The Supreme Court decides not to destroy democracy in the United States

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected an utterly deranged lawsuit that threatened the foundational American principle that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Moore v. Harper was the gravest threat to free and fair elections in the United States to arrive at the Court in decades. And, while Tuesday’s 6-3 decision leaves the door slightly ajar should a future Court wish to overturn a close election, it rejects more sweeping theories that could have rendered many American elections meaningless. It is also the Court’s second decision defending the foundations of US democracy this month — a reassuring and slightly surprising turn after some of its decisions regarding voting rights and elections in the last few years.