Justices seem poised to hear elections case pressed by GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court seems poised to take on a new elections case being pressed by Republicans. It could increase the power of state lawmakers over races for Congress and the presidency, as well as redistricting. It also could cut state courts out of the equation. The issue has arisen repeatedly in cases from North Carolina and Pennsylvania, where Democratic majorities on the states’ highest courts have invoked voting protections in their state constitutions to frustrate the plans of Republican-dominated legislatures. Already, four conservative Supreme Court justices have noted their interest in deciding whether state courts that find violations of their state constitutions can order changes to federal elections and the once-a-decade redrawing of congressional districts.