The 2024 election is HUGE. It’s a once-in-a-generation chance for us to defend our rights and protect democracy. Even so, the media mostly focuses all of its attention on the two candidates running for president. That’s understandable—but it’s just not the whole story.
When we vote for president, we also vote for everything that person will do throughout their term in office. And this year in particular our vote will SUPREMELY impact issues we care about. It’s sort of like the secret dish on a restaurant menu: We know it’s there, but it doesn’t get talked about all that much.
Well, let’s talk about it! Read on for more on the secret-menu item on your ballot this November.
It goes without saying that the office of the president of the United States has a lot of power. And one of a president’s most important powers is nominating justices to the Supreme Court—appointments that last for life.
So when you vote for your favorite candidate for president, you’re also voting for the decades-long impact their chosen justices will have on our lives.
The Supreme Court is a uniquely powerful institution in terms of its impact on our country’s laws and protections. The Court frequently tackles the biggest issues of our time, so it’s where a lot of our rights are protected – or taken away.
Nine justices currently sit on the Supreme Court—six were nominated by Republican presidents and three by Democratic presidents. Their average age is about 64 years old, but the two oldest justices are nearing 80. While the Court was originally designed to be insulated from politics, in reality the influence of politics on its composition, operation, and decision making is inescapable. That’s why whoever is elected president this year is likely to be able to leave a mark on the makeup of the Court that will last a generation.
Let's take a look at the Supreme Court’s recent track record, and at how those decisions have impacted all of us.
6-3 Ruling
When the Court’s ultra-conservative majority voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, it ended federal protection for abortion rights, abandoned a precedent that had stood for almost 50 years, and opened the door to us losing even more of our cherished rights.
This decision has already led to dozens of state-level abortion bans, drastically reducing access to abortion and reproductive healthcare and putting so many lives at risk.
6-3 Ruling
Six justices, including three nominated by former President Trump, ruled that Trump and all former presidents are effectively immune from criminal prosecution for anything they do as part of their “official acts.”
This frightening and unprecedented ruling, as Justice Sotomayor said in her dissent, now makes the president in every use of official power “a king above the law.”
6-3 Ruling
In another decision split along ideological and political lines, the Court ruled that cities can ban people from sleeping and camping in public places.
This ruling doesn’t address the root causes of homelessness. It doesn’t increase funding for shelters. All it does is criminalize poverty.
These decisions, and too many others like them, show what happens when a president who does not respect our rights and freedoms has the opportunity to remake the Supreme Court in their image.
Too many activists, organizers, and everyday people have worked too hard for too long advancing freedoms for all Americans for us to allow anything like this to happen again. Now is our chance to protect our rights and protect each other!
We’re not just voting for president this November: We’re voting for the Supreme Court justices the new president will nominate. So let’s vote like our rights depend on it! (Because they really do.)
Subscribe Now And We'll Make Sure You Get The Inside Scoop On Ben & Jerry's Fun And Flavors! It's Like Dessert For Your Inbox, And You're Going To Want Seconds.
The secret ingredient in our chocolate? Fairness. We’re celebrating 10 years of directly partnering with Fairtrade cocoa farmers to build thriving farms.
The only thing that’s going to mitigate the climate crisis is direct action. Here’s why companies need to focus on cutting their own greenhouse gas emissions instead of making dubious carbon-neutrality claims.
Despite how many states are legalizing cannabis across the US, hundreds of thousands of people are still being arrested each year on cannabis-related charges and put behind bars. Crystal Munoz is one of them. This is her story.
