jackson. Five of the justices ruled to overturn precedents that protected abortion rights set in Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey. This ruling sparked protest throughout the US and appeared to help improve Democrats electoral prospects. This case showed that the Supreme Court can sometimes be a catalyst that affects public opinion and public policy.

The other main reason the Supreme Court had more influence over the 2022 election than normal is because the 2022 election was the first election under new district lines due to redistricting. The Supreme Court would be asked if several states new congressional and state legislative maps were constitutional. In February, the Supreme Court blocked a lower court ruling that Alabama’s congressional map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. It would later block lower court rulings declaring congressional maps in Georgia, Louisiana, and Ohio unconstitutional.

Instructors: click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.

Download: The Supreme Court and the 2022 Elections

Videos

News Articles

The Supreme Court Lost Republicans the Midterms

Vox

11/10/2022

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23451103/2022-midterms-results-data-analysis-abortion-dobbs-shor

Will Dobbs Energize Democrats?

Fox News

07/02/2022

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/will-dobbs-energize-dems-primary-turnout-key-blue-state-indicates-weak-response-scotus-abortion-ruling

Women Powered Democrats in the 2018 Election. Will They Again in 2022?

Washington Post

10/8/2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/supreme-court-abortion-ruling-midterm-elections/

Voters in Kansas Decide to Keep Abortion Legal in the State, Rejecting an Amendment

NPR

08/03/2022

https://www.npr.org/sections/2022-live-primary-election-race-results/2022/08/02/1115317596/kansas-voters-abortion-legal-reject-constitutional-amendment

How Did Redistricting Impact the 2022 Midterms

NewsNation

11/15/2022

https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/elections-2022/how-did-redistricting-impact-the-2022-midterms/

The Midterms are About Rigged Maps and Republican Judges

Slate

11/02/2022

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/11/the-midterms-are-about-courts-rigging-the-outcome.html

Maps in Four States Were Ruled Illegal Gerrymanders. They’re Being Used Anyway

New York Times

08/08/2022

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/08/us/elections/gerrymandering-maps-elections-republicans.html?

Gerrymandering is Normal

National Review

11/16/2021

https://www.nationalreview.com/the-tuesday/gerrymandering-is-normal/

Assessments

Debate: How involved should federal courts be when it comes to gerrymandering?

Should the Supreme Court consider public opinion when ruling on cases?

Poll: Did the decision in Dobbs v Jackson affect how you voted in 2022?

Do you think the Supreme Court was right to say the federal courts did not have the power to prevent partisan gerrymanders?

Short Answer: How does the Court determine a racial gerrymander has occurred?

 

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