Partisan Supremacy (eBook)

I have no agenda, US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts proclaimed at his Senate confirmation hearing: My job is to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat. This declaration was in keeping with the avowed independence of the judiciary. It also, when viewed through the lens of Robertss election law decisions, appears to be false. With a scrupulous reading of judicial decisions and a careful assessment of partisan causes and consequences, Terri Jennings Peretti tells the story of the GOPs largely successful campaign to enlist judicial aid for its self-interested election reform agenda.Partisan Supremacy explores four contemporary election law issuesvoter identification, gerrymandering, campaign finance, and the preclearance regime of the Voting Rights Actto uncover whether Republican politicians and Republican judges have collaborated to tilt Americas election rules in the GOPs favor. Considering cases from Shelby County v. Holder, which enfeebled the Voting Rights Act, to Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, which upheld restrictive voter identification laws, to Citizens United and McCutcheon, which loosened campaign finance restrictions, Peretti lays bare the reality of friendly judicial review and partisan supremacy when it comes to election law. She nonetheless finds a mixed verdict in the redistricting area that reveals the limits of partisan control over judicial decisions. Perettis book helpfully places the current GOPs voter suppression campaign in historical context by acknowledging similar efforts by the postCivil War Democratic Party. While the modern Democratic Party seeks electoral advantage by expanding voting by Americas minorities and youth, arguably hewing closer to democratic principles, neither party is immune to the powerful incentive to bend election rules in its favor.In view of the evidence that Partisan Supremacy brings to light, we are left with a critical and pressing question: Can democracy survive in the face of partisan collaboration across the branches of government on critical election issues?