The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that state legislators are not the ultimate authority on how elections are conducted, reasoning that state courts can review election rules enacted by lawmakers.

In the 6-3 decision, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said courts historically have provided a check on other branches of government since the founding of the country.

“Since early in our Nation’s history, courts have recognized their duty to evaluate the constitutionality of legislative acts,” the chief justice wrote.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch dissented from the majority’s ruling.

The case came out of North Carolina, where the Republican-led General Assembly argued that the U.S. Constitution makes lawmakers the deciders of elections procedure, not state judges or bureaucrats.

The case was considered to be one of the most consequential of this Supreme Court term.

Liberal activists said a ruling for North Carolina’s Legislature could upend voting rights protections in states across the country.

The case stemmed from a dispute between North Carolina’s GOP-controlled Legislature and state courts over who has the final say on the redrawing of congressional district maps. The state’s high court tossed the Legislature’s map and imposed its own.

North Carolina lawmakers said the state Supreme Court violated the U.S. Constitution’s elections clause, which says, “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof.” The lawmakers said that clause gives legislatures the final say.

The high court disagreed, ruling against the GOP lawmakers.

• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.