Indivisibles,

Today, the Supreme Court starts their new term, and this fall the justices will be hearing a North Carolina redistricting case called Moore v. Harper. Here’s the deal: this case is about a lot more than just gerrymandering.

MAGA Republicans are pushing the Court to adopt a fringe legal argument called the Independent State Legislature theory (ISL), which would give state legislatures unprecedented control over election procedures and voting laws. If they’re successful, what happens in 2024 could very well come down to the state legislatures in six key battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

In the most extreme scenario, state legislatures could overturn the will of the voters and submit their own slate of presidential electors. Donald Trump tried to convince state legislators to do just that in 2020 but failed. Now, MAGA Republicans are setting the stage to try again in 2024, and they’re hoping a new, right-wing Supreme Court will give them legal cover. We can stop them, but we have to act now.

That’s why we’re launching a new campaign -- Crush the Coup -- to back Democratic state legislative candidates running in the six key battleground states. We’ve already identified a few key races in Michigan, a crucial state where we think we can make the most impact. If you’re with us, click here to split a donation between Indivisible and our three candidates running in highly competitive races in Michigan. If you’re not convinced yet, keep reading to find out why this fight is so important.

What is the Independent State Legislature theory?

The ISL theory would give state legislatures unprecedented power over elections. They could pass voter suppression laws, gerrymander districts, refuse to certify elections, and select presidential electors -- all without any checks from governors, state courts, or even state constitutions. 

Here's a full explainer on ISL, but don’t get lost in the legalese -- at its core, this theory is a coup in the making and MAGA Republicans are hoping the MAGA justices on the Supreme Court will give their plans a semblance of legitimacy. Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh have already expressed support for the ISL theory, and no one is counting on Amy Coney Barrett or John Roberts to be the saviors of democracy.

So what would this look like in practice? Let’s take Michigan, a state that’s trending blue but has a Republican-controlled legislature. When President Biden won the state in 2020, MAGA Republicans immediately began spreading election fraud conspiracy theories. In 2024, Michigan’s Republican-controlled legislature could use these kinds of conspiratorial allegations to justify overruling the election results and selecting their own electors. 

No other official in Michigan would have the power to stop the legislature from tossing out the 2024 election results. Even if Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer wins re-election, even if Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson wins re-election, and even if the state courts try to stand up for democracy, they would be powerless to stop a MAGA-led legislature.

If you've heard enough, click here to split a donation between Indivisible and our three pro-democracy candidates running in Michigan. It's going to take all of us to prevent the next MAGA coup attempt and the actions we take now could make all the difference. 

How we Crush the Coup

We can’t stop the Supreme Court from endorsing the ISL theory before 2024. That means our best shot to safeguard the next presidential election is to take the fight to MAGA Republicans at the state level. This isn’t the type of election work we usually do. Our focus has been on federal races, but the threat to our elections is just too severe for us to stay on the sidelines. That’s why we worked with experts across the ecosystem to identify the 29 most competitive races across the 6 key battleground states where we can maximize our impact.

If we boost our fundraising and support in these often-overlooked elections, we can win back state legislatures in some states and prevent MAGA supermajorities in others. This will be crucial for safeguarding the integrity of the 2024 election. We’ll have more details as we finalize our slate of candidates and states, but for now, we’ve identified Michigan as one of the highest priority states to get to work:

• In the last presidential election, Joe Biden won the state by single-digit percentage points, and there’s a real chance the 2024 election will come down to Michigan
• In 2020, Democrats needed just 2,000 more votes across three districts to win the Michigan House (and that was with a Republican-gerrymandered map!)
• Now that an independent redistricting commission has redrawn the district lines, Michigan has the most competitive state legislature election in the country and Democrats have an even clearer path to a House majority
• The three candidates we’re backing are all running in highly competitive races and the support we lend them now could make all the difference in their elections and Democrats’ hopes to flip the state house

We’ll be perfectly blunt: not enough people pay attention to state legislatures. These campaigns raise way less money than federal races and don’t attract as many volunteers. It’s unfortunate, but this also means your contributions will have an outsized impact, and the money you donate now could very well mean the difference between a win and a loss. If you’re with us, click here to split a donation between Indivisible and our slate of pro-democracy candidates in Michigan. 

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Make sure to visit CrushtheCoup.org to learn more about the candidates we’re backing in Michigan and the other five battleground states -- and find opportunities to write letters to voters and host phonebanks to GOTV. Every incumbent Democrat we protect and every red district we help flip represents another roadblock in MAGA Republicans’ plan to pull off a coup through the states.

We know there are plenty of other elections that are just as important (we have to defend our majorities in Congress, after all) but these campaigns are all intertwined. We have to build bigger, more progressive majorities in Congress so we can pass election reforms and expand the Supreme Court. That same Supreme Court is on the verge of giving Republican state legislatures a free pass to upend our democracy in 2024. This is not an either/or situation. 

With so much at stake, we have to defend our democracy on all fronts and that means taking on MAGA Republicans up and down the ballot.

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team