Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson for Bloomberg Law:

The US Supreme Court’s surprise decision to seek additional briefing in a North Carolina voting case could push an open question on the role of state officials in setting federal election rules into 2024.

The justices, who have already heard the case, gave the parties until March 20 to submit additional briefs. They want to know whether action in February by North Carolina’s state supreme court means that the lower court intends to snatch it back and possibly rule anew.

The possibility that the case is delayed or dropped or if the North Carolina court takes things in another direction means there might not be a resolution before next year’s balloting.

While the big question centers on Republican efforts to get more power for state legislatures over elections in congressional races, critics of the litigation say a change in law by the Supreme Court also could extend to the presidential race. This heightens the urgency for clarity from the high court even more due to the tense climate nationally over elections for federal office, election law experts say.

It would be “good for the country” if the justices clarify the issue ahead of the 2024 vote, said Ohio State law professor Edward Foley. “Everyone needs to know the rules of the road.”

UCLA law professor Rick Hasen said in a “Cases and Controversies” podcast that Moore v. Harper was “probably the most complicated election case I’ve had to explain.”