Abortion Ruling Drives Competition to Control State High Courts

State supreme court elections in four states this fall could shake up which party controls the court of last resort for a host of issues—including abortion—for roughly an eighth of the US population.

Races in Michigan, North Carolina, and Illinois have the potential to change each state’s highest court from Democratic to Republican control, while Ohio could see Democrats take the majority from Republicans. The campaigns are being closely watched for their potential to upend how disputes are settled over everything from the way congressional district maps are drawn to which votes are counted in presidential elections.

“There are so ...