South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has announced that his office is participating in a friend-of-the-court brief submitted to the United States Supreme Court. The brief supports Maine Representative Laurel Libby, who has been barred from voting and speaking on the State House floor by Democratic legislative leadership.
The Supreme Court is being petitioned to reinstate Representative Libby’s voting rights while her legal case proceeds. The argument presented is that such restrictions likely contravene fundamental principles of representative democracy and the U.S. Constitution.
“This is not a partisan issue, it’s a constitutional one,” stated Attorney General Alan Wilson. “In our system of government, every citizen deserves to have their voice heard through their elected officials. Blocking a legislator from voting silences not just one voice, but the voice of every constituent they represent. That’s not how our republic is supposed to work. The ability of lawmakers to speak and vote freely on behalf of their districts is a foundational part of American democracy, and I am standing up to ensure that principle is protected.”
The situation arose when Representative Libby was prohibited from participating in legislative activities after she made social media comments regarding a biologically male student-athlete winning a girls’ pole-vaulting competition. The brief contends that removing an elected lawmaker’s right to vote undermines democratic representation and infringes upon both the representative’s and constituents’ constitutional rights.
The group of attorneys general involved argues that legislative immunity, which typically protects lawmakers from lawsuits related to legislative actions, does not extend to actions that directly compromise democratic processes, such as revoking a legislator’s voting rights.
Alongside South Carolina, attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota have joined in supporting the brief.
