When you head to your polling station this November, you’ll be doing a lot more than just choosing the next “leader of the free world.” With one swift scribble of your borrowed number two pencil, you’ll also be making a major impact on the highest court in the U.S. of A. Yep, the same court that decides landmark cases such as Roe v. Wade (giving women the right to choose), Miranda v. Arizona (giving U.S. citizens the right to remain silent), and Brown v. Board of Education (giving equal rights to students of all races). This election year, not only are you picking a president, but your vote will also have an indirect impact on up to four new U.S. Supreme Court justices.
Let’s break it down: as you probably know, there are nine Supreme Court justices. Currently, four of the nine justices are in their seventies. That means nearly half of the members on the Supreme Court are looking to retire at some point in the next decade (some sooner than others). Think about it — do you think your Nana would want to be working five or more days a week at 76 years old, tackling America’s most controversial issues? Heck no. She wants to chill out in her plum velour sweatsuit while playing a mean game of bridge and I don’t blame her.
While none of the four septuagenarian justices are hinting about retirement or showing signs of poor health, the fact remains our country’s average life expectancy is around 79 years old. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman ever appointed to the Supreme Court, turned 79 last March. Do you see where I’m going with this? There is a chance the next person in the White House may have to unexpectedly appoint a Supreme Court justice for a reason other than retirement. And, with four of the justices in their seventies, this could potentially happen four times in the next four years.
Why does this matter? It matters because the Supreme Court is typically evenly divided between conservatives and liberals, and the current court is no exception. Four of the justices typically lean left, four lean right, and the last (Justice Anthony Kennedy who was appointed in 1988 by Ronald Reagan) usually leans right, but sometimes surprises the country by siding with the liberals on the court. Talk about the makings of some pretty good nail-biter decisions that come down to the last minute. In fact, major decisions often come down to a 5-4 split among the nine justices because of this dynamic, including the recent decision to uphold Obama’s health care reform.
However, imagine what would happen if a justice is abruptly unable to serve and replaced by someone who does not share their political philosophy. Suddenly, we could have an uneven court, making it much easier for either the left or the right to push their agenda through our country’s judicial branch (and no amount of yoga would help bring back balance in that situation).
In this year alone, the Supreme Court will be hearing cases that could mean changes for voting rights, gay marriage and affirmative action — issues directly impacting your life. This November, you have the rare opportunity to have a direct impact on who makes those decisions. For that reason alone, it’s important you not only vote, but vote for someone who is aligned with your political beliefs. Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green – whichever way you choose to party, your vote is especially important this election year.
Tags: Barack Obama, Election Day, elections 2012, Mitt Romney, President Obama, registering to vote, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, voting
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Laura_Seldon Bio: Laura Seldon is a writer and journalist living in Los Angeles. Her political agenda includes getting you to care about voting and inspiring you to then actually vote. She believes heading to the polls is a fabulous workout for your political ideology and should be done once a year at the very least. Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com |
Great blog. Alreay voted. Hope everyone reads this.
Good for you, lAURA, I’m with you 100%! Ihope many, many people read your article and take heed. Well done and kudos to you. Fondly, Phyllis Stark, writing to you from Las Vegas…..(Judy forwarded it to me…I’m glad that she did). Please give Kevin a hug from me.
[...] the ability to choose our elected officials. And if you think your one vote doesn’t matter, it does. Maybe now more than ever. (And I guess we say that every four years, but I believe it to be [...]
You’ve got to keep trying and trying to get the right to vote and sometimes it’s not easy.
Here is my correspondence with Dee Anderson who is the clerk in charge of voting in Middlesex County NJ. After speaking with her and being assured that she was emailing me my vote by email materials, I never received them. When I called back I get transferred to her voicemail which informs me that her mailbox is full and can’t take more messages. Then the announcement says it is transferring me to an attendant. The attendant goes through a list of departments and then informs me that the offices are closed today (which they are not) because it is a holiday (yes – Election Day and I am calling to get the chance to vote!)
Ah Bureaucracy!
I am hoping to be a first time voter. I called you this morning several times. The first time I called you said you needed me to email my completed and signed vote by email to you since you had not received the one I sent to the County Clerk on Sunday November 4. I then emailed that form to you earlier this morning. I called and spoke to you. You confirmed that you had received my email, verified that I am eligible to vote and that you would be sending out my materials by email for me to fill out and send back to you. I have been constantly checking me inbox, my spam, and my trash and I have not yet received my materials. I am eager to exercise this most important privilege a U.S. citizen has. I am looking forward to my first vote ever and I am imploring you to please, please, send these materials to me ASAP so that I can vote. Again, please email my materials to me!
HEY DUMB ASS YOUR VOTE DOES NOT MATTER AS THE ELECTORAL COLLAGE VOTES NOT THE PEOPLE!!!