This, That, and the Other

She’s a middle-of-the-road candidate, a real namby pamby fence sitter,” Josh said. “I don’t mean to belittle the woman, but she’s not right for the job of magistrate.”

“I think you’ve got it all wrong about her,” Jen said. “She’s deceptively smart and I think she’s a superlative candidate. On top of that she’s got the support of most voters. Face it, Josh, only a relatively small fraction of the voters support your guy.”

“I’m not worried, Jen,” Josh said. “My guy’s party is in control of the election apparatus in the state, so it doesn’t really matter who gets the most votes. Your gal is going to lose.”

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Written for the the following daily prompts: The Daily Spur (middle), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (belittle), My Vivid Blog (woman), E.M.’s Random Word Prompt (magistrate), Word of the Day Challenge (deceptive), Ragtag Daily Prompt (superlative), and Your Daily Word Prompt (fraction). Image credit: Getty Images.

This might seem like a far-fetched scenario. But the fact is that the U.S. Supreme Court is currently hearing a case — Moore v. Harper — that, if approved, would grant state legislatures significantly more power over federal elections. This case is sponsored by Republicans and a favorable decision could allow Republican state legislatures to set the rules for federal elections — even if they result in partisan gerrymandering or violate state constitutions. In other words, these Republican-controlled states could set up election rules that would essentially assure Republican victories in gubernatorial elections, U.S. congressional elections, and presidential elections. And given the 6-3 conservative majority on the high court, there’s a good chance that the Republicans will get their way.