![]() ![]() Take for example, the Senate Leadership Fund-a super PAC affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky-which spent $184 million boosting conservative candidates in 20. Megadonors gave to candidates through super PACs and dark money groups-vehicles that allow unlimited amounts of sometimes untraceable money-as they have been able to do for more than a decade since the Citizens United ruling opened the floodgates for political spending. ![]() The 20 elections, in which Republicans retained Senate majorities that allowed them to confirm Trump’s three Supreme Court nominees, cost record-breaking amounts. Our broken campaign finance system gives an unrepresentative set of big donors disproportionate influence. 8 were confirmed by slim majorities of senators who represented millions fewer Americans than the senators who opposed their nominations.Įven worse, elections for those Senate seats are subject to the expanding power of a handful of mega-rich individuals. And all five of the justices who greenlighted S.B. 8 to take effect were appointed by a president who lost the popular vote. The current makeup of the Supreme Court is a direct result of this dysfunction: Four of the nine justices who joined the initial decision to allow S.B. But the way our electoral institutions are structured allows for minority rule, from the Electoral College (which allows a candidate to win the presidency without a majority of votes), to the Senate (a legislative body where Americans do not enjoy equal or true representation, since senators representing less populous states can control the chamber and drive outcomes). The president nominates and the Senate confirms justices-and voters exercise control over who gets elected to those offices. To a large extent, this stunning outcome is a story of democratic failures and the power of big money in American politics.Īlthough the federal judiciary is not elected, elections impact the Court and its role in our democracy. How did we get here? Conservatives have relentlessly focused on reshaping the Court for decades. The Court effectively abandoned a half-century of precedent without admitting it or providing any reasons, despite the fact that the great majority of Americans oppose the elimination of Roe. Wade meaningless for over 11 percent of the U.S. 8 to take effect in early September and almost completely ban abortion in the state, five Supreme Court justices abruptly curtailed the constitutional rights of Texans-and rendered Roe v. View the entire Abortion Rights Are Essential to Democracy series Attend the Brennan Legacy Awards Dinner.Advance Constitutional Change Show / hide. ![]()
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